Where did the time go?

Wow! It's been a month since the inaugural post, and I haven't added a thing. Shame on me! Especially since there have been several noteworthy developments.

First, I defeated the stuck seatpost in the Centurion Ironman. It took several hours of sawing to cut through year's worth of corrosion, but it finally gave in before I did. Here is the result of all that effort:

It's plain to see why no amount of banging, twisting, soaking with FreezeOff, or PB Blaster would loosen its death-grip inside that tube. I fault the previous owner for neglect, but I think the fluted design of the SR post is also to blame: there are lots of channels for moisture to enter into the tube.

The inner surface of the seat tube was so rough I could not fully insert a new post! I devised a make-shift sandpaper holder and sanded off the corrosion, then coated as much of the tube as I could with grease. Now the new seat post can be inserted to the hilt!

I also began systematically treating rust on the outside of the frame. The damage there was mostly cosmetic, but the frame now has glaring bare spots that resemble scars. I spent the better part of a Saturday morning dabbing on rust remover, then rinsing, drying, scrubbing and repeating until some metal was finally revealed. After lunch I went to Lowes and purchased a Dremel attachment, which made some of the clean-up much quicker.


I have been unable to match the fuscia paint, so I'm tempted to just put clear coat over the bare spots and let it display the scars of a hard life.


If ever I acquire another rusty frame like this, I'll bathe it in a mild acid solution to dissolve the corrosion.  Otherwise, it's too time consuming. (Learning things "the hard way" is apparently a genetic predisposition within my family.)

Why am I going to so much trouble for this frame, you ask? The Ironman, at least in my estimation, has unbelievable ride qualities for a Japanese-made bike of this era. It is stiff and efficient, yet at the same time comfortable enough to ride for hours on end. These qualities must be a combination of its basic geometry and high-quality steel tubing. Ironman bikes in my size do not appear on the market that often.

The Ironman series was made from Tange #1 double-butted chromoly (their highest quality tubeset). It is no doubt comparable to top-of-the line tubing from Reynolds and Columbus from the same era.

Since it is such a joy to ride, I want to preserve my red Expert as long as possible, but I also want to enjoy that Ironman ride quality, even in poor weather. So this so-called "Miami Vice" Expert is destined to become my beater bike.

It will also be rebuilt with the original downtube shifters and mid-80s Shimano 105 components. It seems I'm being drawn once again to the simplicity of DT shifters, but that's material for another post.

Keep pedaling!


Horatio