1986 Centurion Ironman Dave Scott model
Centurion Ironman
Did we suddenly have more time for sports and leisure in the 1980’s? I don’t remember a huge difference from previous decades, but something must have changed. Mountain biking, wind surfing, roller-blading, racquetball, indoor aerobics and triathlon all seem to have sprung up (from really nowhere) during the decade.
Triathlon, a great sport for people who wanted to avoid spending time with their families, was also a great sport for the bike industry. In the early days, a company like Centurion could easily cater to the budding triathlete. Usually a bike brand would take one of their upper level road bikes, put a saddle on it that had a waterproof cover, maybe change the logo a bit or give it a pastel paint color and call it done.
Triathlon bike.
Little neon triangles. A perfect 1980’s logo
Profile tri-bar
Arm rests for a weary swimmer
Sometimes a triathlon bike came with a couple of features to improve aerodynamics. The ‘86 Bridgestone Mile 112 was the same bike as the 700 only it was pink instead of red and had aero brake levers.
Sometimes a tri bike was merely the model endorsed by a successful pro athlete. In the case of this Centurion we have the Hawaiian Ironman winner Dave Scott signature version.
The Dave Scott signature bike was a good road bike, don’t get me wrong. The Shimano 600EX component group had pieces that worked better than nearly every bike part ever built before them. The wheels were strong and light, the Tange steel frame was durable and precise, there just wasn’t anything super triathlon-y about it.
Shimano 600 EX with Biopace
Early (cheap) Look pedals
Dave Scott signature
Until you added the handlebar. The Profile aero bar added to this bike made it a tri bike. By affording the fatigued triathlete a place to rest their upper body after exiting the water and by reducing the frontal area of the cyclist, these goofy-looking handlebars made this bike fast.
The difference in speed between a standard road bike position and one involving this style of triathlon bar had to be at least 2 miles per hour. Since most triathlons in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s didn’t allow competitors to draft one another, the aerobar position (with the brake levers far away from the hands) posed only minor danger to the athlete.
Racing a bike in a speedo on the other hand…