Originally Posted by
Mooo
Back when those were new there were a couple of years I owned both a touring bike and a sporty road bike. I found longer distances much more comfortable on a longer wheelbase bike with wider tires. By far.
To the extent that I'd have picked a LeTour or Traveler ('75 & up) over a Paramount for a century (New England, Nebraska, Colorado, whereever) unless I'd logged a couple thousand miles in the season.
While I agree that a bike with a longer wheelbase and longer trail will be more comfortable than one with a shorter wheelbase and less trail, I'm not sure there is a big distinction in either between a late eighties Paramount and a late eighties Le Tour or Traveler. The wheelbase for my 62cm '87 Paramount is 1000mm, and the wheelbase for both the '89 Le Tour and '89 Traveler (23 inch, or 58.4cm frame) is also 1000mm. By comparison, the '89 Voyageur wheelbase for a 23 inch frame is 1049mm.
A 61cm '72 Touring Paramount (P15-9) has a wheelbase of 1040mm, which approaches the wheelbase of the '89 Voyageur.
The difference in geometry between the '72 touring Paramount and the '87 Paramount "Standard" is mostly in the steeper seat tube angle of the '87 (74° vs. 72°) and the shorter chainstay of the '87 (410mm vs. 440mm).
I'm very comfortable on either the '72 or the '87 for 100 mile rides.
All that having been said, when I had a custom bike built last year intended primarily for long rides, I chose a geometry very similar to the '72 touring Paramount. The new bike has a 1030mm wheelbase, 72° STA, and 433mm chainstay length.
The red bike is the '87 Paramount (1000mm wheelbase, 410mm chainstay) and the chrome bike is the '72 touring Paramount (1040mm wheelbase, 440mm chainstay).
