When I first saw the Paramount listing, which would have been Fall '62 or Spring '63, I'm 99% certain that the stock crank was the 3-arm steel Stronglight Competition, a very fine forged item (I put it in the same class as the senior Magistroni, etc). The Paramount was $200, and Campy cranks were a $25 option. My memory is that I was making $300/month as a summer intern at the National Bureau of Standards, to give you a sense of how much more a dollar covered back then.
I don't believe that the crank set differentiated between models. I think stock "models" meant road, track, and "lady's." I believe all the variations were essentially options.
harvey sachs mcLean VA
Interesting. ?I don't profess to be a Schwinn Paramount expert, but . . . The 1963 Schwinn catalog shows the Paramount with a steel, cottered crank:http://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1961_1970/1963_03.htmlPerhaps the picture is of a P-11 or P-12 and not a P-13?
The P-13 shows up in the 1964 catalog with an alloy (Campy?) crankset:http://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1961_1970/1964_0203.html Fascinating . . . Steve Whitting
Prairieville, Louisiana USA
Website at http://ciocc-cat.angelfire.com/
From: edvintage63@aol.com <edvintage63@aol.com> Subject: [CR] Paramount History (Ed Granger) To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010, 8:20 PM
I think you've done the relevant research, and now we're into the gray areas in any case. I suspect that Bob's site is correct that the P-13 was introduced in '63, and the distinguishing feature, besides perhaps the chrome lugs, seems to have been the inclusion of the expensive Campagnolo alloy crankset. My tendency is to go with the catalog in this case, unless the catalog has been dated incorrectly - but Bob tends to be pretty on top of this stuff. If the P-13 had been introduced in '64, I would also expect the Paramount picture in the catalog to have the newer "starburst" decal set - but this is hardly a slam-dunk, since catalog photos tend to get reused, sometimes for years. I think the Waterford site is almost certainly incorrect in listing the P-10 as having originated in '59, as this is contradicted by just about everything else I've seen or read, including, obviously, the catalogs from those years. On a '63 P-13, I would also expect to find a Campagnolo Gran Sport front derailleur, Gran Sport rear derailleur, Campagnolo shifters (possibly "open-C"), Campagnolo headset. Titan bar and stem, Campagnolo large flange hubs, and Weinmann centerpulls. Probably Campagnolo pedals, but not sure, and I'm not sure about the seatpost. Brooks saddle.
Ed Granger
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA