You see, back in the day, I scraped and saved to buy a glorious Centurion Ironman Master at age 15, way way back in 1986 (think Flock of Seagulls). Against the advice of my parents, I spent around $600 on it, which took approximately 3 years to earn. Fortunately, biking proved to be a lifelong love of mine. I'm currently up to 12 bikes of various types. One of them (the old Raleigh) doesn't work because the technology is so ancient and proprietary I can't be bothered to fix it just now. Despite the many options, I always pined after the original Centurion.
Don't get me wrong...I still have that bike. And it's still in excellent condition. I found myself afraid to ride it, for fear of a crazed motorist running it over. Plus vast strides have been made in bike technology in the intervening 22 years - mostly in braking and the drivetrain.
So, early this year I set about on a mission. Buy the exact same bike, and build it up with modern components. My Flickr account photojournals the build, but doesn't tell the tale. Which is what this is. Try to keep up. I found a matching bike (yellow and white Centurion Ironman Master) on eBay, cleverly outbid the competition, and won it! Alas, the downtube was mangled in shipping. Still rideable, but it makes me nervous. So the quest continued.
A few months ago, another yellow-and-white Centurion IronMan appeared on eBay. Frame and fork only, and the seller was in nearby St. Charles. This was fate, and it had to be mine. Happily, through diligence and about 3 hours tensely monitoring the end of the auction, I won! The frame and fork are in perfect condition, not even any rust in the inside of the tubes. I Framesaver'd it to keep it that way right off the bat. I then set about building it up with eBay-acquired SRAM Rival (with Red shifters) components, in the classic polished finish. Modern wheels - but with 32 spokes for that vintage look. Nitto handlebar and stem, also for the old-skool appeal.
It's everything I hoped for. Classic steel ride, modern shifting and brakes! It's a shame lugged steel construction has fallen by the wayside, as it truly has a special ride feel. Aluminum bikes do not compare. I've never ridden a carbon bike, which is supposed to be "close to" the feel of steel, so I can't judge that. For the minimum weight penalty of steel, I'll just stick with the benchmark material, thank you. The weight penalty of my gut far outweighs the frame.
So, click through to Flickr to see the actual photos. No action shots yet, as it's the dead of winter here in St. Louis. It's been out a few times, but not exactly photo-op weather. Also see my post about my pitiful camera.
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