unworthy1

I know this is a tough nut without pics, but I promise to take some and add them in the next couple days, but since we have such a depth of Schwinn Paramount knowledge from the likes of @Metacortex and @Scooper, this may be so easy that pics will just be gravy...here's the story:
Friend of mine has a commuter he built up with an orange (tangerine metallic) painted frame that has replacement all-chrome fork, and
-appears to be original paint and graphics/decals including the off white panel on seat tube with world champ stripes
-NO chrome on the Nervex Pro lugs or long Campy dropouts, no chrome anywhere but that fork.
-serial number stamped on the curve of the NDS dropout, number to come with pics
-Reynolds 531 decal (looks OEM) yellow "lightweights decal" (as seen on Super Sports, etc.), the standard "Schwinn" logo on both sides of the down tube but NO "Paramount" either there or on the top tube...has the typical metal headbadge.
-no braze-ons, looks very 1970s, has a slightly longer stay cap then seen on many pics I've viewed of Paramounts from this era.
-owner says he thinks it's a "Super Sport" and one tick down from Paramount, but aside from the lack of chrome, I see no difference. Being unfamiliar with Schwinns (tho i did do some research including this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...paramount.html) I am stumped, but curious.
So, until pics arrive...can anybody tell "what am I"?

The bad-bad-bad news is that the reason i was viewing his frame at all was cause he got in a bad jam trying to remove a stuck and snapped-off seat post so it was at ANOTHER friends shop and has suffered both seat tube damage (not terminal) and some slight paint damage ...a shame but that effing seat post is finally OUT!

Kactus

The SN will tell a lot more. AFAIK, Paramounts were the only ones that came with Nervex Pro lugs. An early 60's P-12 would not have chrome lugs or socks except on special order.

trainman999

Might be an 81 or 82 Superior. does the head badge say Paramount? Check the pictures here.
Schwinn Paramount Registry Database

Metacortex

+1 Need to see pics, plus the frame and badge numbers. For reference here is the '81 Superior catalog page showing the bike in Pearl Orange:

Piff 

Dang that 81 superior looks like a pretty sweet sport tourer, maybe i need to start looking around for one...

miamijim

Did Paramounts ever come with 'lightweight' decals?

Kactus

It does kinda' sound like a Superior (I forgot about the Superior with Nervex Pro lugs), but did they ever come with the white banner decal on the seat tube?

Metacortex

They did not, but decals can easily be changed, more easily than paint anyway. Those with the white banner also had the Schwinn Paramount name on the down tube, but perhaps the Paramount portion was worn off or the decals have been replaced. I'm not sure what the OP means about no braze-ons, but I believe the only Paramounts with the white banner decal on the seat tube and no top tube cable braze-ons was the '71-'73 Paramount P13:



However none of those years were available with a "tangerine" paint. In that case it may be a repaint with any sort of decals added. Without detailed pics as well as frame and (if present) badge numbers all of this is speculation as so far it doesn't appear to match anything 100% correctly.

unworthy1

I will be taking pix tomorrow and using a new (no more photobucket) hoster but I think the Superior looks pretty close, except for the lack of the word "SUPERIOR" on the top tube and the placement of the 531 decal, but all will be revealed (and corrected if I mis-remembered) in the next days. meantime. THANKS for the feedback, I think we'll get this solved pretty quick...and did I mention that the Frame and Fork (with the gouged seat tube) may be for sale soon, I think it's a 58cm.

unworthy1

Yep, due to my faulty memory several of the detals I was sure about were NOT correct: no off-white panel, there ARE some braze-ons (just not the ones I was looking for) and even though the model name is missing on the top tube, this is most certainly a SUPERIOR (and maybe I can get some pix attached without the interference of photobucket!) These pix are selected as the least crap from the crappy cell phone series I took, but in case you can't make it out the serial number is 13431 and the paint damage is shown at the seatlug but the shot of the seat tube gouge was too bad to share. I'll take more with a real camera, later.
In any case, THANKS for the help, all you who chimed in!

3speedslow

Looks nice to me!

Scooper

Here's some information on the 1981-1982 Superiors posted several years ago by Bob Hufford. They were nicknamed "Baby Paramounts."


Don Mainland and Roger Nelson in Racine, WI, had built many of the chrome plated early seventies Paramount framesets and were renown for their beautiful brazing and clean-up.

Metacortex

That is almost certainly an '81 or '82 Superior. The serial number does correspond to the '81-'83 Superior format (see the others listed at bottom of the Paramount Registry page), however other than the first digit ("1" in this case indicating the year of frame production) I can't seem to decipher the others. What is most important is that the 4-digit number stamped in the headbadge will indicate the day the bike was built, and in this case that might prove it to be an early '82 model.

unworthy1

Only one problem: the metal headbadge I was certain that I saw was another figment of my poor powers of observation/memory" there IS none!

3speedslow

It is orange though!

Metacortex

That's too bad about the badge. So far my best guess on the serial no. format is Yww## where Y is the last digit of the model year (1 = 1981), ww = week of the year (34 = August 17-23, 1981) and ## was the sequential number built that week. If anybody knows better please chime in.

3speedslow

Another problem. Looks like the left seat stay cap has separated from the seat stay. Maybe it's a paint crack.

Scooper

Some pictures of an early eighties 25" Superior HERE.

unworthy1

I'll have to check that over, yes I see it in the pic but did not notice it in person (but then I did not notice a LOT) but suspect it's not as bad as the pic makes out. In any case the real wound is to the seat tube and that plus the paint damage to the seat lug will drive some people away from considering this frame. My friend who works in a shop says that the seat tube problem would not scare him off, especially if this was going to continue its use as a utility bike and not a show-queen. He'd says a long seat post in there, plenty of grease THIS time, and he'd ride away.
It's a 23" C-T and 22.5" C-C and has a 22" Top Tube, C-C
More pix if and when it's ready for selling.

thinktubes 

4 years and 10000 miles later...

zukahn1

Not that I know off the lightweight decal was only on few early 80's mid level Schwinn Road and BMX models most of which weren't actually light.

bikemike73 

BEAUTIFUL BIKE !!!!

Thanks for the update !!!

I have never seen a water bottle holder in the back of the seat !!!

Pretty Cool !!!!!!

obrentharris 

Now there's a story with a happy ending!

Brent