At 11:03 AM -0400 8/19/01, STREHL,SCOTT (HP-Roseville,ex1) wrote:
>Hi Sheldon,
>I posted this question to the CR list, and have received a couple of
>responses, but not necessarily consistent ones. I purchased
>Centurion/Cinelli road bike at a garage sale.
>What does this mean? According to Jim Cunningham of CyclArt, it was a
>short-lived joint venture. In any case, the lugs are Cinelli and the forks
>have Columbus stickers on them.
Right. "Centurion" was never a manufacturer, it was a trade name owned by, I believe, Western States Imports. They also used the Diamond Back brand name on BMX and MTBs. Later, they stopped using "Centurion" and used Diamond Back or Diamondback for all of their models.
Most of WSIs bikes were imported from Asia; first Japan, later Taiwan, later still China.
I don't know if Cinelli actually made this frame for them, or if
another Italian builder did them using Cinelli parts.
>
>So, I'm going for a nice-looking rider, not an authentic restoration. It
>has an Ofmega Mistral crank, with pretty worn chainwheels and a Sugino BB
>that is shot. The spindle is marked MW70, measures 115 mm, and the
>drive-side is 3mm longer than the left side.
>So, I'm considering several different alternatives:
>
>1. Keep crank and look for new chainwheels. Is there a suitable Shimano
>UN72 replacement?
>
2. There is a Phil Wood BB on ebay:
http://ebay.com/
3. Do you have any other alternative BBs?
The Ofmega cranks are not very high quality, and require an oddball
spindle. If memory serves, the spindle is skinnier than standard
ones. You might be able to get them to work with a shorter UN72 bb,
but my advice is to ditch them if the rings are worn out. I believe
they require the obsolete 144 mm bolt circle chainrings. These same
cranks were sold under the Avocet name.
>
>4. If chainwheels prove to be too expensive/rare, I'd consider buying a
>Superbe Pro crank from Rivendell. Would the Phil BB work for this, in your
>opinion?
Probably, but we've got some great deals on more modern cranksets
that would shift better, for considerably less money. See:
http://sheldonbrown.com/
All the best,
Sheldon
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com
Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
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