Okay, so I retired just under a year ago. I still get up relatively early in the morning. I'm an eBay addict. I like lightweight Schwinns alot. I've been wanting an old Schwinn; all the more so after seeing Harvey Sach's recently restored 1938 Paramount. So this morning I get up and check eBay as I usually do. One of my canned searches is "Schwinn Paramount," and what does it bring up this morning but a 1938 Schwinn Superior because the seller included the keyword Paramount in the title. Well that gets my attention. So I take a look at it. It was listed late last night with a $399 "Buy-it-now" price and free shipping (which is worth about $50, especially from Washington state to Virginia). So that makes the price really only about $350. And it appears to have a lot of original parts, headbadge, and even some of the decals. And it comes with the original factory work order specifying the original color and componentry. I consult the Web and find out that 1938 was the first year for the Superior (along with the Paramount and New World). What am I to do? If I wait more than a few minutes, I'm afraid it will be snapped up by someone else. So I share this breaking news with my wife--about this bike on eBay. She cringes. But she tells me she was planning to get me new rollers for my birthday and that would be similar in price to the bike. So if I want it as a birthday present instead of the rollers, go ahead. So I went ahead and bought it on the spot. What the heck--you only live once. So I have my next bike project.
You can see the bike at:
http://ebay.com/
I would appreciate any comments on the purchase including whether you think I'm crazy or not, your analysis of what I have here, the originality of the bike, what parts should be on the bike that aren't, etc. If you have any parts for sale that I would need to make it more original, I wouldn't mind hearing that either. Looks like I'll be looking for some vintage wooden rims (I just sold the perfect pair a couple of years ago, with hubs). Do you think the hubs shown and described are original? What's with the double rear brake bridge? Is that stem original? I doubt that the bars are. Etc., etc.,....
Thanks for your input.
Pete Rutledge
Woodbridge, VA