On Aug 9, 2007, at 5:32 AM, Tom Sanders wrote:
> Thanks to a couple of fellow Paramount collectors I have just
> become aware
> that Paramount used their own cranks on their bikes from 1938 up
> through the
> very early 1960s. They look a lot like Chatter Lea cranks to me,
> but do
> have Paramount and Schwinn stamped on them. They also used a
> similar crank
> that did not have the crank as one of the three arms that attached
> directly
> to the chainwheel on lesser models (Such as the Superior), too,
> apparently.
>
> Can anyone fill me in on when they quit using these cranks? Did
> they build
> them in house, or were they built by another manufacturer? Were
> they only
> for single ring cranksets? Were they a copy of the Chatter Lea
> crank as
> they appear to be? Were they available in various lengths upon
> request?
> Might there have been more than one model of cranks on these
> Paramounts, say
> one for touring and another for racing models? Might there be a
> site where
> one could see a photographic time line or selection of models?
> I had naively thought myself fairly knowledgeable about Paramounts
> and I see
> now that there seems to be a wealth of knowledge I had never even been
> exposed to. My guess is that Harvey Sachs might be a rich source
> of info in
> this? Perhaps Tam Pham? Where is Raoul Delmire when we need him?
> As always I will be waiting for you more knowledgeable List Members
> to fill
> in the Grand Canyon size holes in my own knowledge base...and many
> thanks to
> those who for years have been doing this for myself and others.
> Tom Sanders
> Lansing, Mi USA
Tom, if you are looking for info on the internet you might start your search by typing in "Schwinn Paramount" into Google: <http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Schwinn +Paramount&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8> There are lots of web sites with Paramount info.
Or you might try typing in "Schwinn Paramount" into the archive site
of CR list postings:
http://search.bikelist.org/
And I've been selling a reproduction of the very complete 1938(?) Schwinn Paramount Catalog -- 19 pages, Paramount road and track bikes, Superior road and track bikes, plus parts and accessories, color cover for $6.00 for the past 14 or so years on my Velo-Retro website: http://www.velo-retro.com
Hope this helps...
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA USA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)