RiddleOfSteel

Well, lots of life has happened since completing this Paramount with its Dura-Ace. True to (my) form, those components are on a different frame (a ~2006 Orbea Onix) I found locally after relocating to the outer reaches of Portland last year. That left me with a quandary regarding the frameset. Selling it was not desirable, so I hung it on a pair of hooks until inspiration arrived. That inspiration came in the form of a same-sized Cannondale SR, which is actually featured in the background of one of the photos in this thread. A changing from a 110mm stem to 120mm on that plus a decision to not sell (thanks, nearly-dead market for tall bikes!) made the bike a phenomenal rider, husky 36H wheels, aluminum frame and all. Why not simply build it as Schwinn would have back in 1989?

The Cannondale had 7400 on it. Would I change those parts over? Nah, it's already built and tuned--best let that lie. Really though, if we look at Schwinn of this era, Dura-Ace was not shown on Paramounts in the catalog (when a complete bike was shown). 6400 was (eventually). Conveniently, I do quite like 6400, having had a groupset of it a couple of times. They always gave way to other projects or chasing really good deals on newer Dura-Ace (this is the embarrassment of riches that Seattle was/is) for the same bike. No more.

The goal would be to follow in the footsteps of the frameset: get something great for a great deal and match the "use" for a great bang-for-the-buck bike. This was enacted to great effect, and took a bit of work as something like this always does. Dulled and scratched Shimano 600 seatpost? Time to wet sand to 3000, steel wool, and polish. A 130mm Cinelli stem paired with a slightly-narrow Giro bar (40cm instead of 42cm) for $30? The math works...ok, let's go for it. Can't find an appropriate anodized '80s-ish era wheelset with 600 hubs (let alone just the rims) for a decent price? Buy a wheelset (ok, it was attached to a complete bike) and lace it to some squirreled away 6400 hubs using standard 14 gauge spokes (no fancy and pricy butted ones).

The result is a pretty darn true-to-1989 build as I could reasonably and cost-efficiently do. Hubs were Recycled Cycles, as was the headset, brake calipers, shifters, and rear derailleur. Ebay was the front derailleur (had to have that original diagonal-action clamp-on style!). Bike Farm (Portland) the seatpost. Community Cycling Center was the other brake caliper set (mixed and matched the two sets) and the brake levers. And the Vittoria tires (couldn't believe that). Craigslist for everything else (rims, bar, stem) plus the usual consumables from other places as well as whatever parts I had lying around or from other bikes (saddle).

It's been raining pretty continuously this year, with the additional bonus of nighttime temperatures in the low to mid-30s. This morning was dry enough to get eight or so miles after completing the wheel build earlier in the week. After wondering if the bike would look comfortable in its own skin, that fear was quickly assuaged once completed. Same for the performance. I knew the frame from before, but it rode and steered as beautifully before. And being as true to 1989 as reasonably possible, there is a wholeness or integrity to the bike now. A joy and a relief!

Enough talking--let's get to a few photos, with hopefully more (and more scenic) to come.



I even get to use my long-held-for-some-day-in-the-future Paramount bottle cages!


Mt. Hood is stuffing itself into the clouds way over there. Dirt and plant debris don't make for great backdrops to detailed silver componentry... Will try again soon, haha.

Piff 

RiddleOfSteel

Great story and pictures, I love a happy ending

By the way, there's no need to purchase a chunky dslr to take great photos anymore, tons of nice mirrorless lens cameras that can be found for cheap. Much smaller due to their design. Something like the Olympus Pen E-PL5 with the collapsible Zuiko 14-42 lens would be a pocketable and highly versatile setup for a reasonable budget Or something like the Sony rx100 mk3/4/5/ if you wanted something truly miniscule.

georges1

great bike riddle of steel

tkamd73 

Awesome bike, glad to see you finally got one, still have my 91 66cm one. My first build was with all the 1055 components from my Asian PDG Series 5 Paramount which worked out great. However, I thought the frame deserved better, so switched it over to DA 7400. The DA stuff looked much nicer, but braking response and shifting suffered, so will be switching back when I accumulate all the 1055 stuff. Love the final build on yours!
Tim




91 Paramount OS 66cm

RiddleOfSteel

Thanks, guys!
@Piff I will look into that! Would be really nice for scenic rides and trips in general--something much more capable (or less picky about lighting) than an iPhone but not so big that it doesn't fit into a jersey pocket or bag on a bike.

pnwgopher

Nice work on the retro reenvisiong/rebuild. I finally found a set of hidden spring calipers, so mine similarly-themed paramount will live like this for the foreseeable future. Welcome to the 130mm cinelli stem club!

RiddleOfSteel

So gorgeous. That combination of metallic white and polished silver/chrome is something else. I'd love to do a Paramount / (Accushift Plus) Superbe Pro build some day. Did the latter Superbe Pro thing on a Davidson Signature. Maybe someday, on a different frame. For now, this black one and 6400 are perfect. 53/39 in front and 11-28 gearing out back--my preferred "full road" gearing, so all is good there.

mhespenheide 

That looks fantastic! (Not to take anything away from the black and silver Paramount!)

pnwgopher

You may recognize the crankset and FD - i bought them from you a few years ago! Maybe they were the ones that were on your davidson?

RiddleOfSteel

If it was a 175mm length crankset with some failed polishing effort on my part, then I remember having a set and selling it, haha. You made them look amazing!

smd4

All these bikes look amazing!

RiddleOfSteel

Well, it's been a long rainy season that still has a ways to go, and much more life has happened. Very slow market as we all know, and for a while, in an effort to consolidate things (for any of the reasons that we do), I saw if anyone wanted to make their home its new home. I had one major lead from someone out of town that had us reach an impasse, so I took it off market, with the intent of gathering the two final components (crankset, brakeset) for a 7410 groupset or going back to 9000-era Dura-Ace, only with it being Di2 this time. I even contemplated removing all decals except the head badge, that's how much I liked and kinda missed the all gloss black look of the bike.

It took simply putting the 7410 crankset on the otherwise unchanged bike to make me realize that this is/was the groupset that it should have been wearing all along. I could still use the 6400/Matrix Iso CII wheelset as it was 8-speed, but I wanted to use a different wheelset I'd built up to add some gravitas to the overall build. Shimano 105 (5600-era) hubs in black, black DT 14 ga. spokes, standard brass nipples, and black Open Pros. I think it's about a 2000g wheelset, so certainly not light, just down-the-middle reliable and durable, while looking sharp as it rolls along.

I was reminded of this frame's "rider" quality--many areas of touch-up, some wear spots along with brake cable scuff marks. Call it "nice rider" quality. My 6400 groupset was similar. This 7410 groupset is also, on average. The shifters are basically NOS, the brake calipers solidly "rider" or a touch "rough rider" (lol). Purchase prices generally reflect that, so in ways, the ethos of the 6400 build remains. [105 hubs were used and affordable, spokes and nipples are obviously new, and the rims were bought at a good discount new] [Also, I'm justifying Dura-Ace on a Paramount. ROLLING OF THE EYES, BEGIN!]

At the end of the day, I have a beautiful 23.2 lb (10.5 kg) OS Paramount that looks every bit as regal and serious and legitimate as it ought to, and rides the part. No attitude of Columbus, no sinuous liveliness of 531, just all business--efficient business at that--albeit with some slightly crit-biased steering. Built for putting down the miles. My 'base' is pretty non-existent right now, so some endurance and strength back into the legs will help to liven things up, as will warmer weather. I, like many of you, just watched @jjhabbs interview with Richard Schwinn, which was great. Guess I'll keep this gem around a little bit longer.

You'll never know the NDS arm has 7700 decal-mimicking sun fade if I only take photos from the drive side!


If you're wondering why those brake pad holders are missing their set/retainer screw, I don't know what to tell you. Who does that???


Even with a gratuitous indoor photo, this thing looks the business. I'd picked the left shift lever up several years ago, and finally found a NOS-enough right side last year (I think). The crankset was a few days ago, and the 7403 dual pivot calipers (my first set of these, believe it or not). Been wanting some 7403s for a long time, but with 7700 and 7800 calipers throughout those years, I did not want for the prettiest of Shimano's stoppers. And honestly, for as much of an on-the-fence guy I've been with the mixed color/tone/sheen aesthetic of all of 7400 as well as the 7410 crankset (lovely in its own right, but not super matching the rest of the group, IMO, in the past), I finally got over that, knowing the black frame would be the perfect backdrop to let the 7410 group shine, and, man, does it ever. The STI's feel great to hold, and shift beautifully. I promise I will take some outdoor photos (in between the rain)!

pastorbobnlnh 

Riddle, well done!

My '83 Paramount is due for a refresh and is black like yours. I have a set of Roval tubular wheels (black rims and black hub flanges) for the new build, and I've been debating whether to run skin-walls or all black tires. I've been leaning towards all black and ordered a set over the weekend (I already have skin-walls). Now, seeing your OS, I'm waffling!

Now, should I paint the Roval bladed spokes black?

RiddleOfSteel

Thanks!

As far as black or tan wall, I'd try both. I did have some GP4000 S II 28mm tires (measured 29mm on these Open Pros) on these wheels when I was building it up. It looked pretty good, but as often is the case with black rims and black tires (even with machined sidewalls), they can look a bit "heavy" and contribute to a monochromatic look. With the black hubs and traditionally-laced spokes, I wanted to add some brightness and accent to the composition. The frame is a black "core" to which accented color (silver components) is added. The wheelset has a black "core" (hubs and spokes) to which accented color (tan wall tires, machined brake tracks) is added. If I had silver spokes and hubs, the bike would have looked fine, but I really like going in on matching the paint with the rims/wheels. More visually substantive to me.

I do have a few "reference" pics of a former black 66cm Cannondale SR of mine that was essentially the same composition yet with 7400 hubs and silver spokes. The black seat post and stem/HS setups aren't a true apples to apples, but you can see the silver spokes and hubs get along just fine.


This is the Cannondale as I sold it last summer. Great bike. More silver, plus MA40s (36 hole). I think it'd be hard to go wrong with black. Sometimes it is nice to just go with a whole lot of dark to match how serious and capable a bike is.

tkamd73 

I was able to get Marc Muller to sign my 91, OS 66cm frame, after the Waterford last ride this past June. He is on the right, his son is in the middle, and I’m the goof on the left.
Tim

Lamont Cobb

Great score, great build.

JaccoW

Dan, you're still putting out wonderful show-worthy bikes with a twist. Bravo.

Rocket-Sauce 

Beautiful bike Riddle, but you need the gold fork to complete the look!

Massimiliano

Enjoyed this thread. My 89 white pearl Paramount is due for a new bottom bracket and crankset. I will probably try to find another DA 7400 crankset. But what bottom bracket should I put in there? People don't seem to talk much about bottom brackets.

RiddleOfSteel

Thank you! Twist factor is always fun.

Thanks! Too bad mine's an '89 and not an '88. I'd definitely ride it with a gold fork--it's a bike!

RiddleOfSteel

Is the 7400 crankset worn out or broken? Is the bottom bracket similar? If it's a 7400 bottom bracket, and one that's been taken care of throughout the years, it should be just fine with an overhaul. Crankset should be unaffected. If the bottom bracket is toast and you want a simpler setup, there are a number of routes you can go. If you like the q-factor, then you can find a replacement with a matching spindle length. The spendy option is a Phil bottom bracket with JIS taper. Adjustable chain line, but you'll need the cup installation tool as well. In the middle are the Shimano cartridge bottom brackets, from the top BB-UN91 and BB-UN71 to the workhorse BB-UN5x (55, 52, 51, etc). I need to keep my q-factor to 146-147mm, so I try a few spindle lengths before hopefully finding the right length.

This Paramount has a 107mm BB-UN71 that I picked up a few years ago. It's the vintage M.O.: finding various length bottom brackets for crankset type and chain ring count setups. A 105mm unit would be ideal, but 107mm puts me at 148mm and that thus far seems to not bother the knees (will see what longer rides do).

My '82 Trek 720 has a BB-UN55 in 122.5mm, with a 7400 crankset that is "tripleized" (converted to three chain rings via a special middle ring). Q-factor on that is 147mm and that's been a good combination.

The cheapest option will either be used or a Shimano UN300. I have one of those and it works just fine. Sure, it's not glamorous or perhaps "appropriate" for a Dura-Ace crankset, but it should be plenty reliable and, well, people will be looking at the crankset and not the bottom bracket (if they can see it at all).

Massimiliano

^^Great info, very helpful. I will take things apart and have a look at the bearings, races, and crank sockets. The problem I am trying to solve is a clicking noise that comes and goes, drives me nuts. I need my bike to be absolutely silent.

RiddleOfSteel

Yeah, I understand the desire for a silent, tightly-operating bike. I am similar. At least you have a threaded bottom bracket and not the modern press fit stuff that has been so trouble-prone.