# 1981 0r 1982 Schwinn Superior Gran Sport Orange



## milesmoriarty

How can you tell the difference. Just got it. anybody know?


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## Sven

Dont know if this will help. 




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						1982 Schwinn Superior Preservation
					

1982 Schwinn Superior - Updated April, 2014     1982 Schwinn Superior - Preservation   Recently my friend Dave may have come across the fi...




					johns-recycled-bicycle.blogspot.com
				



Beautiful bike, love the color


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## milesmoriarty

Sven said:


> Dont know if this will help.
> 
> 
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> 
> __
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 1982 Schwinn Superior Preservation
> 
> 
> 1982 Schwinn Superior - Updated April, 2014     1982 Schwinn Superior - Preservation   Recently my friend Dave may have come across the fi...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> johns-recycled-bicycle.blogspot.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Beautiful bike, love the color




Thank you! Did some more digging. It was ridden in the Tour De France!


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## Freqman1

milesmoriarty said:


> Thank you! Did some more digging. It was ridden in the Tour De France!



I’d like to see the documentation for that!


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## milesmoriarty

Formerly of Dunns Bike Shop in Reading, Mass. (now an REI), apparently distributed several custom made schwinns for the U.S. racing team. This is hearsay from a former Schwinn Rep. of that era that now works at Richwagon in Delray Beach, Florida. Going to require much more time


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## bikemonkey

Tour De France Winning Bikes 1986 to present

Found that info looking to see if Schwinn had a Tour de France presence (interesting question). The data starts a few years past OPs '82 beautiful Superior but posted it anyway.


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## Freqman1

Don't get me wrong--nice bike but I just find it hard to believe that bike was raced on the Tour. V/r Shawn


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## milesmoriarty

more digging. this frame was built by Don Maitland


Freqman1 said:


> Don't get me wrong--nice bike but I just find it hard to believe that bike was raced on the Tour. V/r Shawn




Correct. Don Maitland built frames for olympic competitors. This may have been a training bike. Hence the serial number.1982 was a weird year for bikes in general.


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## GTs58

The build date is stamped in the head badge. Bad picture, but I'm seeing the last number as a 2 so 1982.


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## milesmoriarty

that's the one! not many around, from what I gather. it's been hanging in a basement for years. anyone looking for a light restoration project, let me know. I'm a car guy. 
Miles
miles.moriarty@gmail.com


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## bikecrazy

That is one special bike! Great color too.


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## milesmoriarty

thank you! its posted on ebay now. not because I don't love it, I just don't have the expertise in this field. also, major knee problems if I ever wanted to take it for a spin.. that's a real bummer


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## GTs58

You left out the critical information in your listing, like the frame size. Looks like a 19" but I could be wrong.


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## milesmoriarty

GTs58 said:


> You left out the critical information in your listing, like the frame size. Looks like a 19" but I could be wrong.




1302 : headbadge
20412 : serial
I measured 60mm.


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## Freqman1

60 cm? How did you measure? Thanks, Shawn


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## Freqman1

Freqman1 said:


> 60 cm? How did you measure? Thanks, Shawn



Measure from the top of the seat tube to the center of the crank using either cm or inches (or both for your Ebay listing). You can Google "How to measure a road bike frame" as well to see what I'm talking about. V/r Shawn


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## milesmoriarty

Thats what i did Also used the registry to confirm frame size





						Schwinn Paramount Registry Database
					






					www.jaysmarine.com


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## Schwinn499

Mainland...Don Mainland. You can tell the difference by where is says Superior in multiple places. I highly doubt a TdF bike, trainer or not, would have the retail safety stickers on it.


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## milesmoriarty

Thats a valid point. This is why i am still in "training wheels." I guess the next question is, because so few were made between 81-83, using older parts for assembly. Is there a true stock example of a "Superior" from this era?


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## milesmoriarty

Headbadge and serial number correlation. The frame may be older or built for a paramount. Forensic test needed


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## Trainman999

Serial 20412   2-=1982, 04= fourth week , 12=12 th frame that week  Headbadge 1302 assembled 130 day 1982, 10 of may 1982. It was built as a Superior no a leftover Paramount dont think any were leftover Paramounts. They did not use older parts Its the only Schwinn bike that uses Campagnolo Gransport parts It's stock if its all Gransport.  Its a 21" all he bikes built in a specific week seem to be the sams size  they came in 19.21.23, and 25"


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## GTs58

That frame is 19" or 48.26 centimeters judging by the size of the head tube. Schwinn built this frame in four sizes as noted in the catalog scan. 

1302 : headbadge
20412 : serial
I measured 60mm. 

60 MM is 2.36 inches. Approximately 2 inches between the top and down tubes at the head joints would indicate a 19" frame. Measure the frame as Freqman1 described above.


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## milesmoriarty

Amazing stuff! Thank you and im fairly convinced this bike is actually what it was supposed to be. I did find this....not Brooks


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## milesmoriarty

milesmoriarty said:


> Amazing stuff! Thank you and im fairly convinced this bike is actually what it was supposed to be. I did find this....not Brooks
> 
> View attachment 1115283



Japanese Road King Seat. Position of lug nuts and age indicate it wasn't aftermarket. Many Japanese parts. This wasnt spec to advertorial


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## milesmoriarty

GTs58 said:


> That frame is 19" or 48.26 centimeters judging by the size of the head tube. Schwinn built this frame in four sizes as noted in the catalog scan.
> 
> 1302 : headbadge
> 20412 : serial
> I measured 60mm.
> 
> 60 MM is 2.36 inches. Approximately 2 inches between the top and down tubes at the head joints would indicate a 19" frame. Measure the frame as Freqman1 described above.




Measured 21'


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## Tim s

Cool bike, I have always wanted one in the 25 inch frame. Tim


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## Alan Brase

It may seem like a baby Paramount or "spawn of Paramount", what with the fancy lugs and 531 tubes. But with GranSport group and built to a price, it does not have a lot of collector value, I fear. Just use it and enjoy. It's a pretty bike in that color.


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## milesmoriarty

21''


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## juvela

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do fork ends match dropouts?

fork crown below calibre of NERVEX Professional lugset and forged dropouts

it is fashioned of stamped and welded sheet - not a forged crown

fork may be an off-the-shelf item from Tange or similar

Schwinn employed Tange off-the-shelf forks on numerous models...


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## At0m1c

Alan Brase said:


> It may seem like a baby Paramount or "spawn of Paramount", what with the fancy lugs and 531 tubes. But with GranSport group and built to a price, it does not have a lot of collector value, I fear. Just use it and enjoy. It's a pretty bike in that color.



They are actually known as 'baby paramounts' because they were made with leftover tubing and lugs for the paramounts after Schwinn shut down production in Chicago. They were on the verge of or going through bankruptcy and Don Mainland was tasked with finishing up using the remaining supply. The license to use the 'Paramount' name was in the process of being or had already been turned over to a company purchasing the 'Schwinn' name. Schwinn the company, or what was left of it still making bikes, was not allowed to use the 'Paramount' name and decided to sell the bikes under the name 'Superior'. These bikes are worth quite a lot to collectors, considering the limited manufacture time and number, as well as, the fact they were the last of the lightweight Schwinn being made with the 531 Reynolds tubing and the pro cut decorative Nervex lugs. Finding them with original paint and rideable is difficult at best. The serial numbers and head tube badge numbers do not seem to correspond to any date of manufacture time frame. Kurt Kaminer of 'The Headbadge' website for vintage bikes has a little info on these bikes and also has a registration page for Paramounts and the so called 'Baby Paramount' Superiors. He is trying to nail down how many were made or even exist at this time. It has been found that they seem pretty rare to found original and are starting to draw attention from collectors, especially ones with all original paint and components. Richard Schwinn owns Waterford Cycles, a custom cycle building company and has much of the info on Paramounts and can even give provenance reports on many of the old Schwinn lightweights, however, these Superiors were never kept track of to a great degree because of the climate of the company at the time.


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## Oilit

At0m1c said:


> They are actually known as 'baby paramounts' because they were made with leftover tubing and lugs for the paramounts after Schwinn shut down production in Chicago. They were on the verge of or going through bankruptcy and Don Mainland was tasked with finishing up using the remaining supply. The license to use the 'Paramount' name was in the process of being or had already been turned over to a company purchasing the 'Schwinn' name. Schwinn the company, or what was left of it still making bikes, was not allowed to use the 'Paramount' name and decided to sell the bikes under the name 'Superior'. These bikes are worth quite a lot to collectors, considering the limited manufacture time and number, as well as, the fact they were the last of the lightweight Schwinn being made with the 531 Reynolds tubing and the pro cut decorative Nervex lugs. Finding them with original paint and rideable is difficult at best. The serial numbers and head tube badge numbers do not seem to correspond to any date of manufacture time frame. Kurt Kaminer of 'The Headbadge' website for vintage bikes has a little info on these bikes and also has a registration page for Paramounts and the so called 'Baby Paramount' Superiors. He is trying to nail down how many were made or even exist at this time. It has been found that they seem pretty rare to found original and are starting to draw attention from collectors, especially ones with all original paint and components. Richard Schwinn owns Waterford Cycles, a custom cycle building company and has much of the info on Paramounts and can even give provenance reports on many of the old Schwinn lightweights, however, these Superiors were never kept track of to a great degree because of the climate of the company at the time.



Schwinn didn't go bankrupt in 1982. They came close, they closed down production in Chicago and I believe they had to put up the rights to the name as collateral, but they got enough credit to continue in business, which they did for another 10 years. In 1992 Schwinn DID go bankrupt and creditors forced the sale of the company, which included rights to the "Paramount" name, and the former Paramount works became Waterford Precision Cycles.
In this page from their website, it says that Ed Schwinn shut down Paramount  production when he took over Schwinn (1979), until it could be re-tooled and re-launched in 1980. Is that what you're referring to?


			https://waterfordbikes.com/paramounts-in-waterford-1980-1994/


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## juvela

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> do fork ends match dropouts?
> 
> fork crown below calibre of NERVEX Professional lugset and forged dropouts
> 
> it is fashioned of stamped and welded sheet - not a forged crown
> 
> fork may be an off-the-shelf item from Tange or similar
> 
> Schwinn employed Tange off-the-shelf forks on numerous models...
> 
> 
> -----





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Aha!

Oversight on me part.  

Reread specifictions list just now and it clearly states that fork is Tange.  No mention of specific materials used is made.  With that crown it could be as low as Mangaloy.

Still surprising that they chose a welded crown over a forged one for such a nice frame...

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