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Post your Centurion Ironman.. For the love of 80s paint jobs!

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Post your Centurion Ironman.. For the love of 80s paint jobs!

Old 04-09-20, 01:24 PM
  #8476  
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OOooh thank you. The peak of human civilization. 1987.
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Old 04-09-20, 01:35 PM
  #8477  
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I remember having the '86 and '87 catalogs. fleslider Do you know if there was an '88 and '89?
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Old 04-09-20, 01:51 PM
  #8478  
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Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share (can't find them), but I've owned 3 Ironmans:

- '87 Master in Yellow/White (this one was a bit small for me and I ended up selling it)
- '89 Master in Red which I bought through my LBS as a frameset and built it up with 600 Tricolor (even had the seatpost) and wheels with 600 hubs and Campy rims. I sold this one when I moved, met my wife and needed $$ for our wedding.
- The last one was an '87 Expert in Red/White that I bought used in 2003 for a travel bike. I rebuilt the wheels on that one with Mavic rims, and replaced the saddle/seatpost. Other than that it was stock and I rode it until a kid in a car decided to hit me on a ride one day.

I believe that the first one was a 60, the second a 64 and the last a 62cm. All great bikes and I wish I still had any of them.
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Old 04-09-20, 02:50 PM
  #8479  
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will 25mm tires fit the 89 im master
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Old 04-09-20, 03:59 PM
  #8480  
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Originally Posted by valve_timing
will 25mm tires fit the 89 im master
Yep yep.
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Old 04-09-20, 04:25 PM
  #8481  
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Originally Posted by valve_timing
will 25mm tires fit the 89 im master
Depends on the tire and rear brake.

No problems with Continental Ultra Sport II 700x25 on my '89 Ironman Expert. Excellent value in a very affordable tire. I've ridden 'em for more than two years in 700x23 and 700x25 on my Ironman.

But Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwalls (700x25 only, no other sizes available) just barely scraped the underside of the rear brake bridge on my Suntour GPX brakes. Carefully adjusting the rim to eliminate a very slight hop helped. But any time I rode through a puddle or a slight bit of sand or gravel, I'd hear scraping. Mostly I just had to ride the tire to wear it down, mostly on the indoor trainer. No problems the past 2-3 weeks. And a different brake might have enough clearance.

But those Conti GP Classics will go back on my '93 Trek 5900 after I finish putting that bike back together. No problems there.

The difference between the tires is the height, not width. Conti Grand Prix classics have a very 1980s style tread, with raised center tread with sipes, and shallow chevron tread on the shoulders. It's cosmetically appealing but doesn't ride any better than the lower priced Ultra Sport II, which are basically slicks with Conti's peculiar arrow shaped doodads on the shoulders.

So 700x25 tires that are slicks or have a slight tread but no raised center tread should be fine.
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Old 04-09-20, 06:01 PM
  #8482  
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Originally Posted by Classtime
Ya. The Nitto 115 is 25.4 but you can shim it and use a 26mm stem. I use a shim on my 86 to use my Nitto Dynamic 11 which is 26mm.

And more pictures? I've struggled with this decision for months--upgrade my brakes? Ride an IM without BioPace? I put some Dura holders on my Classic but they looked wrong and made the calipers head upwards too much for me. Then I put on some Ultegra dual pivots and the Gran Comp levers didn't pop back being springless. So I put on some late model Gran Comps which are much better with the newer brakes. Now without the bronze finish on the levers and brakes, the bronze BioPace chain rings had to go. I went whole hog and put on my TA crankset with a normal 39/53.


Proper place for Dura holders

Placeholders for SLR

Pretty Crankset

Is 10 speed next?
I have Ultegra brakes like yours on two Ironman bikes. One has Exage levers and the other has new Tektro levers. They work great. The bike I am building for my daughter has them too. On hers I used the Tektro levers for small hands. I should have it done soon. I have it ready for her to test ride and get everything set to fit her.
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Old 04-09-20, 06:42 PM
  #8483  
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Here is my '89 Master, 50cm frame in white/grey marble! Shimano 600 all over (original I hope) and mostly clean! Love it.

Last edited by eugew23; 04-10-20 at 07:12 AM. Reason: Grammar
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Old 04-09-20, 06:56 PM
  #8484  
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Ya. The Nitto 115 is 25.4 but you can shim it and use a 26mm stem. I use a shim on my 86 to use my Nitto Dynamic 11 which is 26mm.
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Old 04-09-20, 07:56 PM
  #8485  
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Originally Posted by eugew23
Here is my '89 Master in a 50cm frame. I think original Shimano 600 set intact and mostly clean! Love it.
Another cool color that seems to be hard to find. Love it! I am about done building a 50cm 87 Expert for my daughter. Nothing original on it since I bought it as a bare frame & fork with a stuck seat post.
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Old 04-09-20, 10:44 PM
  #8486  
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Originally Posted by texaspandj
I remember having the '86 and '87 catalogs. fleslider Do you know if there was an '88 and '89?
If i recall back then i had a 1988 Catalog, it was the same style cover as the 1987 but it was white not black... but not that i have it anymore . but yes i do believe there are 88 and 89 catalogs out there somewhere

hoping to find them someday..
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Old 04-10-20, 07:13 AM
  #8487  
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Originally Posted by TXsailor
Another cool color that seems to be hard to find. Love it! I am about done building a 50cm 87 Expert for my daughter. Nothing original on it since I bought it as a bare frame & fork with a stuck seat post.
I'd love to see a picture of that!
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Old 04-10-20, 07:58 AM
  #8488  
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Originally Posted by eugew23
I'd love to see a picture of that!
As soon as she rides it a little so we can see how she wants the brake levers and we get some bar tape on it I'll take some & post them. She is pretty busy homeschooling her 5 girls and still working some. She just got her midwife certification. I am thinking she will be a lot busier in about 9 months.
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Old 04-10-20, 10:29 AM
  #8489  
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Who built this? Hope it was somebody here, just wanna give credit as itll be my inspiration build
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Old 04-10-20, 11:44 AM
  #8490  
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Originally Posted by N2motorsports
Who built this? Hope it was somebody here, just wanna give credit as itll be my inspiration build
that would the infamous IronGent RobbieTunes
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Old 04-10-20, 01:37 PM
  #8491  
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Originally Posted by fleslider
that would the infamous IronGent RobbieTunes
Of course! Nice bike, i finally got a reply on Offerup regarding a miami vice colorway. Kind of fishy, been bugging him for weeks and finally he responds with an "ok" at 1am....hmmm, better meet in a public place

just picked it up. Very rough with mismatch components and only rides in 4 gears since he literally shoved 9speed campagnolo wheelset in there

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Old 04-11-20, 04:58 PM
  #8492  
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
Need anything for it?
Yes, indeed I do. Check your PM
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Old 04-11-20, 06:21 PM
  #8493  
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Originally Posted by N2motorsports
Yes, indeed I do. Check your PM
RT to the rescue.
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Old 04-11-20, 07:29 PM
  #8494  
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Originally Posted by texaspandj
RT to the rescue.
Why am I not surprised in the least? Seypat and some more are the same way!
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Old 04-11-20, 08:08 PM
  #8495  
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Originally Posted by TXsailor
Why am I not surprised in the least? Seypat and some more are the same way!
Its a Ironkids thang, but it started with R.T.
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Old 04-11-20, 09:06 PM
  #8496  
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Originally Posted by ddeand
I finally hit the wall with my Ironman frame touch-up project. My initial goal was to get it looking OK from 10 feet - I told myself not to go totally anal on the project. Just get it ready to ride. Yeah . . . right! After about a month of mixing paint, I feel I got the color at about 98% - you can tell the spots when you’re at 2 feet. Every time I did a spot, my wet sanding (800 grit) would take it down to the primer. I tried airbrushing, but my skills were suspect, at best. Eventually, I returned to the airbrush and got a much better result. I haven’t been able to get out and find the appropriate color to mix for the yellow, yet, but that will be less of a hassle. I just needed to get this bike put together! Today, I installed the bottom bracket, the headset, the brakes, rear axle stops, and handlebars. The cables and housing should be here tomorrow (white braided). I’ll start out with the white saddle and maybe switch to the yellow one once I figure out how to get the leather to wrap around the difficult curves. Bar tape will be yellow/gold. I will likely go back and retouch a few spots, but for now, I just want to get out and ride!






How about a tutorial showing how you recovered the saddle?
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Old 04-11-20, 09:15 PM
  #8497  
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My daughter's 87


My daughter picked her bike up this morning for a test ride. The saddle is a sort of raggedy one that came on my m/v. I have a lot better one for it that Seypat sent. She is pretty picky about saddles so this one is just for testing, I'm sure she will change it. We haven't picked out bar tape yet we wanted to see how it fit. So far she says it feels good. It got rainy before she had a chance to ride it much. We had to repaint part of the green and the parts store didn't get it matched very well. She said she sort of likes it, I am wishing we had painted the whole seat tube, but it looked a lot closer until it dried. We also repainted some of the white and I think it came out good. I don't really like the black chain rings but that's what I had. They are 30/39/50 with a 11-28 10 speed cassette. She wanted something that would climb hills and I think it will fit the bill.

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Old 04-11-20, 09:16 PM
  #8498  
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Originally Posted by TXsailor
How about a tutorial showing how you recovered the saddle?
I basically read through this old thread a couple times: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ur-saddle.html

The problem with this saddle is that it has a some fairly sharp angles to deal with, and I don’t want to have the leather bunch up. I may have to do some darts in the leather or maybe even have a separate piece cover the backside of the seat. I’ll have talk with my daughter (a seamstress) about that. I want it to look good. When I get going again on it, I’ll take some pictures and do a little addendum to the above thread.
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Old 04-11-20, 09:22 PM
  #8499  
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TXsailor here's a pic I took from the bay of the original white cover for your '87 expert. You had the OEM saddle then Seypat sent you another one. But the vetta suede saddle originally came with a white synthetic cover.
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Old 04-11-20, 10:25 PM
  #8500  
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Originally Posted by texaspandj
TXsailor here's a pic I took from the bay of the original white cover for your '87 expert. You had the OEM saddle then Seypat sent you another one. But the vetta suede saddle originally came with a white synthetic cover.
My wife is a pretty accomplished seamstress. She has done car interiors, boat canvas, doll clothes, kid clothes you name it. She is mostly self taught. I have a small fortune tied up in her sewing stuff. That's why she doesn't mind when I buy bike parts I think if I could find out what material these covers were made of I could convince her to make some. Right now she is making COVID masks for friends & family that need them. She also has a embroidery machine that she might could put the Centurion on with. It wouldn't be the same as original but I think she could make it look nice. I'm not making promises as she can be a bit stubborn at times but maybe.....
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