TXsailor

I come from a lifetime of loving and messing with hot rod cars. If it was fast it needed to be faster. If it broke you found a stronger part to fix it with. If it was ugly you did something to make it look cool. If you could cram a bigger motor under the hood you dreamed about doing so. The Ironman is like taking a 69 Roadrunner with a 383 and slipping a Hemi in it. That's why one of mine has Dura-Ace with carbon fiber wheels and both of them are 10 speed. The motor is old and tired but attempts to revive it have been less successful.

texaspandj

TriBiker19 

That would be how I ended up with a '68 F100 pickup in matte black with flames. The paint job was terrible, but it was nicer than aqua green with rust... I miss that truck, but babies take up all the free time.

madpogue 

Hmm. Flames. Yeah, maybe my rattle-can black '85 F250 diesel needs flames.

TriBiker19 

It worked for Rosebud. (She came with the paint job, but I saw pictures of before the guy did it.)

madpogue 

Ooh, and a flareside.... (makes Homer Simpson drool sound).

Bricknose in the background?

VintageTTfan

Well if I look at the issue of "performance" I end up concluding that for my needs all vintage parts and frame are plenty good enough for the kind of riding I do which is riding around town and the occasional twenty miler. If I went 30 or 40 in this kind of San Diego terrain I would still be fine. Shimano and Campy vintage is what I got.....and plenty of quality for my requirements to put it mildly. As you pointed out, Shimano was good back then at all levels and I have 600 tri color on everything and Campy Super Record. so they are way above my skill level. You made a good point that Centurions are affordable and easily enough replaced. That is in their favor because they are also high quality. I admit the higher end makes which I love and have begun to collect are a pain in the ass as far as keeping them in good condition and replacing parts that are rare and expensive. Love of the rare is part of the disease of the collector and I have that disease. I admit it is crazy. It is a lot of fun though hunting for the elusive butterfly.

Appearance does matter to me though because I love the art of the bicycle and that is aesthetics. Some people think that is meaningless or superficial and that is fine. They enjoy what they like and I likewise. I think they lose sight of this tidbit though, which is the fact that Paletti, Colnago, Masi, De Rosa, Somec, 3Rensho, Zunow etc., and yes Centurion (as you know too well) put a huge amount of effort, time, money, and more importantly heart and brilliant design into the aesthetics, art, the way it looks, whatever you want to call it. In the end, I think neither of us is wrong anyway. Looking forward to seeing the pictures of your bikes.

VintageTTfan

That is a nice bike! Beautiful condition. Looks like it was kept in a warehouse. Congrats.

TriBiker19 

Yup, short bed flareside. Next to her is a '92 long bed F150. We used the '92 to pay the mechanic for his work on the '68 before we shipped her to NY.

Not in the picture is the '03 Ranger. We still have it with 96k miles.

ddeand 

I’m one of those who tries to limit my inventory, so I really don’t let myself drift into the true collector mode. But I’m also trying to optimize the quality and fit if my rides. I was able to pick up an Ironman for a tad over a c-note this fall, and I rode it a couple hundred miles, as is, to see if the geometry would work for me - and it really feels great! So . . . my plan is to build it up as my main vintage rider (I also have a CX bike for gravel and general riding) - it will get about 50% of my miles. Because if my age and level of comfort and safety with my bikes, I’ll be removing just about every component on the bike and swapping in a full Dura-Ace 8-speed group with the early shifter brakes. This group will come off of my 1980 Miyata Pro which has been my vintage rider for the past couple years, but which narrowly lost out to the Ironman. While I was OK with the Ironman 105 setup, I feel much safer with the controls at hand. Right now, all the components have been removed from the bike, and I’m trying to find paint to match the colors so I can get the touch-ups done. Then, I’ll reassemble with the D-A pieces. Looking forward to this winter project!

texaspandj

Awesome '86 Class-ic.

texaspandj

U=ddeand;21214226]I’m one of those who tries to limit my inventory, so I really don’t let myself drift into the true collector mode. But I’m also trying to optimize the quality and fit if my rides. I was able to pick up an Ironman for a tad over a c-note this fall, and I rode it a couple hundred miles, as is, to see if the geometry would work for me - and it really feels great! So . . . my plan is to build it up as my main vintage rider (I also have a CX bike for gravel and general riding) - it will get about 50% of my miles. Because if my age and level of comfort and safety with my bikes, I’ll be removing just about every component on the bike and swapping in a full Dura-Ace 8-speed group with the early shifter brakes. This group will come off of my 1980 Miyata Pro which has been my vintage rider for the past couple years, but which narrowly lost out to the Ironman. While I was OK with the Ironman 105 setup, I feel much safer with the controls at hand. Right now, all the components have been removed from the bike, and I’m trying to find paint to match the colors so I can get the touch-ups done. Then, I’ll reassemble with the D-A pieces. Looking forward to this winter project!

[/QUOTE]

So very Cool and congratulations on your acquisition.
You're gonna have fun rebuilding and riding, guaranteed.

texaspandj

Dura ace bb,hs,fd,rd,hubs.
600 crankset, brakeset,aero seatpost.
First generation aerobars, and gripshift.
Oem stem and saddle.

texaspandj

105/oem Rd,fd,hs,bb,hubs, crankset, brakeset, stem.
600 aero seatpost, scott aerobars, 7 speed gripshift turbo sadlle.

texaspandj

Dura ace fd, rd, Crankset.
600 tricolor brakeset, hubs.
Oem hs, stem, saddle.
Shimano aero seatpost, scott aerobars, 8 speed gripshift

texaspandj

Dura ace 7700 bb,fd,rd, crankset, brakeset, brifters.
Oem 600 tricolor hs.
Vetta trishock saddle, Italian stem, 1986 oem seatpost and bars.

TriBiker19 

I've gotta ask--what's an aero seatpost? I've never heard of it.

markwesti

@TriBiker19 , you gotta get one . Notice the flattened out part .

TriBiker19 

I'll look into that! Thanks!

texaspandj

Supposedly Because of narrower top portion it's more "aerodynamic". Also reportedly the less mass at the top allows more air to cool your inner thighs and increase performance. I just think they're C double O L.

TriBiker19 

Those are pretty neat. I had never heard of such a thing.

I'm pretty sure that pure grit is all that's going to get me through my next few races. Because I'm a stubborn gal and I will not DNF.

texaspandj

and might as well look good doing it....and of course an Ironman is the first step.

TriBiker19 

It's the only one to ride in such a race. I mean, why else would it share the name?

Disclaimer: I have no desire to do a full. A half is good for me. I would argue that my lower half is an Ironman, the upper is a novelist who has too much free time.

VintageTTfan

Jesus dude, what are you trying to do? Make us all sick with jealously?!? Ha ha ha.....that thing looks in really good shape....how much does the bike weigh as it is a carbon?

texaspandj

After posting the pics of the bikes I own which of course are all Ironman. I realized I missed a lot of details... actually intentionally. Like type of chain, wrap, chainring size, freewheel or cassette.
But the one thing I want to add is: the '86 is pre expert/master, the '87 is my only Expert, the '88 is neither expert nor master but rather Carbon. And finally the '89 is my only Master.
So basically I have one of each ever offered by Centurion. And more than that I think I have my favorite color scheme from each year that I prefer including the Rare Carbon and Summertime Blues color schemes.
All that I have left to complete the straight is an '85 OG preferably (maybe only) in the silver.
Later Ironkids.