1990 Centurion Lhasa Kathmandu

[KayOs]

I haven't built much on the bike, but since there were a few questions, here's a little thread about it.

Centurion is a brand of Nowack Radsport-Vertrieb, founded in 1976 in Magstadt, Baden-Württemberg, by Wolfgang Renner.

In addition to racing bikes and later BMX bikes, Centurion launched the first mountain bike from a German brand in 1982.

In 1987, the DAV Summit Club set out to cross the Himalayas by mountain bike, from Lhasa to Kathmandu. More than 1,000 km on the gravel of the Friendship Highway, passes over 5,000 m high, daily stages of up to 120 km and 1,400 m elevation gain, and temperatures ranging from -20°C to +30°C certainly demanded a lot from both man and machine.



The bikes used on this tour were later launched on the market as the Centurion Lhasa Kathmandu and were among the most successful mountain bike models of the late 1980s and early 1990s in Germany.

 

[KayOs]

Most of the frames were black/red with white decals. There were also grey/turquoise ones on offer.

I think the paintwork or coating in the colours of traditional Tibetan monk's robes is very nice.
I've only seen that colour on these bikes so far (although namewise it would also suit a GT Karakoram).

I found this bike as an ‘old bicycle’ in the local classifieds and, since the colour is not so common, I snapped it up right away.



The bike was quite dusty, but it didn't look too worn in the pictures.
That impression was confirmed when I picked it up and the previous owner told me the whole story.

His wife had bought the bike new at the time. However, in the second week after the purchase, she had a head-on collision with a car. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured and only the front wheel and the right pedal cage were bent on the bike.
However, this meant that after the repair, the bike ended up in the cellar, where it remained for 34 years.

 

[KayOs]

I put some air into the tires and it rode fine.



Unfortunately, the bike mechanic installed a different front wheel (Miche hub, Grünert rim) at the time, and the original front wheel with the Suntour XC pro hub and IRC X1 tyre probably ended up in the scrap heap.

Fortunately, I still had a front wheel with an XC pro hub, but it was laced to a Mavic 261 instead of a FIR like the rear. But that doesn't really bother me.



I also still had some Continental Cross Kings in a box and the colour of the lettering was a perfect match. I just had to put them on.



I then replaced the front grey Suntour XC ltd. brake with a black XC pro and the old Suntour brake pads with new Swiss Stop ones.

 

[KayOs]

In addition to the obligatory eyelets for bottle holders and front and rear racks, the bike has several other useful features for a touring MTB.



A robust, rigid frame that can handle a fair amount of load and offers a fairly relaxed riding position, the Centurion-typical Futura coating with zinc phosphate primer for rust protection,
a holder for spare spokes on the right chainstay, which also serve as chainstay protection, and a brazed on shark fin.



And then there are small guides for the cable housings near the head tube to prevent chafing.



In addition the WTB grease guard system makes maintenance of the hubs and bottom bracket quite easy and the Ventura air shock absorbing saddle is really comfortable.



Pretty clean seat tube after 35 years....of not use.

And since the single remaining IRC X1 tyre fetched more on eBay than the bike cost, I now have a very affordable candidate for my tours next year, even if it won't take me over the Himalayas.