Schwinn Paramount 50th Anniversary w/ DA 740(2)
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Schwinn Paramount 50th Anniversary w/ DA 740(2)
Most recent project bike passed along to a new owner. This frame came along with the '73 that has been discussed a bit here concerning it's Italian-and-stuck BB. I would tell you what I paid for the pair of Paramounts, but it's almost embarrassing. The big ol' mess of parts that this one had were used on other bikes and this one built back up from a bare frame. The majority of these parts came from a wrecked Trek 660 that sat unused for years just holding onto a nearly complete Dura-Ace 7402 group. I needed a new bar/stem/headset/brake levers front end, front rim, and bottom bracket. Everything else was had for the $80 I paid for the Trek.
The frame is Waterford-made and shows it. The lug work is exceptionally clean and crisp. Sorry I don't have any good pics of it, though. The paint is a white pearl that shimmers in sunlight. Very pretty, of course.
There's a whole lot of cleaning and Mother's that went into getting this bike and components to shine. But oh, did Mother's Polish ever take a ratty looking crankset and turn it into a mirror-shined piece of beauty. Plenty of small rust spots and paint flakes that need to be sanded down and clear coated on the frame, but also a few spots of previous touch-up paint that needed to be ignored. The previous owner definitely got some use out of this frame.
If I was keeping it I would want to get the paint re-done and use modern components on it. The 128 mm rear spacing takes a 130 mm rear wheel just fine. And of course it rides beautifully, especially at speed. Turning is exceptionally tight compared to my Trek 730. This one could hold well against the Gios of the same size I have built up. And even 20 years later the components shift great.
Pictures, of course:
The frame is Waterford-made and shows it. The lug work is exceptionally clean and crisp. Sorry I don't have any good pics of it, though. The paint is a white pearl that shimmers in sunlight. Very pretty, of course.
There's a whole lot of cleaning and Mother's that went into getting this bike and components to shine. But oh, did Mother's Polish ever take a ratty looking crankset and turn it into a mirror-shined piece of beauty. Plenty of small rust spots and paint flakes that need to be sanded down and clear coated on the frame, but also a few spots of previous touch-up paint that needed to be ignored. The previous owner definitely got some use out of this frame.
If I was keeping it I would want to get the paint re-done and use modern components on it. The 128 mm rear spacing takes a 130 mm rear wheel just fine. And of course it rides beautifully, especially at speed. Turning is exceptionally tight compared to my Trek 730. This one could hold well against the Gios of the same size I have built up. And even 20 years later the components shift great.
Pictures, of course:
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It's already gone. Aside from my usual riders I don't seem to keep bikes for very long once they're ready to roll, so to avoid any appearance of pushing my own sales, I have ended up posting about my last few bikes after they've left my hands.
The new owner loves it, past a few issues fiddling with the centering of the front brake. I have it pictured with the more-correct 7401 Look-compatible pedals, but I actually had a pair of 7410 SPD-compatible pedals that I ended up selling with the bike. Oh, and those are the probably-later-but-still-cool Paramount bottle cages mounted, too.
The new owner loves it, past a few issues fiddling with the centering of the front brake. I have it pictured with the more-correct 7401 Look-compatible pedals, but I actually had a pair of 7410 SPD-compatible pedals that I ended up selling with the bike. Oh, and those are the probably-later-but-still-cool Paramount bottle cages mounted, too.
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Very nice. I really like my Waterford Paramount from that era.
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I'd save up my pennies for an alloy Athena or Centaur Ergo group if I was going to keep the bike. With the frame wear and paint chips it's definitely a bike that needs to be ridden rather than hang on the wall.
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I saw that on the DC CL, didn't realize you were a local. Very nice bike, nice presentation, pics and ad. No surprise you sold it right away.
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