cqlink 

Greetings all,

Many of the kind folks here helped me identify CyclArt braze-ons (cantilever brake posts) on an old 1975 Paramount frameset I recently purchased. After that, I needed help identifying parts and solutions to problems I ran into along the way. Needless to say, I found everything I needed on this site.

Having said that, I plan to rebuild the bike as close as I can get to original Schwinn specs while trying to reign in cost. Some time ago, I rebuilt a 1973 Super Sport and went WAY over budget because, well, you know. This time around, I thought I'd share progress, cost and mistakes here with those interested. As we all like pictures, I'll add as many as I can.

First, I found a 1975 Paramount frameset with a number of braze-ons by CyclArt. CyclArt repainted the frame, to include the chrome Nervar lugs. I was going to attempt to remove the Flamboyant Red paint from the lugs because I like the chrome lug look but quickly learned the process CyclArt uses to ensure paint sticks to the lugs likely required a fair amount of scuffing to the chrome. As a result, I abandoned this thought and kept the lugs as is. I paid $240 for the frameset as pictured:


The original owner wanted to tour with the bike. Cantilever brakes were used to allow for fender clearance. CyclArt added the brake posts and bosses for two water bottles (as far as I can see). Overall, the paint, after polishing with Meguires 205 Mirror Glaze, held up nicely with the exception of the 1" area clearly visible on the seat tube and a few other nicks. Obviously, the decals were removed. What was likely a Campagnolo headset was replaced with a Shimano headset somewhere along the way or may have been custom ordered when the bike was purchased(?). I didn't know this was an option back in the day. The owner threw in the Shimano XTR brake set. Given time, I may try to find a Campy headset but for now, this one will suffice.

The next thing I did was to find an affordable Campy group set. As the bike was set up for touring, I'm guessing it had triple chain rings. While it wasn't a full groupset, member Brewsmith here provided a partial Campy GS and Nuovo Record (NR) set which included a double chain ring GS crank, arms, Campy side pull brake set (which I could use - but won't because it will look odd with the cantilever brake posts), NR rear derailleur, GS (I think) FD, two Campy GS pedal sets and Campy bolt-on shifters (which I couldn't use because I didn't want to mangle the clamp to remove the shifter stops which are tightly pressed fit into the clamp assembly). These parts were very clean and professionally packed by Brewsmith and shipped to my home for $170. Cudak888 bailed me out on my shifter problem with a trade that will allow me to install stops on the shifters. I won't be able to use the entire Campy badged bracket, however.

Finding decals was easy. I had previously used VeloCals for decal replacement. VeloCals has high quality decals but are somewhat pricey. Years ago, I decided to try a waterslide decal set offered by eBay seller "bicyclebones" I found these decals to be quite qood and his customer service excellent. I was able to work with the seller to purchase a Paramount decal set with the two seat post decals bands for $25. I lucked out with the seat post bands. When I measured spacing for these bands on my '74 Paramount, they neatly addressed the paint loss problem on the seat tube. I used Evapo-Rust to remove the small amount of rust there, cleaned the area up and the picture below tells the story. The rest of the touch up was accomplished by bringing the frame into Hobby Lobby and finding a match to the Flamboyant Red paint. While it's not a perfect match like some of Pete's HyperPerfromace paints, Testors Metallic Red was very close. Most of the nicks were small and I had some practice on other bikes as to how to fill the "hole" with paint to rise to the level of existing paint on the frame. If you try to do this, use a very fine tipped SMALL brush and carefully "flood" the nick with paint. Keep acetone nearby because the paint sets fast on small nicks/ holes. The acetone thins the paint a bit so you can attain a smooth finish (but don't use too much, the paint will run). If you're old, like me, use your best reading glasses or a magnifying glass to ensure you have the touch-up paint level with the rest of the existing paint, otherwise the edge of the "hole/ nick" will stand out (not much but if you're anal about paint finish like I am, it may bug you).

Finally, for this review, I've given up on using a very nice Campy Athena 8-speed wheelset I have on this bike. The previous owner (PO) had the original Campy Record high flange wheel set and was poised to trade me for the new wheelset I have or sell be the Record wheelset for $100 but backed out of the deal after shaking on it. regardless, I have very nice Campy small flange hubs I plan to use to build a wheelset for the bike. If anyone wants to trade a high flange set for my set, LMK. In the interim, I'm looking for a nice Regina Oro 5 or 6-speed freewheel, Campy 27.2mm seatpost and Cinelli bars and stem to collect the rest of the parts I need. Not sure what I'm doing about the brake levers. For those counting, I have $490 into the build which includes the frame, partial groupset, decals and Weinmann rims which are darn close to the originals. As mentioned, I had the small flange bubs and new spokes. I have a nearly new Brooks B17 saddle as well. If I didn't have these parts, I'm guessing I'd have just over $600.00 into it.

So there you have it for now. Here are a few pics of what she looks like so far:







Seatpost decals and paint fix:



CyclArt braze-ons:

xiaoman1 

Nice looking frameset and component choices so far. I like the chrome lugs on my "P's" too but think you made the right choice not to remove the paint and expose the scuffing on the chrome.
The decal workcame out very well...I have always preferred the "bands" on the downtubes over the Olympic Rings but thats a personal choice.
Looking forward to the build pics...what brakes will you use?
Best, Ben

TenGrainBread 

I would say...spectacular job with the paint touch up, polishing, and decals. It looks like a whole new bike!

Getting a fully-built, good-condition 70s Paramount for under $1000 is something to feel good about.

Yes, that Shimano (600?) headset and the XTR brakes are later and not Campy, but I would use them. They are very nice parts and look good (I'm assuming the PO gave you XTR M900 brakes). You could spend a bunch more time and money going all-Campy but IMO all-Campy builds are boring - it's the default choice nowadays for C&V and I feel like there are more unique and interesting choices out there. Plus, a 70s bike with cantilever studs says TA and MAFAC to me, not Campy.

Salamandrine 

Looks like a Paramount to me. I love the decal set from that era. The non standard modifications are all period correct upgrades, and don't ruin the look for me. Bottle cage braze ons will prevent the DT decal from getting mucked up, as they often are on vintage Paramounts. I like chrome lugs, but now that the bike is coming together, I don't really miss them. Regardless, they are gone now for all practical purposes -- unless you're prepared to rechrome and repaint the entire bike.

I think you pretty much have to go with MAFAC cantilever brakes for that bike. Either touring or tandem model. Anything else will ruin the look IMO. It might take some scrounging to get a set at a decent price. Levers could be Mafac, Weinman, Campy, whatever. Those braze on canti posts BTW are almost certainly MAFAC, installed by Cycleart.

cudak888 

Love it - the decals make all the difference. Incidentally, the painted lugs and canti studs complement each other very well. It looks almost as if it were a custom-order Paramount straight from Schwinn.

-Kurt

merziac

@cqlink, Fabulous, love it, well done!

RiddleOfSteel

I'm not saying you're giving me ideas for outfitting my repaired and repainted '74 Paramount (touring), but I am really digging the added canti brake studs. The ease of fender mounting and clearance over, say, newer dual pivot side pulls, is tangible. I look forward to this build!

repechage

Not sure when the red rehab took place but what I would do first is to review the canti post location for fit with the brake set you have and verify wheel size.
could be for x brand of brake for either 700c or 27"... 700c is about 4mm smaller in radius than a 27" rip.

the problem would be braze ons for 27" rim and you have 700c

Fahrenheit531 

Sexy as hell, that red.

cqlink 

The P.O. had the original Campy High Flange wheelset with the original Weinmann 27 1-1/4 rims he was going to sell me until he backed out.

I'm guessing they were on the bike but....

Lol. Hate to have to return the new 27" rims that just arrived.

Having said that, one thing I know, I'm out another $53. The 294mm spokes I used on a previous Campy High Flange wheel build aren't going to work on low flanges. Best price I could find, for those counting, was $53 for a box of 302mm, 2.0 DT Champions.

PilotFishBob 

Looking good! I use bicyclebones too - very good waterslides that grace both my Paramounts. I learned quickly that they need a coat of lacquer over them or they come apart at the lightest touch like tissue paper. But both my P's are all chrome, which has a bearing no doubt.

cqlink 

Updated total for those counting:

$490 + $53 for box of 100 new DT Champion spokes (includes nipples) = $543 plus this ($28):


A new Regina Oro freewheel which I believe Schwinn had on 70's Paramounts just sold for $35 on eBay but I waited on one from a member here who ultimately decided to keep it. Lesson learned here if you find a part you're looking for and it generally fits your budget, grab it!

This Maeda/ Suntour 8-8-8 is new, looks close to the original and saved me a few bucks.

I'm guessing I could have save a few bucks by buying longer nipples for the 294mm spokes. Fitment is close on the new rims but opted for new spokes because the end of the spoke was not flush with the end of the 15mm nipple that came with the 294mm spokes AND a few spoke threads were exposed when I built the rear wheel. This was only my third wheel build. When I reviewed opinions on the net, to me, buying the right size spokes using one of the online spoke calculators seemed like the prudent option. I'd like the better wheel builders here to chime in whether longer nipples would have worked.

To determine spoke length, I used this calculator (has many hubs and rims in the database): https://leonard.io/edd/ and Roger Musson's $9.00 online wheel building book I used for my last wheel build.

Still looking for a 27.2 seatpost, bars/ stem (preferably Cinelli - not sure what size stem/ quill I need - need to measure folk opening), brake levers, cables (black) and bar tape (thinking I'll go with a black cloth tape to keep vintage look and to match the Brooks seat). Undecided about fenders and racks.

Total cost so far = $571 (excluding beer and cigar cost). Cost (as explained to wife), "A few hundred."

repechage

Assuming 36 spoke wheels, the difference between low or high flange lengths is not that great. depends more on:
crossing scheme, 3x or 4x
Rear wheel spacing, 126mm (6 speed) wide rear hubs almost always need a 2mm shorter spoke drive side than off side. for 5 speed, 120mm spacing it is 1.0-1.5 mm different in length.
THE Biggest difference is rim diameter at the spoke seats. If washers are needs (without eyelets) those need to be taken into account. There are various ways to measure the spoke seat rim diameter, threading a pair of spokes in to the end of the threading and measuring with a rule, not a tape measure from 2 places will get you where you need to be. The differences are significant from one rim to another, even of the same brand.

I am of the opinion that the spoke should fill the nipple fully or at least to the cut of the slot (in most nipples) short of that is relying on the brass spoke nipple to carry all the load.
Going beyond is OK but will limit range of adjustment later in the life of the wheel. At the bike shop we used to have a thin wheeled bench grinder to cut back long spokes, a "repair" situation, never on a fresh built wheel... save for Scheeren rims.

masi61

Which 27" rims did you buy? Just curious.





+ 1 on what others have have said about liking that lovely Cycle Art paint color. And the cantilever braze-ons as well. It gives you much better clearance for bigger tires and for some nice fenders too.





I'm not sure if you are going for period correctness above functionality, but for cantilever brake choices - you could look at Paul branded cantilever brakes for function (Neo Retro comes to mind - these look like Mafac's). I would think you could also spec Suntour XC or XC Pro cantilevers and they might also work pretty well and still stay true to a classic build.





I also would put my own 2 cents worth into saying that while all Campagnolo is a good classic choice, there may be better functioning classic options that will permit the use of a triple crank and long cage rear derailleur for a pure loaded touring bike type build.

Salamandrine 

The old proprietary Cinelli bar size was 26.4 mm. The changed to 26.0 sometime in the 90s.

3TTT was always 26.0 mm.

Either way the quill size should be 22.2, but never hurts to measure.

Retroman69

It’s turning out beautifully!
Can’t wait to see the progress on it.

repechage

3ttt was Almost Always for a 26.0 bar Except... when they came on Raleigh Pros that had a 25.4" British handlebar as assembled.
There are maxims, but no absolutes.

Salamandrine 

There's almost always an exception, isn't there. Thanks for filling that in.

cqlink 

While I'm trying to find bars and a stem, what's the difference between 3TTT and Cinelli? I've been looking and see these brands often in the same conversation.

cqlink 

Cost and problem update:

Caught somewhat of a break when Amazon seller didn't include nipples as described in the listing. Amazon customer service, which I've had good success with, told me to keep the spokes and sent me a refund. Problem was, even though I used the aforementioned spoke calculator, they were too long. I had to grind a bit off the threaded end. Wheel trued fine.

Sub-total: $518

Part additions:
New nipples (box of 100 with two-day delivery): $15
Weinmann 219 alloy rims: $42.00. I went with these primarily because of the frosted silver finish which complemented the crankset nicely. I'll see how they ride before I decide if I need an upgrade.
Kenda K35 tires, tubes and rim strips: $20. While I'm OK with the K35s (I've ran them before), I'm swapping them out with a new set of Pasela Panaracers I've have on another bike.

Sub-total: $595.00

As noted in a few entries above, I traded the Campy shifter bracket with Kurt for the stops needed to secure the shifters purchased from another member here. I needed to do a small bit of grinding on one of the stops to fit the CyclArt posts and everything went together as expected.

I'll post updated pics later today or tomorrow.

Still looking for a Campy seatpost and (preferrably) period correct Cinelli bars and stem, along with brake levers. I'll likely use the Shimano brakes for now until I can find affordable Mafac cantilevers.

bikemig 

They're both fine. I'd lose zero sleep in getting one over the other.

If you want a triple, redclover sells a triplizer for a campy but you'll have to get long cages for that campy gran sport RD.


144 BCD Triplizer, 42 Teeth

https://www.somafab.com/archives/pro...ur-cage-plates

If you don't mind not having a complete campy build, suntour made a better derailleur.

Cool bike, great build.

cqlink 

Updated pics:

Shifters with stops (which, now that I look at pic, I think I have on the wrong side):



Rear wheel build with the 8-8-8 Maeda Perfect freewheel:




Grand Sport pedals and record FD:

merziac

Paramounts typically came with Cinelli and I love em but 3T's are just as cool IMO.

And you are absolutely rocking this build.

xiaoman1 

3T's look great on any ride and the rear cog, wow!
Ben

merziac

Agreed, I have several and think they are da bomb.