Hw good was this bike? What is the order of quality of the old USA Schwinns?
Is #1. Paramount?

Yes, Paramount was always #1. For the years that the Peloton was produced, it was the #2 bike. Actually, some years there was a Peloton Pro model which was the #2 bike.

IIRC, Sierra's correct......the Peleton was #2 in the lineup in the mid-late 80's. Memory's hazy, but I think it had a Columbus SL frameset. If you can get your hands on one for a good price, do it. Classic lugged steel

Didn't Schwinn use the "Peloton" name on a variety of models in the 1990's as well? It seems as thoughf certain Schwinn names (the "Superior" is one) have been used on some very different sorts of bikes between the 1930's and today. I saw an ad from about 1940 for a Schwinn Continental that was one speed, but with a chro-moly frame...a very different bike from the Continentals of the 1970's.

A "clue" as to the standing of a particular "Peloton" would be the components...Dura-Ace, Campy, Sun Tour Superbe were used on the "top" Schwinn road bikes, Shimano 600 components on the second level models, and so on. From a practical point of view, the Shimano 600 components of the 1986 to 1989 period are about as good as anything from that era...I like that stuff better than most 2005 stuff.

The Peloton models from the late nineties-Y2k were TIG welded Reynolds 853 frames which had the same geometry as the match(lugged 853) & Serotta(TIG titanium) built Paramounts from the same years.

Where does the Varsity rank? I'm trying to narrow down my choices on a retro Schwinn and i want to make sure I don't get a stinker!

The Varsity was a low end derailleur equipped bike originally targeted at adolescents. It is a very durable bike but heavy and unresponsive compared to the higher end bikes. Some of the later ones(eighties?) were contracted out to Murray and others so they may not even be as durable as the earlier Chicago Schwinn built version.

I just built up a NOS '99 Schwinn Peloton frameset with Campy Chorus stuff and the ride is sweet! Got the frame at roadbikereview.com for about $220. That's a steal for an 853 frame.

Back in 1976 a friend of mine rode her Varsity cross country with Bikecentennial, now Adventure Cycling. She didn't know it couldn't be done so she just did it.

The Peloton was re-introduced sometime in the 90's, but I don't think it existed through 87 - 91 or so. During that time, the steel, racing-bike lineup was:
Tempo (Shimano 105),
Premis (a mixed powder-white Suntour, Sakae set; produced only in 1988),
Circuit (Shimano Sante, a sort of boutique 600)
Prologue (frameset only or Dura-Ace),
Paramount.

This changed in 1990 with the addition of the 5xx, 7xx, and 9xx aluminum bikes (I don't remember ALL the numbers).

Man, does THAT bring back my racing days working in the local Schwinn shop. It's correct that you can easily determine where in the lineup the model is based on the group the bike shipped with. For some time, Schwinn seemed determined to have one of EVERYTHING in their lineup. If anyone needs details on these models, I still own a 1988 Premis (the wild three-tone purple/blue model) and a 1988 Circuit.

-Michael
Tallahassee, FL

Here is my 1988 Premis frame that I painted. It used to be the purple/blue three-tone color scheme (ugh, bleh)!

Wow! Very nice job on the paint. I love the color combination. Very classy looking! I'm going to "steal" your photo to keep as an idea for a future project. Hope you don't mind.

Yup. In the '60's and '70's, millions of folks rode their Varsity or their Continental billions of miles (between them, NOT each) back and forth around North America. The sort of person who was riding a Varsity was not riding with a "high end" road bike club nor a subscriber to a cycling magazine. So, it was only after they finished riding their bikes across the Rocky Mountains they found out crossing the mountains was impossible without buying a $1,000 bike.

A guy in my neighborhood rides everywhere on a forty pound one speed beach cruiser. A number of people have told him that riding from one end of Houston to the other on a forty pound bike is impossible. But, he is too dumb to understand that what he does everyday CAN'T be done.

That's a nice color scheme... very pleasing earth tones.

Thanks, Sierre and Suntreader.

I wish I could show a pic of it built up but I can't find my stupid UBS cord anywhere.

Also I painted two indentical 53cm '87 Schwinn LeTours for a friend of mine in the same color schemes. One is a sort of a bright aqua-teal blue with the same biege as my green frame and the other one is a medium blue w/ light grey head and seattube instead of beige. I'll show pics of these if my cord ever shows up (I might have to buy a new one)!

Hi Michael

Newbie here! If you have additional info on the Premis, I am interested! I have the silver and metallic white with the white hardware on it. Probably going to change over the 'ultra-eighties' purple and aqua paint accents to something more palatable. Thanks for any help!

Duane

Hey! I still have the three-tone purple Premis, and I have always LOVED that scheme. It ain't classic, but it always drew a LOT of comments.

Duane, got your PM, and will respond.

Thanks for the help!! Greatly appreciated!

Just can't believe that the three-tone tickles your fancy Keep it stock!!

I bought this late '80s Schwinn Peleton off of eBay for $100 a couple years ago and fully intend to build it up some day with something from that period such as Superbe Pro. I also have a sweet little Schwinn Tempo from the same era that has been my rollers bike for the last 4 years.

Keep your eye on ebay. On Monday, everything you need will be available.

From what I have heard before the Premis was the replacement for the Prelude in 88. I had an 87 Prelude, and an 88 Premis. The Premis was pretty cool though, with the white Suntour stuff! It was just the paint job I couldn't stand. Visually I would take the 87 Prelude, definitely!!,,,,BD


87 Prelude!



88 Premis!