merziac

No such thing as too far gone when it comes to Paramount's, just gets more expensive as you noted and this one is far more solid than many.

They hold their own no matter what, whether a racing model or not and is very hard to tell often what the intent was as many were custom ordered and dealer outfitted along the way.

Schwinn would do almost anything the customer asked for so making a blanket statement is folly with these.

A proper restore without breaking the bank will net a wonderful bicycle that represents the best there was to had at the time.

repechage

From the factory this one had centerpull brakes. Note the cable stop orientation.
also had 27” wheels
seatpost and rear mech are replacements.
make sure there is enough seatpost in the frame to be safe.
looks marginal to me.
repaint. Schwinn did have a color like that but a decade earlier.
schwinn flamboyant colors were a tint over silver.
chrome on fork looks marginal - redoing that is cost containable. Not cheap, but possible.
im in the repaint camp.
in Black, with a set of replica graphics.

rear mech could have been a Campagnolo gran turismo!

nesteel 

Order forms from that period show tubular tires being an option, so it could've come with 700c wheels as original equipment.

merziac

Campus Green was listed in the brochure until 74 so like I said this repaint could have been to emulate it.

TT cable camps also are shown in the brochure's 72,73 and 74 with center pulls on the "Professional Road Racing" Paramount's so again, nothing absolute in much of this

.Waterford has good scans.

repechage

I doubt it, normal reach caliper with drop bolt with 700c... I do not see that as a mistake.

merziac

A drop bolt would have been a dealer/customer workaround. Maybe a factory slipup that didn't get built for 700c.

27in were standard so if you ordered one with 700c it should have been built that way.

Schwinn took great pride in giving the customer what they wanted, from start to finish they went out of their way to accommodate and yes including dealer refit per customer want or factory mistake after the fact if the customer was amenable.

If not they would do what they needed to make it right, which I'm sure was a lot often.

Mad Honk 

Hailstorm,
It has been about a week and no postings, so I am thinking you have made some decisions about the bike. Should you choose to go to 27"rims and tires I have a few options for you that would fit into your build specifications and still be close to correct for the ride and "feel" of the bike as original. PM me, MH

merziac

He's probably tired of our wild speculation without offering much actual advice.

merziac

No worries, its what we do, simple or not price of admission.

Hopefully they take you up on your actually helpful offer.

I always hope that at the end of the day, we inspire some do really dig in and embrace the minutiae before they run away screaming.

repechage

The alternative is pays your money (sic) to get a report from Waterford. We're cheaper.

Hailstorm_7

Decisions have been made, yes. Sorry. Got caught up in life and lost track of any additions to the thread.

Updates, then. The bike has been stripped down entirely. Frame has been rubbed with T-cut, scratch remover wax, and cleaner wax - multiple times. Rust spots were treated with a rust remover. Still need to get around to putting clear nail polish on the (former) rust spots.





Cleaning has begun on the parts with the crankset being the first victim. It didn't polish as perfectly as I would have liked. I'm still learning the nuances (and general function) of our compressor-driven polisher.


Large chain ring post-cleaning but unpolished. Small chain ring sanded, Scotchbrite'd, and polished.


And I picked around our parts bins to find a set of Weinmann centerpulls and levers. I have a set of Cane Creek replacement hoods in the order queue - one of the few things not currently backordered.


Guest appearance by the kitty.

While cleaning, I noticed that the front derailleur (on left) had a nice gouge in the outer face. I had an extra lying about that will hopefully provide a close enough replacement (on right).


Notice gouge on the left derailleur. Replacement on the right. Also a Nuevo Record?

The intention is to get a Brooks B17 honey saddle and matching microfiber bar wrap, but both—of course—are currently backordered. Likewise, any good 27" tires (which the rims are) are backordered as well, and QBP has few, if any, high quality tires of that size with gumwalls. Bummer.

So that's where things stand. I'm not trying to rush through this project, especially with everything bike-related so hard to obtain right now. But, hopefully more updates soon.

Hailstorm_7

Nope, she's not that tired of it just yet. Popping another batch of popcorn to watch the show continue as we speak.

Hailstorm_7

Eerily so sometimes. This co-op has been good to me. All three of the following were bikes that came through the shop and ultimately went home with me.


1985 Peugeot PGN-10 with (now) full Shimano 600 tri-color groupset.

1989? Cinelli Mens Sana - Mixed Campagnolo parts, but I'm considering changing over to an 8-speed 600 tri-color groupo.

1996 Sancineto with full Chorus groupset (minus hubs)

Narhay

you may find the little cpsc lip on the front derailleur on the right will touch the crankset. I covet the front derailleurs without on the left for that reason. There were some changes post-CPSC that resulted in millimeter changes.

merziac

Bike Tires Direct has Gators in stock, $34.50 ea w/free ship.

merziac

Excellent!

Very glad to see this moving forward.

TenGrainBread 

Nice job with the cranks.

In my opinion, skip the Brooks honey and microfiber bar tape. I've said this in the forum a couple times now but the Brooks honey color is a total anachronism and ridiculous-looking on an otherwise period-correct-looking machine. The black and darker brown Brooks look more appropriate. And even better would be to find a vintage Brooks in decent shape, which in the 70s and prior were better constructed than the newer Brooks saddles anyway.

The modern Brooks bar tapes are not only silly-looking to my eye on vintage bikes, but are also unreasonably difficult to wrap and often end up with peeling edges due to their overbearing thickness. I would put some gel or cork tape under a layer of cotton and call it a day.

All my opinion of course

Hailstorm_7

Build Update:

The mechanical systems have all been assembled, and we merely await the saddle, bar wrap, and tires. I went loose bearings in the headset, and it swings smooth as silk. Can't wait for the snow to melt and to see how it rides. Thanks again for all your guidance.




Replacement Cane Creek hoods over Weinmann levers.







Serial number 74121

Highlighting some of the removed rust spots.

Hailstorm_7

A quick look back at where it all started. As obtained pre-restoration.

SwimmerMike 

@Hailstorm_7 Great progress it's really cleaning up nice. My only advice is be very careful with the upper limit screw on the FD. With the pre-CPSC cranks and the post CPSC FD there is a high probability of the crank arm hitting the lip on the front of the cage. I have my Colnago set up the same way and I was able to dial in the FD, but it took a lot of patience and the shift from small to big on the chainrings isn't as precise as on me bike with Pre-CPSC FD and cranks.

SurferRosa

I like it. I think I probably would have clear coated this area, though.

Brilliant job on the polishing.

Hailstorm_7

Thankfully, it was clear coated. It may just not show in the picture. Thanks for the compliment!

Hailstorm_7

I haven't noticed the crank arm hitting, but I'll be sure to dial the limit closely. Thanks for the tip!

merziac

@Hailstorm_7

Great job, love it when this happens, especially to a Paramount that has been cast aside, damn cretins.

All Paramount's deserve a new lease IMO, this one even more so, been down the road, paid its dues, lives to tell the tale, etc.

The contrast of the polished parts and the war torn paint is a great story, glad you are keeping it going.

I will all but guarantee that you will love the ride of this they can be magical, again IMO.

merziac

Sorry, my bad.