To provide a bit of background for an upcoming Vintage Bicycle Quarterly feature on a lovely 1972 chrome P-15 Paramount - as part of this issue's theme "American cycling" - I am looking for info about the early days of the Paramounts. Here is what I have so far:
In Le Cycliste 7/1938, I found a letter by an American (from Hastings-on-Hudson), who reports that _finally_ some useful lightweight bicycles have been introduced in the U.S. by Schwinn, called Paramount. He lists a "racing" model (9 kg/20 lbs.) and two touring models - men's and women's frame, the latter a twin-tube mixte. All Paramounts are single-speeds. Cost is 75 dollars.
The letter also mentions three cheaper models from $ 50 to $ 55, but it isn't clear whether these are Paramounts or not.
In the Vintage Bicycle Racing Newsletter 11, an article by John Bernhart states that Paramounts were introduced in 1938, which matches - considering the time to mail a letter and to publish it - the date of the letter above.
Questions:
1. Can anybody corroborate the 1938 date? (The VBRN article doesn't list sources, so it is impossible to evaluate the info.)
2. Has anybody ever seen the pre-war "touring" Paramounts? (The letter says Endrick rims, 32" (mm?) tires, reversible handlebars, large-flange hubs, "Ten-Spot" brakes, rubber pedals, chrome-plated chainguard and fenders). Any survivors? Catalog or other photos?
3. The racing model - I assume that was a track model for the 6-day races (see also Kolin and De la Rosa's history of Paramount in "The Custom Bicycle"). I know very little about road racing in the U.S. in the 1930s. Assuming it existed, did racers use track bikes on the road? Looking at the photos, the 1938 Paramount shown at the Cirque this year certainly seemed to have a rather steep head angle and little fork rake compared to contemporary European road bikes.
Or were there custom-built road racing bikes? (I guess most if not all Paramounts before the war were custom, so you might have been able to order the "racing" model with different geometries depending on the purpose.)
4. Did road racers in the U.S. (again assuming they existed) use brakes?
5. Does anybody have a good photo of that 1938 Paramount from the Cirque? I'd need a profile side shot with an uncluttered background to reproduce well in black and white...
Anyhow, all information would be greatly appreciated.
And if somebody wants to write the definitive history of the Paramounts for VBQ, I'd be very interested in publishing that.
Thank you.
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles
140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com