Schwinn Paramount Series 90 - 1992

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

I just bought some Suntour brake levers from eBay for £7 - £1 more than the bike cost

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

A little progress - looking slightly better. I was going to use STX brake / lever combos, but they turned out to be knackered. Why did I keep them in the spares boxes for years?

I think it looks a lot more 'period' than it did before, more early 90s correct - aside from the wheels.

SP

 

[dirttorpedo]

Re:

That's cleaned up nice.

So my understanding is that Paramount was Schwinn's brand and they created it to give more cachet to their top end bicycles. The factory was in Waterford and it was one of the few assets the Schwinn family retained after the company went belly up. They have kept making quality hand made bikes under the Waterford Precision Bikes brand and for other companies - such as Rivendell.

If I had the space and good fortune I think I'd add a Paramount to my collection.

 

[Splatter Paint]

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Thanks to Rod_Saetan and dirttorpeo, that clears things up. It certainly is well made with beautiful lug work.

 

[Splatter Paint]

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I weighed it today (no chain / brake levers) 24 lbs!!!

That is bloody light for a 21”, £6 bike! That is with wheels salvaged from the tip, not the XTR / XC pro ones it came with too...

The forks came in at 1050g which is ~250g heavier than a Marin Rockstar or Project 2. So not bad, depends how they ride I guess...

SP

 

[kalex]

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What a turn around this is.

So what's the idea with that 1 chainstay tube as it looks all wrong especially with it being the only stay that's bent. I can see from searching thats how they came and the only thing I can think of is to increase chain clearance on the top but I'm only guessing

 

[Splatter Paint]

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Some pieces of the puzzle....

Stem with internal cable routing arrived, allowing me to run cantis. This came freshly blasted in bare metal from a member on here, saving me the trouble of stripping it. Thank you!

Now in the airing cupboard whilst the primer dries....

 

[Splatter Paint]

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...and some tatty, but very very light Suntour brake levers. Nice.

The corresponding brakes themselves are purchased and hopefully in post.

SP

 

[Retro Spud]

What a difference....not many folk would have had enough foresight or vision to see any potential in that

It looks like a different bike

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Cheers!

All I managed this weekend was to **** up the paint on the stem :evil: and un-seize the cable roller for the front derailleur.

I found a NOS Paramount stem on eBay US and confirmed the original forks were 750g feather-light items and are pretty rare - though re-badged Tange Ultra Light items.

Still no donor wheels from the tip, but I got a lawnmower!

SP