awrycycle

edited to include seller pics

pastorbobnlnh 

Beautiful! Great find!

Pictures do tell a story, but not the complete story. Please share more about this rare bike and how it came into your possession.

Have you looked for an old-style Chicago era serial number on the left rear dropout? It might or might not be there buried in the paint. I believe the number stamped in the BB shell is the size of your frame in mm. The serial number on my '83 Standard is very faint. A light smear of polish helps it to be visible. My BB stamping is "600" and it is a 60cm frame.

albrt 

Lovely bike, and looks similar to my 1983 Paramount in many ways. I look forward to hearing more about it. Mine is number D8305.



The chrome fork and stays on mine were originally painted - the paint didn't adhere too well to chrome, so I removed the paint.

awrycycle

sorry to disappoint on historical details. only known origins, prior to discovery and listing, a storage locker in/around rockford, illinois.

shipment expectations were.. nerve-wracking, but actually turned out smooth. two boxes!

while not exactly mint, it does appear fairly low-mileage. in terms of components, it feels to have remained fully intact, despite a few odd choices, up to and throughout its hibernation.

I had read about the serial number location, and suspected something could be hidden down there, but didn’t have the time to examine closely. will definitely try to decipher when back in town.

got a 7 speed suntour to swap over, but still undecided on the rest of drivetrain. very eclectic mix, but maybe overly so. leaning away from the avocets, in particular.

to top it all off, the 21” tt & 20” ctt is just right on the money for me.

pastorbobnlnh 

albrt I didn't realize our Waterfords were just a month apart. While in the picture my serial number looks to begin with "F," it is actually an "E." It is also interesting to contrast the finish differences between your Elite and awrycycle 's Elite. His paint and chrome match very closely to my Standard, where as your Elite has those lovely full chrome seat stays, the non-drive-side chrome stay, and the head lugs.

awrycycle

by the way, there’s currently a listing up with plenty of pics for another elite.

albrt 

Mine is painted and decaled almost exactly like the test bike loaned to Bicycling magazine for the June 1983 article, except that for whatever reason most of the chrome was painted over at the factory. Original owner was a Schwinn dealer, so maybe he got a deal on sample or an order cancellation.

trainman999

This one is not an Elite it is a standard ( Rainbow decals ,no headbadge) kinda pricey

trainman999

awrycycle
Is this the Paramount sold on E Bay a month or so ago?
link to the Elite pages of Paramount cataloug
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...1982_pb01.html

awrycycle

trainman999
‘tis. that’s interesting, I wasn’t aware of a touring model, nor a standard.

my geometry and rear cluster point to the road model, so the touring crankset and deore feel slightly more out of place.

Lamont Cobb

Beautiful in so many ways, great score.

albrt 

The early 1980s Elites were all custom - frame designed for the buyer and then you could get whatever components you wanted.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...paramount.html

Mine is also a sport-touring hybrid.

awrycycle

pastorbobnlnh 

Is the SN "F82**"?

The seller was certainly careful not to show the rusty chrome on the drive-side chain-stay. Did he/she mention it in the description?

awrycycle

to be fair, the rust was more apparent in the seller’s pics before they were shrunken.

‘426’ as the last 3 digits is all I can actually confirm.

E, F, B; I couldn’t tell ya.

trainman999

That would make it an 1984

albrt 

On my bike the paint was chipping off from the chromed parts (which I did not know were chrome). Underneath the paint was a greyish layer sort of like the picture of the rear dropout on yours. The greyish layer turned out to be a gummy substance that I suspect was used as a sort of primer when they painted over the chrome. May be worth scraping off a tiny bit of the greyish stuff to see what is underneath. I mostly used a razor blade with a very light touch.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...der-paint.html

awrycycle

not the best pic, but it looks like polished chrome to me.

awrycycle

welp, gonna have to soak the stem and post.

hopefully evaporust will suffice, as I’ll be filling the tubes with it anyway.