In 1987 Centurion offered a women specific Ironman Expert, this shared the same components as the Mens Expert but had some differences. namely the frame geometry and the 24" wheel on some.
There were two sizes offered by centurion a 46cm and a 48cm frame. the 46cm frame had the iconic 24" front wheel. The 48cm did NOT utilize the 24" wheel but had a standard 700c front wheel. the main differences between the 48cm Womens frame to the Mens 48cm frame was the top tube was shorter and the color availability of what was offered from the womens model to the mens.
To fully understand we need to go back a few years earlier to 1985. Georgena Terry started making frames that were designed for the different geometry of women compared to men. Georgena found that by utilizing a 24" wheel in the front the frame geometry was able to be less radical than trying to use a 700c front wheel on a small frame. she built frames in her shop for awhile and eventually farmed out the frame building to a Japanese bike manufacturer "H Tano Company of Kobe". who also built bikes for Centurion. After a couple years and since the design that Georgena created was unpatentable , When Centurion asked to duplicate the design H Tano was more than happy to comply, (a)
It is essential to note that this is not a Terry edition Ironman, it never existed. the design was utilized from Terry but she had nothing to do with the model , other than the bike using her design. its fair to note that these big bike companies that utilized her design, offering them for a cheaper price than Terry could offer, almost bankrupted Terry. in the late 80's.
1987 Ironman Expert Womens 46cm Frame since it has the 24" Front wheel (Source: unknown)
Specs:
(a)Article(PDF):Georgena Terry's Long-Distance Ride
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