The 3000 units in 1972 coincides with the Nixon price freeze I mentioned earlier. Schwinn got stuck with a government fixed price on the only domestic bike with a Campagnolo gruppo. Because of the record inflation and downward slide of the dollar imported bikes and the gruppo itself went way up in price. Everyone with any sense ordered a Paramount (I had no sense). Because of the backorders you even had a year to get the money!
Joe B-Z
GNNJ
> Lots of discussion regarding Paramount quality.
> >From personal experience I can pass on the following information.
> When I went to work for Schwinn in 1964, I was actually riding a Masi. Of
> course that changed real fast and I still have a 1965 Paramount track bike
on
> which I just rode 40 miles a week ago.
> I was "import oriented" during my racing career, and I definitely feel
that
> racing oriented LBD determined rider preference. If the LBD happened to be
a
> Schwinn dealer, then there were Paramounts at the races. Back then there
> were not a lot of choices. Cinelli and Masi were not widely available.
> Raleigh, Peugeot, and Frejus and Schwinn were the main nationally
distributed
> brands. In the 50s and 60s, Schwinn's strength was the track bike. The
road
> bike was another story, too flexible and sluggish handling. On the road
it
> didn't match up well against Cinelli, Masi, assorted British bikes, and
later
> Masi.
> By the late 60s and early 70s, they had been sufficiently improved to
compete
> against the top imports, however most Paramounts ended in the hands of
> tourists, or simply casual riders who wanted a top of the line bicycle.
> When the bike boom hit, Schwinn increased production to meet demand -- to
> over 3000 units in 1972 -- but they lost control of the quality. It was a
t
> this time that Schwinn contracted with Don Mainland, a former racer and
> successful tool and die maker in Racine, Wisconsin to build frames.
> Approximately 40% came from Mainland. Someone on the list commented that
the
> chrome plated frames were Mainland frames. I had never heard that, and
since
> serial numbers were put on after the frames were built, there was no way
to
> tell a factory built frame from a Mainland frame.
> By the end of the 70s, the Paramount had been passed by, technologically.
In
> 1979, Paramount production was shut down. The edict was that if Schwinn
> could not build a world class bike, then none would be built until it
could.
> In 1982, a new state of the art Paramount was introduced built at the
> Waterford, Wisconsin facility managed by Marc Muller, a frame builder that
> Schwinn had hired to head up this project.
> To sum up, I would say that Paramounts built in the 72 and 73 were on the
> lower side of the quality scale. I have a 71 and a 77 that are fine.
> As far as ride characteristics go, it depends on which model you have. A
P15
> touring frame would by design provide a comfortable, seemly unresponsive
> ride. A P13 racing frame would provide a more responsive, quicker feel.
> Does a chrome frame handle or ride better than a painted one? I don't
think
> so.
> It was a big commitment for Schwinn to set up the Waterford facility.
> Schwinn never made money on Paramounts, but the Paramount racing heritage
> kept it alive and the Schwinn family never forgot that.
> Dave Staub,
> Orange, Ca