Andy_K 

A very promising start! There's just something about a celeste Bianchi, isn't there?

jamesdak 

Hmmm, I guess this one fits this thread too.

1987 Schwinn Paramount that I recently got and have been sorting out. A previous owner had it repainted, converted to Dura Ace 9 speed and added the carbon fork and bars. I threw on a light set of Zen Cyclery handbuilt's a carbon fiber seat post and then one of my preferred Fizik saddles.

An even 19 lbs as pictured below:

jamesdak 

I thought I had shared this one here too but searched the thread with no luck, so.....

1987 Schwinn Circuit. Got it as a frameset and built up with Athena 11 speed. 21 lbs 11 ozs, ready to ride. This has been one of my favorites since getting it going. Schwinn was on their game in the late 80s, for sure!



I've also got an 87 Prologue but right now it's running DT shifters. I've got a Shimano 600 Tricolor just waiting it's turn to go on it.

malcala622

Can never go wrong with Celeste. I was lucky to find a second set of mavic open pros w/ Ultegra hubs under 100 bucks.

jamesdak 

So jealous!

Sirius1

Been coming here for some motivation...need to get back on the bike again. Love to see these old rides so I'll post up mine. 1981 Peugeot PH10 in "Blue". Bought new when i was 15 and stored for many years. I am sooo glad I didn't give in and get rid of it over the years....AND so glad i wasn't swayed by 'it's old steel...don't waste any money on that'.

Original 10 speed with 27" wheels. Made in France. I updated with mixed 8 spd Shimano 2300/Claris/Sora. Tried to keep this lower cost, but PH10 was 'entry racing' so lower-end kit fits. Can confirm that (at least some) early 80s Pugs were in fact Swiss BB. I used a threadless VO BB so needed the square taper crank of the 2300. Yes it is Carbolite 103, but am convinced is/was the same geometry as the upper models, just lower tubing and bigger wheels. No issues with brake reach with the now 700c standard rims, and really seems that 700c is 'right' for this frame. Did replace the original 27" lugged fork with a genric hi-ten unicrown and threadless Cane Creek headset. IMO there was always a disconnect between the lugless brazed frame the the lugged fork. Think it looks more balanced now. My best at weight is that it dropped from over 28 to just over 24 lbs as it is now. Not a lightweight, but not bad for what it is. Was very happy with how this turned out a few years ago.

Lascauxcaveman 

@Sirius1, welcome to the forums!

That's a pretty spot-on first effort for making an old garage queen into a retro roadie. I'd say you have pretty good instincts. . The Sora/Claris looks like just the right bang for the buck solution to modernizing an old Carbolite frame.

I'd have tried it with the original fork first, carbon fork second, but it looks like a great budget build.

Sirius1

Thanks! I just don't have the time or budget to make this a habit right now. As much fun as that was to do.

Maybe carbon, Ti, or something else for the fork someday. Spend kind of ruled the choices so I decided just to keep it all steel at the time. I wanted to get away from the 27" so could widen my choices for brakes and wheels, and get to the wheel size I think the frame was really designed for.

etrogge

New guy post: Just rebuilt my 1987 Schwinn Paramount with 9 speed Dura Ace
D&D Cycles repaint in Cobalt Blue candy over Silver base coat.
Black decals and repositioned rear brake cable routing.
Not exactly concurs, but it's a sweet bike.
Rebuilt wheels with Sun rims.
American Classic seatpost, Aliante saddle, Nitto stem and bars.
I road it for the first time this morning and I now recall why I like the frame so much: lively but not jarring.

Lascauxcaveman 

Boy, @etrogge, that thing looks wet in the pix and I bet it looks even better in person. That crank looks pretty interesting too, I can't identify it from the little picture.

RiddleOfSteel

Holy crap that paint IS wet! Great blue and great build. Composition is spot on, IMO! The cranks are a mystery to me as well, but they work really well with the overall aesthetic.

You have a Paramount. You are winning.

etrogge

Thanks, it was several years of waiting. The Crank is a Ritchey Octalink compatible compact (50/34) crank. When I originally got it, the silvery finish was rough sanded but anodized aluminum. I hated that, so bought a bunch of sand paper and polish then several hours later it was polished. here's a close-up.

etrogge

Regarding the paint, Rick did a *great* job. Highly recommended. It's House of Kolors paint. I can't tell you how many evenings I spent drooling over all the colors.

WRT rebuilding wheels, I also highly recommend a spoke tensioning gauge - the Park tool worked great.

I've gotten to mostly OK with my aluminum polishing. I polished the seatpost too.

And as I said before, I so really like the ride. Steel is heavier than carbon, but who cares, it rides so nice.

Mr.Toolbox

what kind of handlebar is that?

solidtyres

They were unbranded, but the Soma Noah's Arc is similar.
I like them, comfortable, and the rear sweep allows a shorter reach and a low bar.

Mr.Toolbox

thanks! I'm going to order them.

Caliwild

Oh man, that is a gorgeous bike... Custom wheelset? Very nice...

PhilPub

Thanks! Yeah, Ambrosio Excellight rims on Novatec hubs, and I swapped out the skewers for some old-school style Campag. They were built by Harry Rowland, a well respected UK wheel builder.
Back in the day, he was based with Ron Cooper in his workshop, so I was pleased to see he was still operating when I came to revamping the Ron as a neo-retro build a few years ago. (It's 30 years old next month.)

The front wheel is currently fitted to a Giant Defy, because my girlfriend discovered a flat just as she was leaving for work this morning.

ratfink76

@Sirius1 - mine is a 1981 as well but I bought it recently from an older gent who no longer rides. I found that the orange from Jagwire cables was a good match as well as the orange from a vintage Flite saddle. I too replaced the fork but I did so because the stock headset was trashed and I had the 1" threadless carbon fork looking for a home for over 2 years so I stored the stock fork and went for it.

Great job on your build! Here's my before/after:

Chrome Molly

The Appel, not far from the tree...

Cat spokesmodel

Sirius1

Thanks!! *That* is the look I was shooting for, but didn't quite make. You've got exactly what I hoped for. I'm not sure if the mech that installed the headset and fork was afraid about stack height or what, but the steerer ended up shorter than I wanted. I wanted the nice '7' shaped stem you've got there....any idea what that is? That fork is perfect, with the shoulders evoking some of the classic front ones. I may try to flip the stem when I swap some parts around, and see if getting it flat is too low or not.

I think that's actually the PBN10. The '81 brochure shows that with downtube shifts and lugged frame of Carbolite 103. The French brochure does have an '81 PH10, lugless, but with downtube shift, not stem like mine. Mine is lugless like the the US PH12s that followed in '82 as the Centennial model. I don't know why the US PH10 was different than the French, other than that Pug's inconsistency is consistent. Mine is definitely a PH10. I have the glossy sheet I wrote the then pricey $209 amount on. And my sales receipt has PH10 with my SN on it.

Great to see another blue and orange one like mine!!

Andy_K 

I tried to talk myself into selling this frame this week on the premise that it's too small for me. I couldn't do it.

PhilPub

Beautiful bike, but is that stem safe? Looks like there is more of it exposed than there is clamped inside the head tube.

Andy_K 

Yeah, it looks bad but if the minimum insertion marks on Nitto Technomic stems are to be believed this is well within the realm of safety.

PhilPub

Cool. I'm no internet bike-fit nazi ("Slam that stem!") so as long as it's safe and comfortable, it's all good.