texaspandj

Bahaha, Markwesti you kill me.

markwesti

RobbieTunes

Don't worry, most of us drink and wrench, too.

TXsailor

My Blue fade 89 has the Avenir decal and my granddaughters black 89 doesn't.

texaspandj

We've seen that before. RT thinks it has something to do with group merchandise marketing. Fleslider I think theorized it's only on certain manufactured dates. What year or serial number is your '89.
The expert '89 "smoke on the water" i sold and my current '89 Master summertime blues Did Not have the avenir decal. I know Centurion Pro sponsored triathletes Dave Scott and Mike Pigg were both using Avenir products, helmet , shoes, etc so there's that.

markwesti

Here is some more merchandising , yikes .

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Centuri...993:rk:52:pf:0

texaspandj

Test pic

markwesti

Awesome tex , those grip shifts are looking very business like as does the whole package . Nice !

texaspandj

I've been meaning to post a pic of my updated '88 Carbon Ironman "Midnight Rider". I put the 7 speed gripshift from my Miami Vice on it so I can race the Carbon Ironman this season. I used my new phone to take pic, I'll take another better pic when it's not so dreary outside.
Speaking of my Carbon Ironman, I borrowed a crank arm thread chaser from seypat, thanks @seypat. Unfortunately the threads were just too far gone so I'm leaving it 172.5 and will change it to my preferred 170 when I get around to it.
Up til now I've been riding my red and white classic Ironman. But starting tomorrow I'll be riding the Carbon exclusively. Well see what happens to the Carbon Ironman when "I Train Hard and Race Fast on it, it may end up like @jetboy s bike. BTW y'all know training hard and racing fast is relative, right?

canklecat

'89 Ironman Expert after Saturday's ride. It's growing more blue trim. Still needs the new blue Jagwire brake cable housing I got recently. Got some blue bar wrap too but the padded black wrap on it now is too comfy and durable to change yet.

The blue masking tape marks my former seat post and stem heights. Felt a bit off so I raised the seat post an inch and the stem about 1/3". Felt better during Saturday's ride. No more knee twinge, spinning felt smoother, but the calf muscles need to get used to the new position. I still can't master the Jacques Anquetil toe-down pedaling style, or his knack for living colorfully.

50/39 Vuelta SE Plus chainrings for now. Trying to develop better spinning technique and keep my knees a little longer. SunRace 13-25 MFR30 chromed freewheel. Selle Italia SLS Kit Carbonio, one of their lowest priced flat, narrow saddles. My sit bones just don't get along with Turbo or any curved saddle.

Classic Look pedals courtesy of @texaspandj; 90mm stem courtesy of @RobbieTunes -- much more comfortable on my neck. The original 130mm stem from the Ironman is currently on my Univega Via Carisma, supporting a Nitto albatross bar. The combination of the saddle height bar and longer reach to offset the swept back albatross grips makes for a comfortable and sporty ride on days when my neck and shoulders aren't up to the Ironman.



Needs more blue.

texaspandj

Nice pic C-Cat. But your cat stole the show.
Good thing you didn't put the blue wrap on cause I'll be shipping you some bars Monday. I really prefer the look of those deep drop bars but I have a feeling the compact bars I'm sending will be your sweet spot. They are old school compact bars so you shouldn't have an issue with stem fit.
The saddle raise to me, makes better use of your muscles especially when time trialing. However I think lower saddle is better for spinning and saving your legs. And that toe down thing, I never understood it but the absolute master of it was Paula Newby Frazier. She won the Hawaii Ironman more times than anyone period. You should check out her form on youtube. I have old VHS videos that I occasionally watch and she was amazing.
BTW, I'll be sending you some aero bars too and that's a whole 'nother can of worms I'll pm you about but My suggestion is put the new bars on and get used to them before putting on the aero bars. I say that because of your lack of affinity for those aero bars but time will tell.

texaspandj

Just curious, I think there's something for everyone.
The understated and elegance of the '85s.
The Classic colors of the '86s.
The boldness of the '87s.
The graphics of the '88s.
The "I am Ironman" look of the '89s.
Or maybe you already have your favorite or wish you had the _______ color scheme.
I'm fortunate (or blind) enough to think I have my favorite of each year sans the '85. Admittedly though I like the turquoise '87 and '88. In my line up I think I could live with only one Ironman but if I had to choose my favorite if would have to be... the '86 red and white Classic.

RobbieTunes

I just picked up some 8-sp Grip-Shift stuff...… in case you want to go and mess up everything you've done.....

RobbieTunes

I can't choose. Never could.
I guess there's ample evidence of that.

Perhaps my actions thus spake louder than words....

texaspandj

It's like asking you to choose a favorite child...but harder.

canklecat

She always does. Monstercat thinks she's my bodyguard and won't let me out of her sight. She's affectionate but doesn't like being picked up. It's undignified for a bodyguard cat.

That was my theory, but so far spinning comes more naturally with the seat post raised a bit. I can't mash down full strokes without rocking in the saddle. So the higher saddle nudges me toward spinning. I need to try it awhile longer before deciding. Saturday's ride was good, my fastest time on my usual routes since before my November surgery.

Thanks, I'll look for her videos.

Jacques Anquetil theories can be controversial, so here's mine...
Anquetil was listed as being 5'9" or 5'9 1/2", and around 150 lbs. That seems about right looking at his photos alongside other cyclists, including the much bigger Eddy Merckx and shorter Bernard Hinault.

In most photos and movies, Anquetil appears to be riding a 56cm frame, possibly even larger in some races. That's marginally larger than usual for someone 5'9".

He seemed to prefer a bar drop only slightly below saddle height -- no more than 2", if that. He seemed to prefer being a bit stretched out rather than relying a deeper drop. That probably made sense for his strength at time trialing.

And his seat post/saddle height were approximately where they'd be for someone taller, around 5'11". To ride a bike set up that way, he'd need to point his toes down. Otherwise he'd be rocking in the saddle.

It also appears he occasionally used longer cranks, and there's one article that claims he sometimes used crank arms between 180-190mm long. Others claimed he preferred shorter crank arms, 170mm or shorter. It's possible he did both, switching as needed for various races and stages. In some photos and videos it appears his thigh at maximum height is nearly parallel with the top tube, while his extended leg appears nearly fully extended, and his overall position appears normal. The only way that can occur is with longer crank arms. Even with the 175mm crank arms on my Univega, it takes me a few miles to adjust to the stroke difference when I haven't been on that bike for awhile.

In several photos and videos it appears he's using half-step gearing, something like a 52/49 chainring. That would make sense of someone who preferred spinning at a pretty high cadence without excessive strain and fatigue. Perfect for undulating time trials and relatively flat stages. Not so great for mountain stages.

I suspect that when he was younger he and a coach settled on that setup and pedaling style to suit his strength at time trialing. He was a spinner in an era when many cyclists were mashing machines with cadences around 60 rpm, slower on climbs. It may also explain why he wasn't considered a strong climber -- not bad, just not equal to the mountain goats among his competitors.

Anyway, just a theory based on what evidence I can see in photos and films. There's little hard info on Anquetil's bike setup.

Cool! Looking forward to trying the compact drops. I like my current bar height for riding the hoods and tops, but I can manage the drops for only 3-5 minutes on the indoor trainer while I'm not craning my neck upward. On actual road rides I can do that for only a minute or two before my neck starts to spasm. On a couple of favorite fast downhills I actually get double-vision from the jittery roads when I'm in the drops. I'm probably putting too much strain on that old C2 injury.

canklecat

Regarding color schemes, I'm pretty satisfied with mine. It's understated.

But every time I see a red Ironman locally, or photos of the silver and gray models, I think I need one of each.

dmark 

My curb find during SB LIII halftime dog walk, I missed Adam Levine and found this. WIN-WIN !!!
'88 Ironman Master 56cm

RobbieTunes

Big time find. Surely. Super as the bowl.

texaspandj

Nice dmark. My riding buddy has one and fleslider has the Pro version.

dmark 

Looked it over today and all good. Some small rust spots, rim wear and I ride 58-60 so a slightly longer seatpost would help but never before have I found more than a parts bike. I was going to donor parts to a 86 Trek Elance 400 (Reynolds 531) but after riding it I like it too much.

texaspandj

fleslider 

i like pretty much most of the color combo's but my top five..
1. Magenta/Yellow 87-E (Miami Vice)
2. Purple Haze 88-M
3. Turqoise/White 87-M
4. Yellow/White 88-M
5. Solid Red 89-M

texaspandj

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bi...793751219.html

texaspandj

I thought I posted pic for this.