cyclotoine

Yeah it looks immaculate. DId you see that brake pad, it looks like new!

txvintage

OK, that was just down right funny.

Man that baby looks like a time capsule, from the minuscule, limited in detail, extreme closeup shot that there is.

Best of all, it's shinny. I like shinny.

cudak888 

Sooner or later, I come up with a good joke amongst the thousands that have failed.

-Kurt

East Hill

Yes, it's still in the bubble wrap, and yes, the bits I can see are indeed immaculate. No cracks in the tyes, the brake pads do indeed look brand new.

The photo of the lugs is how they look straight from opening the box. I have not done a thing to shine them up (yet).

Later today I will finish taking off the bubble wrap, and put it back together .

East Hill

grayloon

So far, it looks in showroom condition.

Lamplight

Wow, amazing bike EH! (with a triple!) Now, just imagine some Honjos on it.

Grand Bois

I'm waiting for a closeup of the RD. First generation Rally?

The first thing I'd do is add a set of early Simplex Retrofriction downtube shifters.

East Hill

Nope, it's about the only thing other than the brakes which is not Campy.

It's a Schwinn LeTour derailleur!

I have gotten every thing out of the box, and put it back together now. I discovered to my great annoyance that I do not seem to have the correct Allen wrench for tightening down the handlebar stem, so I will have to go and get the correct size.

In the meantime, stringbreaker traded me his narrow Brooks Imperial for the gorgeous Brooks Professional which came with the Paramount .

We are both very happy about the deal.

East Hill

maureenkh

[QUOTE=East Hill;7196562]Nope, it's about the only thing other than the brakes which is not Campy.

It's a Schwinn LeTour derailleur!

I have an old bike touring book published in 1974 that discusses derailleurs. It shows a picture of the Shimano "Crane GS" which looks like that "Schwinn approved" Le Tour derailleur. This is what the book has to say about the Shimano Crane GS...

"The Shimano Crane and Crane GS has surprised almost everyone here who has tried it. The thing is extremely lightweight and, with the larger cage, will handle very large alpine freewheels. But most impressive is the smoothness with which it shifts. In the words of one biker on the staff "The things like a Nuovo Record on a racing freewheel and that is on my wide range machine." Considering that most of the bicyclists here have been Campagnolo freaks for a long time, praise for Japanese equipment comes slow and I think should be taken seriously. To a man we love this derailleur.
In fact, the consensus seems to be that the Crane GS is the best touring derailleur around. Now that's a hard thing to say. The Campagnello Gran Turismo has occupied that revered place for some time, but it is simply too heavy for its functions. The GS does what it is supposed to do and with surprisingly little weight."

Two Wheel Travel: Bicycle Camping and Touring, revised and expanded.
Copyright 1974 by Peter W. Tobey

I suspect that Schwinn licensed a "Schwinn approved" version of the Crane GS from Shimano and put it on their touring bikes because it was the best available at the time.

Maureen

cudak888 

Is it an old-style Cinelli stem with a 7mm hex? Those things are nearly impossible to get here in the States - I filed down an 8mm to work on them myself.

-Kurt

East Hill

Interesting. I shall have to take a closer look and do a comparison.

At any rate, here is the Paramount with the Brooks Imperial mounted on it:



East Hill

East Hill

Yes, I do think it is. I have an 8mm which is too large, and a 6 mm which is too small.

Looks as if some filing is in my future!

East Hill

BobHufford

Your suspicions are correct ... (well, best available could be debated I suppose, but they did make arrangements for the "Schwinn Approved" version).

Bob

stringbreaker

As I wrote to EH earlier I mounted the Brooks Professional on the Bianchi as soon as I got home from her house and my wife and I took a little 13 mile ride. The saddle performed as expected a lot better on the backside than the Imperial (too bad I really wanted to love that saddle) anyway the Professional looks like it was never ridden although it has an aged look to it (not a bad thing) and it feels as if it was never ridden. Typical Brooks hard as a rock but my butt didn't rebel at all. This bad boy just needs to be ridden and it will be fine. The sit bones hit almost perfect although I need to move it back about a half inch or so and then ride it for another 13 miles or so just to get a feel for it. When I get the REALLY COOL COPPER RIVITS (sorry) I really like them and when I get them polished up a bit and get some proofide on this bad boy I'll post a couple of shots here. Thanks to Easthill for a great deal for both of us. You meet the nicest people on C+V. Oh and about those Crane derailleurs, I have one on the Volare and one on Mrs. Stringbreakers mixte and they shift like they are indexed instead of friction absolutely postive with every shift up and down the range.

cudak888 

Bingo. Time to buy a nice spare 8mm hex, break out the metal file, and begin carefully sanding the edges...

-Kurt

maureenkh

It looks fantastic, East Hill! Congratulations, again, on getting such a gorgeous bike.
Maureen

Scooper

Fantastic, Margaret! First a Richard Sachs, then a 'like new' seventies Paramount.

If you don't watch out, you'll become an obsessive collector.

Congrats!

stringbreaker

You should see this thing in person it is nearly pristine. You have to look for the few scuffs and stuff and when she gets it shined up and ready to go its gonna be a show stopper. EH you should post a shot of the saddle rail mounting setup on that seat post. Pretty cool they way they did stuff in those days, heck I didn't even know the cool stuff they were doing existed in those days I was too interested in my Mustang and a certain Blonde or was she a brunette or Oh heck it doesn't really matter what does is the fact that none of them turned out to be Mrs. Stringbreaker. Glad of that she's a peach

Xlr8n

Gorgeous bike. Love the color. It looks brand spanking new!
As far as the 7mm hex wrench goes, you should be able to get one at your nearest Sears. I just checked my tool bench and I have a 7mm craftsman wrench in my set. I'll mail it to you if you can't find one! Again, super nice ride there!!!

cudak888 

You've never seen a Nuovo Record seatpost mount? You're missing out - particularly if you've never ridden with one. Allows for the slightest saddle nose height adjustment without being forced into any particular tooth engagement setting between the post and the clamp. A design that most certainly saves one's bacon if they can't find the "sweet spot" with a saddle running a conventional post.

-Kurt

cudak888 

!!!

Do you have a link to that set?

-Kurt

stringbreaker

Nope never zip zilch nada. Like I said I wasn't too interested in bicycles after I got my Mustang and got back into bikes about three years ago so I'm learning a lot in a short time. That seatpost mount is pretty swell for sure

Xlr8n

This isn't the same set as mine, but appears to have a 7mm: https://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B0014...earsBrand=core

Also, you can get a 7mm hex head socket from an auto parts store which is a common sized socket when doing import car brakes.

One of the size ~ 40-something torx bits will work as well. Not sure of the exact number offhand.

bigbossman 

THIS ONE is $14.99

THIS ONE is $11.99

Or, you could just BUY THIS for $2.60

Xlr8n

There you go! Mine's the 11.99 set. I knew they had more than one set listed on their website. Thanks bossman!