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Gold Detail on 1970’s Centurion

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slob

On Training Wheels
Detail on 1970’s Centurion

I restored a very early Centurion bicycle about five years ago. It was in very poor condition and the woman I bought it from (for $50) told me here husband would ride it to work when he was younger, and now being bedridden, he wasn’t going to restore, much less ride it.

I cleaned/polished all aluminum, got new tires, hunted down hub parts, brake pads, cables ( even learned how to make them, including silver soldering) , tires, a rim, and got the frame powdercoated. I found the proper declals. After restoration, it looked pretty good, and our co-op bicycle repair shop in town thought that it was remarkable - most bikes of this age aren’t even restorable, they just get “used up”. I sent photos to the woman I bought it from, she showed them to her husband, and that made them both happy. Of course, this prticular bike’s value vs. what I put into it is probably upside down, but it was a valuable experience anyway.

Recently, I looked again at the original photos I took and a 1972 Centurion catalog I had. It seemed like I had forgotten something; the lugs are outlined in gold in the catalog (but not all of them). These had turned black by the time I got the bike, and I didn’t really notice it. I suppose that they did this to “show off” that it was a lugged, brazed bike and not a welded bike.

So, I got a “gold pen” on Amazon for $5.00 (I bought two) and used it to outline the appropriate lugs. After cutting down the tip on one, I think that i did a credible jjob on this. The paint is oil based and, incredibly, seems to be sticking to the powdercoat very well. This was an inexpensive upgrade to the bicycle. Unfortunately, I am older and have my own medical challenges; it is hard to say if will be riding this bike in this or any future summer :(. But, at least the bike looks good!

Was gold outlining a common practice in the past or was this unique to this bicycle?


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Before...note black outlining.





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More outlining.

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Outlining the lugs was a fairly common thing back in the day and usually done on the more expensive models. It sure does make them look more expensive.
 
Wow! Nice job! The company that originally sold these bikes was an importer of goods from Japan on the west coast of the US. They got a request from Raleigh to provide 2000 Gran Prix models and sourced these from Japan. Before Raleigh US accepted delivery Raleigh UK found out about the Raleigh badged Japanese bikes and put a stop to the deal, leaving the importer stuck with the shipment. The bikes were rebadged as the Centurions Le Mans and the new make was born. I’ve heard that early bikes actually had Raleigh labels under the Centurion labels and that the head badge rivet holes match the spacing of the original Raleigh piece.

Your serial number should have an M in the first three digits, that denotes a bike made by Matsush*ta, better known by their commercial products name, Panasonic.

Now I need to buy a gold pen!

Mine says hello...
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