This Centurion had been hanging on a rack in a Bradenton Florida bike shop for over a year. I had looked at it casually a couple of times during the 1998/99 winter season thinking, that it would be expensive. The next year however, I looked at the price tag and was surprised to see how low it was. This prompted me to look it over carefully. I was impressed by its quality and condition. I learned that it had been traded in by a lady rider. The bike had obviously been well maintained and had been stored properly. I could find no significant wear, corrosion, or damage anywhere. I was surprised when the shop owner cut the price in half after a short conversation. He must have been having a slow week or perhaps his conscience was bothering him concerning my last purchase. I didn't hesitate a moment to close the deal. Sometimes you just get lucky. Here is what Sheldon Brown had to say about the Centurion brand in his page on Japanese bikes:

"Centurion, like Diamondback (formerly "Diamond Back") was a trademark of Western States Imports (W.S.I.). Starting in 1982, they used the Centurion brand for their road bike line, and Diamond Back for their BMX and MTB lines. The Centurion "Comp TA" was a particularly nice sport bike, but they had to abandon this model designation due to a conflict with an automotive tire manufacturer who owned the trademark. They substituted the model name "Dave Scott Ironman", making this possibly the first mass-produced bicycle targeted at the triathlon market. Dave Scott is the winner of 6 Kohna Hawaii Ironman races. In the early '90s, W.S.I. stopped using the Centurion brand name, and applied the Diamondback brand to their road models as well as the BMX/MTB lines."

When I brought the Centurion home, I put it on my work stand and inspected it thoroughly and began recording all the component information. The only thing I found wrong was that the rear wheel needed the spokes tightened and the rim aligned. I noticed that the chain wheels are lableled; "Shimano Biopace, computer designed", but did not realize the significance of this until I was adjusting the front derailier and discovered that the chain wheels are not round. To learn more about the Biopace designNEXT BIKE