# New (to us) Centurion Super LeMans



## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

I picked up this early '80s Centurion Super LeMans yesterday from Craigslist. I paid $90 which was a little more than I wanted to spend, but there are some nice details that I just couldn't pass up. The seller said he bought it new when he was 13 years old in ~1982, and now it will be my 14 y.o. son's first road bike. The seat is off a Schwinn somethingorother and will be replaced soon. There's also some surface corrosion on some accessory parts, but the drivetrain is functional and the bearings/chain/cables/etc. are in ready-to-ride condition. New tires/hoods/tape. 

I tried to do some research but the Sheldon Brown site (and others) didn't reveal anything about a "Super" LeMans. Anyone know much about these? Some things I wonder about:

* Frame: Tange steel. It has some nice hand-painted pinstripes and detailing on the lugs. The seller said it came like this new, but I find that hard to believe for what was apparently a near entry-level shop bike. 

* Suntour drivetrain: The 6-spd. drivetrain is grungy but functional. The bar-end shifters surprised me. Again, the seller said that it came with these stock. I thought most road bikes of this vintage had downtube or stem shifters. 

* Diacompe brakes: The Intarwebs says that the LeMans came with Diacompe centerpulls, but these are Diacompe sidepulls. I am particularly enthralled by the brake levers, which are hollow and have little speed holes in the front. Pretty. 


Whether I paid too much, I don't know. But my son likes it and has already remarked at how much faster it is on asphalt than his MTB. :thumbsup:


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Centurions are great bikes. They are under appreciated in my opinion. 

That frame is beautiful and it probably did come that way.  Some of the 80's Japanese bikes were amazing quality....

I sold a Centurion Dave Scott Ironman and I'm still kicking myself...


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

undies said:


> Whether I paid too much, I don't know. But my son likes it and has already remarked at how much faster it is on asphalt than his MTB. :thumbsup:


Beautiful frame, high-quality tubeset, Barcon shifters which would fetch $30+ on eBay, and is that a chromed fork crown? Plus the brake hoods look new! All for about what it would cost to take the wife out for a semi-fancy meal (she has expensive tastes). I'd say it was $90 well spent!

Very nice,

FBB


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## bwana (Feb 4, 2005)

FBB, maybe you know this. I've got a Centurion Semi Pro with the same top tube striping as on Undies' Super LeMans. Is that painted or a decal? I can't really tell. Oh, and Undie, that is the way that Centurions came. I thought they were the best deal in the shops when I bought mine in 81.


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

bwana said:


> FBB, maybe you know this. I've got a Centurion Semi Pro with the same top tube striping as on Undies' Super LeMans. Is that painted or a decal? I can't really tell.


Sorry! No clue!

- FBB


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## Maybeck (Sep 30, 2004)

"* Frame: Tange steel. It has some nice hand-painted pinstripes and detailing on the lugs. The seller said it came like this new, but I find that hard to believe for what was apparently a near entry-level shop bike. 

* Suntour drivetrain: The 6-spd. drivetrain is grungy but functional. The bar-end shifters surprised me. Again, the seller said that it came with these stock. I thought most road bikes of this vintage had downtube or stem shifters. 

* Diacompe brakes: The Intarwebs says that the LeMans came with Diacompe centerpulls, but these are Diacompe sidepulls. I am particularly enthralled by the brake levers, which are hollow and have little speed holes in the front. Pretty. "


Your bike is very original. I just had one that was in near new condition. Same pin-striping, same barcons and sidepulls. 

It's a bit nicer than entry level with forged dropouts front and rear. The geometry was a bit racy as well, with a short top tube and modest wheelbase. The original saddle is a "Unicanitor" look-a-like covered in reddish-brown naugahyde to match the frame color. Mine had a nice headbadge as well. 

You paid a fair price. I got far more for mine converted to a fixed gear. BTW 700c wheels will fit nicely in that frame.


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

bwana said:


> Is that painted or a decal? I can't really tell.


The striping is pretty obviously hand painted. The stripes are not exactly uniform on each side, and the ends of each stripe show the tell-tale signs of varying pressure on a brush stroke. The fork (which does have a chromed crown BTW) also has similar striping on the legs. 

The geometry is indeed aggressive; we rode around a bit this afternoon and my son has already learned about toe overlap :blush2: I may get some toe clips to help teach him proper foot placement on the pedals; he has picked up some bad habits from the platform pedals on his MTB commuter. And he was complaining about the seat after just a mile; it's one of those awful 1980s dept. store seats consisting of vinyl-covered plastic. Otherwise he seems pretty thrilled to be on a real road bike :thumbsup:


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