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Schwinn Paramount : how old ?

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Fabulous original provenance letters.
Thanks, for sharing those.
They are Wastyn built, as we’re all the Paramounts up until the late 1950’s.
Since Schwinn and Wastyn had a well established working relationship, and Schwinn had the state of the art painting facility.
Most if not all of the frames that Wastyn built, were painted at the Schwinn facility.
1937 jives on the all white tall frame bike, with the other two “Window” type headtube lug frames that are in the registry.
All of the early frames were built to order, so, I guess you could say, that up until Schwinn announced their official Paramount/Superior lightweight line in 1938, they all could be considered prototypes.
Note this image from the 1938 introductory catalog, showing the “Window” type headtube lugs.
View attachment 1778718
Shown here on the Sports Tourist model.
I have not actually seen an early Sports Tourist with these type head tube lugs, but we now know, that Wastyn was using them early on. (Pre 1938)
So, I wouldn’t doubt that a early Sports Tourist frame shows up one day, with “Window” cut out head tube lugs.

The other two bikes, smaller mens with red head, and ladies model, are definitely postwar era bikes.
Most likely 1948ish give or take.
To confuse the view further, The Pop Brennen built bikes used the double wrap around head lugs also. Some vendor made those lugs, and it likely was not Wastyn/Schwinn, or Brennen.

Just a guess
John
 
Indeed, those windowed lugs are not just American...as an example, they are also on my Italian-made Brambilla (maybe even a product of a young Sante Pogliaghi) imported by Bob Berghino in NY in the 1930s.

27198072377_61f3c51ce1_c.jpg
 
Indeed, those windowed lugs are not just American...as an example, they are also on my Italian-made Brambilla (maybe even a product of a young Sante Pogliaghi) imported by Bob Berghino in NY in the 1930s.

View attachment 1779076
ccdc.1, Thank you for your photo posting.

I'm sure you already know, but for the others that might be interested, lugs like the above pictured were pressed in the old days out of a right side and a left side in tooling. Then they were welded together into a single lug and hand file finished to clean them up before they were silver soldered, or low temperature brazed into a frame. A pretty labor-intensive item. Lots of Paramount's were built with "welded" Nervex lugs which were at one time state of the art, but very dated by the 1970-80's.

Later on, in the 1970's-80's, lugs were produced by a different method. The process was called "Lost Wax" method. This is the same way a jeweler casts your gold ring. In this method they carve out a wax/low temperature plastic model example of exactly the item they want to cast. Then it's coated with a white fireproof/heat proof "asbestos looking" material. It completely coats the wax model. This female mold is sprayed around the male model and has a small hole at the bottom, and a second hole at the top. They put this into an oven and melt out all of the wax/plastic leaving a cavity of a female mold of the part they want to cast. The molten metal is poured into this mold, and you have an almost perfect cast part come out. Very little cleanup was required after removing the parts from a tree.

It seems like a lot of work to make a head lug, seat lug, or a bottom bracket this way but that's the way it was done in the final decade of the 1980's. Not only the Professional level Paramount's were done this way, but the casting technology was improved and ramped up so that even this lost wax type lug manufacturing was used all the way down to the lower Le Tour models that were being assembled in Greenville, MS.

Someday when this old man figure's this site out and can post photos, I will show you my dog and pony show on investment casting bicycle lugs. I have samples of the wax molds and various finished lugs before they were assembled into a frame.

John
 
Welcome, I like early Paramounts.

The one with the white head tube is a very large frame size. The frames that I mostly see are smaller by today's comparison. The red head framed bike needs to have the stem lowered, you don't want to break off the threaded fork stem with the stem that high. Most of the Paramounts had block chains. I have five Paramount's. Two "very early" track bikes like yours, a 1963 track bike #N27 that I purchased NEW, and rode on Encino, CA, Northbrook, IL (1963 Nationals), and at Kessina, NY (1964 Nationals, 1964 Olympic Trials). I also have a 23" double men's (custom frame) Paramount Tandem which I purchased new in 1971. My favorite is a "never built" Fiftieth Anniversary frame set with the gold plated fork. It's a track bike pursuit bike frame. 700mm carbon fiber sew-up "Paramount" disk rear wheel and a small front wheel size. This frame was made "extra" when Waterford built the frames for the then Schwinn sponsored Wheaties race team.

There's lots of information on the net to help you date your early bikes. The Frame lug shapes, and the way the top of the seat stays are finished off are very important date of manufacture clues. Oscar Wastyn's Chicago bike shop was the Paramount guy in the begining. Eventually Mark Mueller and Richard Schwinn moved everything to the new factory Waterford, Wi, dropping the Schwinn name after 1992.

John
When you do figure out how to post photos Mr. Palmer I would love to see that 50th. anniversary
'Lo-pro' frameset, it sounds wonderful.
 
When you do figure out how to post photos Mr. Palmer I would love to see that 50th. anniversary
'Lo-pro' frameset, it sounds wonderful.
LOL, This week I have been battling Verizon on my lack of internet access. As most companies today they just like to sell more services, not resolve problems with existing ones.

I'll get better at posting my stuff asap. I know the rules, A PICTURE or it didn't happen.

John
 
Schwinn Sales West mentioned the 1963 Nationals so I am posting a picture of the program as well as a Wastyn ad from inside the program. Schwinn Sales West if you do not have the program among your mementoes it would be my pleasure to send it to you, pm me if you wish.
MVC-631F.JPG


MVC-632F.JPG
 
Schwinn Sales West mentioned the 1963 Nationals so I am posting a picture of the program as well as a Wastyn ad from inside the program. Schwinn Sales West if you do not have the program among your mementoes it would be my pleasure to send it to you, pm me if you wish.
View attachment 1781228

View attachment 1781229
I'd kill for that Program! LOL

It's scary to think that was 60 YEARS AGO!

PM me how much, and where to send my money!

John
 
LOL, This week I have been battling Verizon on my lack of internet access. As most companies today they just like to sell more services, not resolve problems with existing ones.

I'll get better at posting my stuff asap. I know the rules, A PICTURE or it didn't happen.

John
It's not a case of not believing you sir.
I'm a genuine lover of machines from that crazy, 'anything goes' period of track racing design.
I have a lo-pro track bike in my collection, and very occasionally (if my back and knees are up to it, lol), I'll take it out for a spin.
 
It's not a case of not believing you sir.
I'm a genuine lover of machines from that crazy, 'anything goes' period of track racing design.
I have a lo-pro track bike in my collection, and very occasionally (if my back and knees are up to it, lol), I'll take it out for a spin.
In the early 1960's there was not many places in the U.S. to buy true racing bicycle gear. Bicycle clothing was the hardest to find. We had a guy in Southern California named John Kucharik that made custom leather racing helmets and shorts/jersey's. We had a shop in Michigan that sold racing stuff by the name of Cyclopedia. But the best source for cycling gear was Holdsworthy in England. We placed our order, they sent us a letter telling us how much to send, we went to the Post Office and bought a money order, and snailed mail it off. Then waited for the postal shipment. The process seems so different 60 years later.

Us old guys just need to keep it in a little larger cog today.

John
 
Mr. John Jensen,

Welcome to the CABE.
This site is a Great place to hang out, share, learn and view awesome photos of all things bicycle.

It’s been decades since we talked so I’m sending you a private message.

Chris.
 
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