I am a starry eyed Schwinn lover, so its with some regret that I pass on this information.
My first big bike purchase was made in 1979, when I bought a Paramount P-13. I raced the bike for four years (even though Paramounts were out of style by that time) and have ridden it thousands of miles. However, I have not ridden it in the last two years because a crack appeared in the lower head lug after some rough stuff riding I did back in 2001.
I agonized for quite some time about whether to fix or retire the frame. I finally decided to send it to Chris Kvale, who has been doing great frame work for more than 25 years. He told me that fixing the frame would be no problem.
Chris called me this morning to report on the frame repair. He told me the lug cracked because the brazing material had not penetrated into the lug it only was on the edges. He told me that the lower part of the lug was almost completely dry.
I once thought that the old ladies brazed all Paramounts, but I know now that they were no longer brazing Paramounts in 1979. Schwinn apparently had been farming out varied and unknown amounts of its Paramount work from the "bike boom" on. I wasnt aware until now that the contractors Schwinn dug up were doing shoddy work on Schwinns top of the line bike.
I would be interested in hearing whether other Paramount owners have had similar experiences. As a mechanic and salesman for a Schwinn dealer from 1980-1985, I was aware that that quality of product Schwinn received from its Japanese manufacturing partners was substantially higher than the U.S. made product, but I had always assumed that the Paramounts were something different and special.
Still, I am looking forward to riding my Paramount/Kvale next spring. At the very least, Paramounts always look good and mine will have at least one well-built joint.
Mike Hagburg
Bismarck, ND