orangegreen

im looking to get new rims for this old garage schwinn paramount found brand new; it was just sitting in the garage since it was bought at the store lol. Looks VERY similar to this one that i actually believe its the same year decals and everything.

everything is campagnolo minus the seat.


the original wheels are some Mavic Montlery Championnat du Monde but looking to get some mavic open pros: colors are silver black and grey anodized.

https://www.pricepoint.com/popups/pop...20Zoom%20Image

https://www.totalcycling.com/imagepop...35259.jpg&ct=1
what do you think? keep it silver to look more classic? or maybe the grey anodized would look pretty cool as well, i guess what im looking for are examples if anyone has ever done this with their own schwinn paramount/ chrome bike(classic steel bike)
thanks for any opinion is appreciated

oh and gum wall tires? straight black?

RobbieTunes

I'd probably leave well enough alone, but if you go to clinchers, the Michelin Pro Race 3 Ivory would be very cool.

I don't need to comment on the bike...words aren't really necessary.

pastorbobnlnh 

Stay with silver rims. Especially on a chrome bike.

So the Paramounts pictured above are not the one you found at a yard sale? If this is so, we need pictures of your Paramount!

MikesChevelle

Throw some carbon disc's on, get some ergo's..........................................I know Im crazy

GeraldChan

The brakes on the silver Paramount are Weinman centerpulls. The Paramounts I remember were built with Universal side pulls which were crapastic. Get some long reach Campy Record side pulls and call it a day. BTW a high quality tubular $70-100 are MUCH better than Pro Race 3 clinchers. Just make sure you glue them on well. The Mavic rims are good if not flat spotted but modern silver rims like the Mavic Reflexs are stronger and hold their trueness better.

pastorbobnlnh 

I hate to disagree, but '60s & '70s Paramounts only came equipped from the Chicago factory with either Weinmann centerpulls (although I wouldn't be surprised if DiaComps were used in the late '70s), or Campagnolo Record sidepulls, depending on the year, the model, or by customer request as an upgrade. If you came across a Paramount with Universal brakes, the owner added them. Check this link and scroll down to brake options.

https://www.velobration.com/sldataboo...#1972paramount

gioscinelli 

Pretty bike, especially the Nervex lugs! Mavic SUP Open Pros clinchers are the best all around rims(the side brake wall is machined for smooth brake contact) for vintage classics like your Paramount, is silver. Tires, any Continental road tire would do.

Road Fan

I expect that bike is 5-speed rear, 120 mm frame spacing. Going with a modern WHEEL, you'll have to spread to frame to 130 and have a shifting system that will accommodate 8 or more rear sprockets. I would definitely stay with the vintage hub and freewheel (and tubulars, but this isn't a tubular thread).

If you insist on going away from the tubulars, you can put any 700c RIM (emphasized to emphasize the distinction and difficulty of the fix) you like that has the right spoke count. For robustness I'd look to an offset model like an Aerohead OC. But if you need (I would need!) as-original silver, you might have trouble finding it.

I would REALLY leave well enough alone and at least for a while enjoy the bike as it was meant to be - that's a great vintage experience. I'd also stick with the tan and black original color scheme on the tires - back in the day it wasn't a "color scheme," you could only get tires like that.

retyred

A big +1. We have a saying..... without pics it didn't happen

orangegreen

haha sorry for the late response i have been without internet for awhile.. crazy what that can do to you..

i will get pictures as soooooon as possible.
/

ended up just leaving the bike stock and going to get new road bike that is more practical for commuting.
to clear up some misunderstandings .. this bike was my fathers but he never rode it. just sat in the garage forever so this will probably be a cool project for the fam.
keep it as a museum piece or something unless the price is right
thank you all for your input and advice i am loving this forum so far and looking forward to the future with this bike commmunity

GeraldChan

Thanks for clearing up my misinformation Bob. As soon as I typed my reply I had a nagging doubt.
Thanks also for the link.

Some of my more affluent friends had Paramounts in high school. Most of them upgraded to the Campy sidepulls. Nothing really wrong with the Weinmenn centerpulls except they were a little spongier and harder to modulate than good sidepulls (that would NOT be the Universals).

I am glad to hear the OP decided to keep the tubular rims. IMHO it's not really classic nor vintage if you convert to clinchers.

vinfix

The nice thing about wheels is, it's easy to change them out. Keep the stock ones for show, and get some older 700c wheels with clincher rims so you can ride around.

Pars 

^ Yes. You should be able to pick up a set of 700c Mavic or other good clincher rims on Campy NR/SR hubs for probably less than you would spend on a pair of new rims.

mattface 

I faced the same question myself, and chose to go invest in new tubular tires since the wheels on the bike were "perfectly good". That turned out to be misinformed since the rear cassette body died shortly after necessitating an expensive ebay purchase to stay with the same wheels, then the rim bent. in the end I spent more to keep the old tubular wheels than i would have spent to purchase decent clinchers. To add insult to injury, tubulars are really a PITA to deal with. I've patched and replaced more tubulars on this bike since I've ridden it than all of my other clincher bikes combined. In spite of it all though I'm not sure I'm sorry I stuck with tubulars. I really love how this bike rides and I think a part of it is the tires. If it were my only bike or even my main bike I'd probably switch to clinchers, but I've got others to ride when this one is down, and I like it so much that I also ride it more often than all my other bikes combined, so maybe it IS my main bike. I could always swap the wheels off another bike to ride it with clinchers, but for some reason I never do.

I guess I'm thinking you should try riding it with tubulars if you can, but for every day use, you might want to throw on some clinchers.

Road Fan

There's a very informative thread called "Totally Tubular," which you can access through the Stickies links at the top of this Forum. All the issues with tubulars are thoroghly hashed out.

I'm a major tubular fan, just to say. I've had tubular rims fail early and had them fail later. But all rims eventually fail. How well the wheel is built, the choice of rim, the maintenance fo the spokes and tire pressures, and the care in riding all have a lot to do with how long any tubular rim will last. I have some with maybe 10,000 miles on them. And I have seen new and old wiggles on my clinchers, even on my touring bike. So, YMMV.

The thread also gives a few options for low-cost tubular tires. There are some, notably the Servizio Corse from Yellow Jersey - you get three for $50, and they have butyl tubes that will hold pressure pretty long. Tubular experience for cheap!

I'm not telling you to commute on them, just that they can be tried out for a decently low price.

The thread does not resolve anything. All the major issues in tubulars are not-resolved many times over. But you can get a lot of information. The hard part will be separating the fact from opinion and hearsay.

Or ask me - like the Jerk on Velocipede Salon, I will tell you what you need to know!