Re: [CR] "new" Paramounts?

(Example: Framebuilders:Dario Pegoretti)

From: <OROBOYZ@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2001 09:54:50 EDT
Subject: Re: [CR] "new" Paramounts?
To: banjers@mac.com, Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Yes, the real New Paramounts are (in my humble opinion) boring, nondescript welded aluminum bikes that in spirit betray the tradition of the Paramount name.

As many of you may know, at this very moment, Schwinn and its companion company, GT, are about to be sold (again) and very possibly bought by a company who will likely sell the bikes in the mass market/big-box, Walmart, ToysR Us or similar. A sad turn for once noble companies...

In any case, I had the opportunity to closely study a few of the Match built Paramounts. The lugs are cool and the odd fastback seat stay treatment reminiscent of Tim Isaac's Trek designs of the early 1980s. He has always favored that fastback style with a very low (too low?) binder bolt position.

The 2 frames I looked at were of mixed quality, at least in light of the state of the art in this era.. The cast lugs were aesthetically attractive and designed for easy assembly. There was no "cleaning up" to speak of, with seams and molding traces still amply evident. The paint was good to OK, with orange peel traces .. In overview, the frames were very "production" and little "hand-made custom". This all makes sense in light of the Paramounts position in the company's product hierarchy, but one would have hoped for more.

It is my understanding that when Schwinn pulled the plug on this project, that spelled the demise of Match. They struggled along put couldn't survive without that ongoing business.

Dale Brown
Greensboro, North Carolina