Hello Gang,
Somewhere on the list it says we should write a short introductory message and post it, well..here goes!
I live in Hacienda Heights California and am a member of Millwright Local 1607 here in Los Angeles; we do commercial mechanical work, Refineries, Power Generation, Water Treatment, Conveyor Systems and the like. After lurking around this site I went to the Velo Retro Sunday ride this month just to see what was going on and check out the people and bicycles, great fun!
So what brings me here?
Back in 1967 I was riding around with friends on my Steyr 20" (lugged frame, wish I still had it!) when a group of roadies cruised by, we gave chase and when noticed by the leaders we were dropped with a few chuckles and a wave as they threw it into warp-speed and left us gasping and winded. The bright colors of the jerseys and glinting spokes left quite an impression on us and a couple of bikes stick in my mind to this day, a white Peugeot, a root beer Raleigh and a blue Paramount. It was a couple of years before I could talk my dad into roadbike for Christmas, a blue Peugeot U-08 that lasted until early-summer when it was stolen from the garage.Damn. By September a new Nishiki Kokasi was the ride until my first French love arrived, a Follis 172. Upgrades abounded.Campagnolo derailers, Suntour bar-ends polished up and fitted with Campy covers (cuffed, I think!) that had a few believing that Campy had ratcheting shifters! Other bikes followed a Folis 472, Peugeot PX-10 and then.well girls and a Kawasaki 500. In 1990 I got into mountain bikes with friends and that lasted until about 1995 when work and other hobbies got in the way. Now work demands desk time and driving around from jobsite to jobsite and eating out for lunch, time to get back into cycling! Broke out the mountain bike and air up the road wheels, just to be passed by all the sweet new roadbikes.sound familiar? So some shopping around at the local bike stores looking at some real nice stuff, but nothing that really tripped my trigger to cut loose with the moola.
Searching eBay for motorcycle parts lead me into the bike section and a terrible thing happened! There in the complete bikes and frames was a blue 1965 Paramount.the bike I never had..but just the frame, no fork. Memories and foolishness took over and I placed a bid, thinking all the while to wait for a complete bike, knowing that finding a correct fork would be nearly impossible not to mention all the components. Buyers remorse sets in and I am panicked, a call to the seller and he agrees to let me see the frame so at least I have a little better idea what needs to be done. Small talk and tape measuring go by and I ask where he got the frame, "It was my dads, he bought it at a police auction in Whittier about 1972". Now what are the chances, how many blue Paramounts were sold in southern California before 1967....and this one was from Whittier right next door to where I grew up, could this be the same bike I saw back when I was a kid?
So here I am looking for some knowledgeable advice with a bare frame in hand, anybody have a correct fork?
Cheers,
Scott Mattern