Centurion Pro Tour 650b conversion bike check
Sheesh, I can’t believe it’s been over 2 months since my last post! I hope to get back to a regularly scheduled programming because fun bike times have been happening over here, despite it going back and forth from spring to winter at least 3 times since I last wrote.
Without further ado I give you my new all-road bike:
via Dr. Welby (by way of Mike D): “My chrome is shining just like an icicle / I ride around town on my [Centurion] bicycle”
There’s a lot of story behind this bike, but I’ll start with the parts list first:
Centurion Pro Tour 1979 54cm (Suntour dropouts! Direct mount center pulls! Reviewed by Gary Fisher in Bicycling! Sheldon Brown’s favorite production touring bicycle! Basically 0 braze-ons! Chrome!)
Shimano Dura Ace JIS headset
Light Bicycle 650b 28h rim brake hoops (custom / made to order) + CX Laser spokes + 14mm nipples + Bitex rear hub and Shutter Precision front hub
Dia-Compe DC-750 brakes (which work with 700c as well, via Kevin at Pine Cycles) with direct mount backing plates + Kool Stop carbon brake pads
Panaracer Gravel King slick 38mm
Nitto Albastache bars (Path Less pedaled Russ’s old bars)
Cane Creek SCR-5 brake levers (which was included in the box for free via a purchase I did for some road BB-7’s for my Stooge on Pinkbike)
Nitto Technomic tall boi 50mm
Kalloy Uno seatpost + Brooks C17 carved saddle
Spa Cycles XD-2 Touring Triple 160mm 48/38/28
Shimano XTR 11-32 cassette
Shimano 105 rear derailer (circa 1998)
Microshift “Stubby Skeleton Key” front derailer (ugly but Rivendell approved)
MKS Monarch panda pedals
Suntour clamp-on downtube shifters, Campagnolo #626-a clamp on derailer cable guide, Problem Solvers clamp on housing guides
The primary first thanks here go to Dr. Welby for finding this beausaged beauty at the Reno Bike Project and removing the impossibly stuck seatpost with gallium. It was too small for him so he hit me up to see if I wanted it. Second thanks goes to the mechanic homie Kyle Dalton for cold setting this beauty to 130mm from the original 120mm. I did consider building up a 120mm wheel, either single speed (to run tringle speed) or freewheel, but cooler heads prevailed.
Truth be told I didn’t know about the bike’s pedigree when he reached out, but after some research (of which there is limited info) I started chomping at the bit thinking about replacing The Randy Herse with it. Not that there was anything wrong with the Randy Herse— that was the frameset that made me fall in love with all-road riding, and I learned a lot about building up a rim brake road brake from that build. But after my wife’s city bike got stolen I nudged her to try the Randy Herse as her new city bike, and the idea of having a slightly bigger frame (for a more French fit, especially with 160mm instead of 165mm cranks) was appealing.
I started assembling pieces for the build, not expecting to have it done until the spring. In my head I was thinking that, unlike the Randy Herse and virtually every other bike I own, I didn’t need to privilege silver parts above everything considering the bike is such shiny chrome. So I decided to go the panda route.
Then I started Googling looking for carbon 650b rim brake hoops, which I can tell you do not exist unless you go custom. Fortunately the good people at Light Bicycle took my absurd request and ran with it, taking the RG722 (AR36 650b) hoop and adding rim brake tracks to them. Truly so absurd but I love it so much. The thing is, the direct-to-consumer-from-China carbon hoops were barely any more than some MUSA Velocity hoops, or even the perpetually out of stock Pacenti Brevet hoops. So in the parlance of our times, f*** it we ball.
Learning how and where to attach all of the clamp on attachments was fun, and I am in love with the delicious ratcheting power of these vintage Suntour downtube shifters. It makes shifting feel so good.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the direct mount center pulls stop really well. I’ve heard some folks report flex in the arms when braking but it hasn’t been an issue for me yet. I’ll report back after I do some stupid underbiking on this beaut.
All told I’m excited to be on a frame with slightly stouter tubing than the Randy Herse— at 195 pounds nekkid I’m not sure the 7-5-7 tubes of the Randy Herse are really for me (although it’s perfect for my featherweight wife). This bike feels slightly higher trail than the Randy Herse, especially when I was running it 700c for some rides, but it still has that low trail feeling I’ve come to love. I chucked my Hyacinth rack on it and a Wald 1372 for now, although my Swift Merlin large bag (RIP) actually fits between the rack and the bars, and I love a boxy rando bag. I also got the Tubus mounts already positioned to run low-riders for some touring this summer.
I’ll report back after more miles, but I’m in love with this bike. It’s going to see many miles and create many memories with me over the years.