# 1971 Schwinn Paramount



## Kactus (Dec 28, 2015)

Here is my '71 Paramount I picked up a few months ago.


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## schwinnbikebobb (Dec 28, 2015)

That is VERY nice!  A striking combination!


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## Dale Alan (Dec 28, 2015)

That is stunning,the hoods and gumwalls really compliment the paint.


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## Eric Amlie (Dec 28, 2015)

Very nice!
I like the red decals on the yellow paint. I think they look much better than the black decals on the same bike.
Is it a 23" frame?


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## stoney (Dec 28, 2015)

Eric Amlie said:


> Very nice!
> I like the red decals on the yellow paint. I think they look much better than the black decals on the same bike.
> Is it a 23" frame?




I ditto those red decals and the yellow paint. They stand out nicely. Very nice bike.


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## Kactus (Jan 21, 2016)

Eric Amlie said:


> Very nice!
> I like the red decals on the yellow paint. I think they look much better than the black decals on the same bike.
> Is it a 23" frame?




Yes.  It is a 23" frame.


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## harpon (Feb 23, 2016)

Brings back memories of when Wayne Stetina came back from the '72 Olympics road race-  He was on a USA team bike that same color and size.  He had a chrome Cinelli before that. The Team Paramounts were blue then in '76, and he came back with one of those We rode on the same Little 500 bike team is how I know.


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## highwheel431 (Feb 24, 2016)

harpon said:


> Brings back memories of when Wayne Stetina came back from the '72 Olympics road race-  He was on a USA team bike that same color and size.  He had a chrome Cinelli before that. The Team Paramounts were blue then in '76, and he came back with one of those We rode on the same Little 500 bike team is how I know.



The Team Paramount's in 1976 where silver mist with special red,white and blue decals.  I had 4 of these issued to me.


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## highwheel431 (Feb 24, 2016)

harpon said:


> Brings back memories of when Wayne Stetina came back from the '72 Olympics road race-  He was on a USA team bike that same color and size.  He had a chrome Cinelli before that. The Team Paramounts were blue then in '76, and he came back with one of those We rode on the same Little 500 bike team is how I know.



I got to thinking about your statement about Wayne's bike being blue.  I worked in Schwinn product engineering and in the research departments in '74-'77.  I now remember that we painted a non-Paramount bike of Wayne's, but Paramount decals were applied as he was being sponsored by Schwinn.  I don't remember if it was for the 76 Olympics or one of the other years.  Perhaps this is the bike you remember.


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## harpon (Feb 27, 2016)

Highwheel- were your 76 Paramounts road bikes?  Wayne might have had his '72 bike repainted and I think he had some dialogue about the bike maybe not being a standard Paramount but specially built.  Gee it's been over 40 years. I don't know if it was repainted, bur he was on a yellow Paramount for several yrears and my understanding was that it was his Olympic bike. We trained a lot together for the bike team and I even roomed with him.

I recall the silver Paramount team track bikes of the mid-70's.  My parents gave me my silver track Paramount for my 21st birthday in 1975- I can't recall if I had any request over color- but always loved the look even if not a Team Paramount.  The rainbow stripes looked good on that color.
The 76 Road Paramounts were powder blue- I recall that from the poster a lot of us had, of the 76 team time trial squad- was it Stetina John Howard, John Allis, Ron Skarin?   I don't think I saw that long, Wayne wasn't in Bloomington after that, and may have had it painted because I recall he had a red Paramount for some time.  Anyway, the poster- one of which Dave Stoller rips from his wall in that movie- all showed powder blue bikes I believe.



My Dad- 91 today- had a black road Paramount after the Italvega he started on from the Bicycle Peddler at 38th and Georgetown Rd in Indianapolis I worked at the summers of 73 and 74.


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## harpon (Feb 27, 2016)

Thinking about this a little more- I'm wondering if I am confused about the team time trial poster- perhaps THAT was 72, because I think there is a German cop in it I now recall.  So if the bikes were blue in '72 then that's the one he had redone yellow.  He and Dale rode for Team Follis a year or two after 72, leaving the Speedway Wheelmen, before Cool Gear Exxon.  (Anybody want to buy a cotton Jersey/) Perhaps the red one was his 76 Road bike. I dunno- you'd have to ask him.  I know he had at least one of them painted.


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## harpon (Feb 27, 2016)

So I looked on the Breaking Away DVD- with 400 x zoom you can just see that the bikes were powder blue in the team time trial at least.

But I was confused about the year- that team is from '72- so I guess he had the blue one painted yellow just like the OP's.  I recall seeing a blue one, and it seemed a little crazy that he re-painted a new team issue bike.  I'm not sure what the red one was several years later- before the Exxon Grafteks.  Anyway, no big deal- just a way to waste some time waiting for the winter to end!

Heres one in that same blue on ebay-http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-SCHWINN-TOURING-PARAMOUNT-OPAQUE-BLUE-25/231836234468?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D35830%26meid%3D31cbb8b47f0347f89edc90f7e3fff54f%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D24%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D281940251497


And so Highwheels- are you Roger Young?


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## highwheel431 (Feb 28, 2016)

Well I believe you are correct the only one who can sort this out today is Wayne.  I know that the Team bikes in 1976 where all silver mist.  The Olympic bikes may have been painted a different color and not decalled as team bikes as not all the riders were sponsored by Schwinn during the year.   My Team bikes were to track bikes, one with Reynolds 753, one road bike and one tandem.  No I'm not Roger Young.


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## Rmuza (Sep 26, 2016)

I have a silver mist color Schwinn track tandem.  It has no serial number.  Can anyone help me date this bike?


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## Metacortex (Sep 26, 2016)

Post pics of the drive side of the bike. Check the underside of both bottom brackets as well as the LH dropout for the serial number. Schwinn also stamped a matching serial number on the fork steerer tube, so check that as well (remove the fork to see it). Post pics of the numbers when you find them.


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## highwheel431 (Sep 26, 2016)

The road tandems had the front drive moved to the left had side in 78 or 79.  I did the vector analysis to show that the forces created with the cross over drive where actually lower then having everything on the right side.  This also opened up the road tandem to have drive crank sets with three sprockets.  Don't know if they followed suite with the track tandems as so few were made.


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## Rmuza (Sep 26, 2016)

Metacortex said:


> Post pics of the drive side of the bike. Check the underside of both bottom brackets as well as the LH dropout for the serial number. Schwinn also stamped a matching serial number on the fork steerer tube, so check that as well (remove the fork to see it). Post pics of the numbers when you find them.


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## Rmuza (Sep 26, 2016)

Really, there is no serial number.


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## Metacortex (Sep 26, 2016)

Rmuza said:


> Really, there is no serial number.




You posted a pic of the RH dropout, if there was a serial no. on the dropout it would be on LH side. The pic you posted of the grass has some blurry tubular thing in front of it.  Check all around the fork steerer, the stamp may be light.



highwheel431 said:


> The road tandems had the front drive moved to the left had side in 78 or 79.




I'm not sure about any track tandems as those were not in the catalogs but Schwinn changed from a single-sided drive TA crankset to a crossover drive Campagnolo crankset in 1977, which also allowed them to go from a double (10-speed) to a triple (15-speed) chainring setup:







> I did the vector analysis to show that the forces created with the cross over drive where actually lower then having everything on the right side.




That is very cool! It makes sense that the forces would be more evenly distributed with a crossover drive.


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## highwheel431 (Sep 27, 2016)

Metacortex thanks for getting the exact year.  I knew it was after I left Schwinn in early 77.


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## Rmuza (Sep 27, 2016)

Here is a closeup of the other side.  Again, no serial number.  Believe me, I checked all around the fork tube; nothing.  That's why I'm looking for help dating the bike.  So I was wondering if it could be an Olympic team bike from 1976, because of the silver mist color.  The campy cranks were made from 1961 till 1968.  Either way, thanks for taking a look and for your reply.


Metacortex said:


> You posted a pic of the RH dropout, if there was a serial no. on the dropout it would be on LH side. The pic you posted of the grass has some blurry tubular thing in front of it.  Check all around the fork steerer, the stamp may be light.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Metacortex (Sep 27, 2016)

Just in case also check the base of the headtube for a serial no. Post more detailed pics of the badge and components. From what I can see of the badge I believe that type was last used in the early to mid '60s. Schwinn introduced the Paramount Tandem with that twin style of middle downtube in 1969 as a production model but so far I think yours dates to the early to mid '60s.


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## PLB737 (Jul 12, 2017)

Guys, did any of the early 1970's Paramounts come from the factory without the "Schwinn" or "Paramount" decals? Thx, Pete


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## Metacortex (Jul 12, 2017)

PLB737 said:


> Guys, did any of the early 1970's Paramounts come from the factory without the "Schwinn" or "Paramount" decals? Thx, Pete



No, but they could easily be removed.


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## PLB737 (Jul 12, 2017)

Thx a lot. I have a 1974 P13, all orig, silver mist, has all decals except for those two. I bought the bike from the orig owner's family, bike was always indoors, no repaint. I guess the owner just removed them. Was it fairly common to see that?


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## Metacortex (Jul 12, 2017)

I wouldn't say common, but an over-zealous polishing or waxing can start to take them off. Once that happens some would just finish the job to make it look clean.


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## PLB737 (Jul 13, 2017)

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it


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## dave429 (Aug 10, 2017)

Kactus said:


> Here is my '71 Paramount I picked up a few months ago.View attachment 604669



Beautiful Bike!


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## Mike Alexander (Feb 4, 2018)

Kactus said:


> Here is my '71 Paramount I picked up a few months ago.View attachment 604669



I was riding with Wayne Stetina in 1974. He had his Munich Paramount painted red for me. I still ride the bike on occasion. It has beautiful hand made lugs and a piano bottom bracket. That should clear that 'what happened to Wayne's '72 Olympic bike.


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