skullnroses

Looking at a 1992 Paramount Series 5 PDG on Craigslist. (Yes, the white with purple slime one). It has standard 105 7 speed downtube shifters. It is about an hour from my home, and the owner has not been able to answer my questions. Does anyone know the drop out spacing on these (126 or 130?), if it is freewheel or cassette? I would probably want to upgrade to 9 speed STI if I bought it, which I have in the spare parts bin. He is also asking $450, which I think is too much.

RobbieTunes

It's 126mm but VERY easily used with 130mm and STI stuff. Been there, done that, a few times. No frame work needed.
The Series 5 used a Hyperglide 7-sp cassette, per the catalog. These can be updated to 8/9/10 version with an axle and freehub swap.

Schwinn 1992 Paramount -- Front Cover

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.
For ideas, there is a great thread here with exactly the kind of upgrades you mention.
I did a Series 2 and a Series 7, had no problems at all.

skullnroses

Thanks for the response. I have been a reader of the Forum for some time and finally registered.

wrk101

+126mm, currently running 130mm no problem on my 1992 Series 5. I swapped wheels, and put on 8 speed tricolor group. My two STI groups of choice right now are the tricolor 600 6400 group and the Dura Ace 7400 group. Both 8 speed (STI version), both have dual pivot brake callipers (also have single pivots too), both are repairable, and I just like the way they look! (Wheels in this pic are 105 hubs, 8/9/10 speed)

[IMG]Tools Prologue Series 5 Xmas 013 by wrk101, on Flickr[/IMG]

Japanamount

My road bike is a '91 Series 5 PDG. As others noted, it has the freehub arrangement with a 7-speed Hyperglide cassette. Mine is original to the bike and geared 12.13.14.15.17.29.21 with the original 172.5mm 105 crankset spinning 53/39 rings. Mine lives in the house (I make my Hardrock sleep in the garage, but not this thing) so I popped the rear wheel off an by my crude measure, it looks like 126mm rear dropout spacing to me, too.

I bought mine a couple of years ago in response to a Craigslist ad, paying $300.00. But I would have happily paid $450.00 if that's what it would have taken to take it home with me. Aside from the original Vetta saddle coming unglued, the decades-old tires showing signs of rot, and the formerly clear plastic chainstay protector yellowing a bit with age, the bike looked like it just rolled out of the Schwinn shop doors as a new mount.

I wanted one when they were new. I recall them being hard to actually find. I know I had to go to a bunch of different Schwinn shops in Southern California before I found one. And I recall that they weren't exactly cheap at somewhere around $800.00 when new. I finally found one at a shop that also sold Bianchi bikes and the shop owner made me a killer deal on a new-old-stock Bianchi, selling me that for about half of what he was asking for the Series 5 PDG. But I did try the Series 5 PDG out and I was very impressed with the frame set. I still am. To me, it kind of epitomizes steel bike frame technology and I think the build quality is pretty high.

When I got mine, I had no idea how much the bike market had changed in the six or seven years that had passed since I last rode. I had no idea that things like quill stems or 126mm hubs weren't standard anymore and didn't have any idea about what "brifters" were. Ignorance is bliss, I guess....

Once I figured out that the bike market has marched on to things like sloping top tubes and threadless headsets on road bikes and so on, I gave some passing thought to "upgrading" my mount but I've since decided that the old-school 90's vibe of the thing is part of the charm for me and hope to keep as as stock as possible for as long as I can. Hey, it's cheaper than a classic car, and has health benefits in driving it around that classic cars don't provide.... Besides, being a few months away from fifty and getting back in to riding after a long time out of the saddle, a carbon frame and a ten speed cassette and brifters aren't going to keep me from getting passed by twentysoemthing guys and gals and I'm likely to be slow no matter what I am riding.

But I do enjoy riding my "mount" and if I had to do it all over again and pay another 150 bucks more than I did to do it, I would. I like mine that much.