Zinn Z Centaur

[Giom6]

Just had a look at the images, it looks very nice.

Its nice that you still have the Campag cranks, mechs and are they the original cantilevers? I think the original spec was the Icarus groupset if I remember rightly.

Very cool

I actually had the same Manitou forks on my original Zinn so it must have been a good choice Ate they still going strong?

Like yourself, I never saw another Zinn until I joined the site, so it's lovely to see more of them appearing on the forum...

 

[CHIZEL010]

My Zinn Z Centaur Spec List

Original Bits.
Zinn frame and stem.

Campagnola Icarus.
Cantilever Brakes.
Brake levers.
Cranks.
Front and rear derailleur.
Front skewer.
Bottom bracket.
Seatpost.
Pedals.

Upgrades.

Hope titanium front hub.
Shimano Deore XT rear hub.
Fir EA10 190 rims.
X Lite rear skewer
Manitou 2 suspension forks
ITE aluminium handlebars
Mongo Headset
X Lite bar ends
Shimano XT rear cassette
Shimano XT front rings
Gripshift SRT500R
Vetta SL saddle
Panaracer Smoke Lites.

I did have the Time version of clipless pedals that John Tomac used to wear, but these have sadly gone along with the rather bizarre looking shoes.

I know that the Campagnola/Shimano mix seems strange and I was sneered at by a lot of bike mechanics saying it will never work at the time, but as I am an engineer, I did some alterations and it worked a treat and still does till this day. It never let me down once. Also the Gripshift is probably a sore point, but again it works brilliantly and again never let me down.

All opinions on the gear would be welcome. Good or bad.

 

[CHIZEL010]

Just had a look at the images, it looks very nice.

Its nice that you still have the Campag cranks, mechs and are they the original cantilevers? I think the original spec was the Icarus groupset if I remember rightly.

Very cool

I actually had the same Manitou forks on my original Zinn so it must have been a good choice Ate they still going strong?

Like yourself, I never saw another Zinn until I joined the site, so it's lovely to see more of them appearing on the forum...

The cantilevers are the original. They were always amazing looking, and work brilliantly. The forks are just about to get some new Elastomers but other than that they are in perfect condition. It was the Icarus groupset, but I think it shared a lot of its bits with the Record OR, if I remember correctly.

 

[NeilM]

GRIP SHIFT...YYYYAAHHHH.

I have gripshift on all my bikes, and have done since the mid 90's. There are a lot of nay sayers on this site, but like you, I have always found them to work well.

Off to find the galley for a little bike porn perv

EDIT: It looks great.

 

[poweredbypies]

Should we start a register for the frame numbers? How many zinns do we have on here now? When mines finished I shall take it for some piccys outside its birthplace as its just down the road from me.

 

[CHIZEL010]

Oh yes I also have the original Zinn Cycling Jersey in Red & White, which I bought when I got the bike. It still fits, but it is a little bit tighter than back then, luckily it is stretch material.

 

[Giom6]

Oh yes I also have the original Zinn Cycling Jersey in Red & White, which I bought when I got the bike. It still fits, but it is a little bit tighter than back then, luckily it is stretch material.

I would love to see that...the shirt and not neccessarily with somebody wearing it!!

 

[Giom6]

Great spec too buy the way.

I'm a bit of a purest when it comes to my builds now but if it works for you then it works for me These bikes were all about customisation (in my opinion as mine had a lot of Record OR parts on it when it was new) and over time things are bound to wear out.

When I sold my last one I had the mix and match of Shimano parts and it all worked fine. I even had some Panaracer butterscotch tyres - which actually looked alright

 

[CHIZEL010]

Great spec too buy the way.

I'm a bit of a purest when it comes to my builds now but if it works for you then it works for me These bikes were all about customisation (in my opinion as mine had a lot of Record OR parts on it when it was new) and over time things are bound to wear out.

When I sold my last one I had the mix and match of Shimano parts and it all worked fine. I even had some Panaracer butterscotch tyres - which actually looked alright

The trouble with the Campagnola stuff, as great as it is, it was never the easiest of stuff to get hold of locally, back then. Unless it was the Road Bike stuff. So when things needed changing, it was what was available to me. No internet back then to buy stuff from, just dodgy adds in the back of Mountain Biking UK etc. It was also always quite heavy stuff, so upgrading to lighter stuff always seemed the best thing to do. Oh yes and the Icarus thumb shifters were not that great.

I remember those tyres well.

I always wanted a DOGS BOLX. It was an awesome bike.

 

[CHIZEL010]

Should we start a register for the frame numbers? How many zinns do we have on here now? When mines finished I shall take it for some piccys outside its birthplace as its just down the road from me.

Do you know if the serial number gives you the date in it