Originally Posted by soonerschwinn
Paramounts were at the top in the 60s and early 70s. Not just of american bikes, but of bikes from anywhere. 26lbs at that time was quite respectable. There were no 16 lb CF or titanium bikes then. As far as the demise of the Paramounts, Schwinn didn't really update the bike much in the mid 70s, so by 79 it was pretty outdated. Schwinn also made the same mistake on every line of their bicycles and as a company was having trouble by the late 70s. Shutting down the Paramount program made sense to them. I don't see it. You probably won't ever see Chevy dump the Corvette even though it's barely on their gross profit radar.
SS
I don't see how a 26lbs racing bike was top of the line even 35 years ago considering the Peugeot PX10 weighed 21 lbs. A paramount is only 3 lbs lighter than my dad's bottom of the line Peugeot UO8. And of course you have to consider that when Nixon was president, a Paramount cost around $800 while a PX10 could be gotten for 1/4 of that price. Both had Reynolds 531 with Nervex lugs. I can't see how Schwinn could justify the price premium- even with Campagnolo.