KenNC

I acquired this yesterday and have started refurbishing (saddles my temporary addition). But there are some things about this bike that make me wonder. Mainly, it seems to have many more brazed-on features than the (fairly few) other examples of Paramount Tandems I've seen on line: downtube shifter posts, two water bottle mounts, integrated seat screws for both seat posts rather than a collar; the rear brake cable stop is a brazed on bridge, rear luggage rack mounts, and a pump peg. The paint is in great shape, but there isn't a remote sign of any decals. I thought it must be a re-paint but when I pulled the fork, the steerer tube doesn't suggest it's been repainted. Still, hard to believe it is original paint. Otherwise, it has a Phil Wood rear hub, Campagnolo record front hub, Weinmann rims, Dia-compe brake levers, Schwinn-approved LeTour rear derailleur, and apparently Phil Wood bottom brackets. Also, all the ads and catalogs for this era say it should be a 10 speed with same-side drive, but this is has a cross-over drive setup, and is 15 speed (with 54t, 48t, and 28t chainrings, I think I'll be adjusting that). I'm really interested in any thoughts about how this bike came to be this way, as that may influence the direction I take refurbishing. The seller wasn't the original owner and wasn't able to shed any light on its history, so maybe some folks here can shed some light on this. Thank you!

TenGrainBread 

I would guess it's a repaint. The paint on the steerer doesn't tell you much. Whatever was there before could have been removed by the painter before the re-paint.

Of course the builders at "The Cage" could do custom options based on a customer's requests, for tandems or singles. That's a possibility as well.

merziac

This cannot be stressed enough.

Schwinn considered customer service to be "Paramount" and went to great lengths to ensure it despite the cost of doing so. Seems like they modeled after the car companies, lots of options, colors, accessories and more.

It worked well while they were rolling with the tide but they didn't act accordingly when it turned.

They would do just about anything you wanted, any and all options were on the table. The prices were very reasonable as well, given the history, cache, cred, quality, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, Paramounts were a very good value if not a bargain, still are IMHO.

Reynolds 531 

Im thinking that , at one time, that was a (rear) Phil disc brake. But I have never seen one in real life.

noglider 

Given that it's had a lot of mods done to it, it's easy to believe that anything on it is a mod, such as the crossover drive. And thank goodness for that.

repechage

Yes, the hub center section of a Phil disc. I have one of these, also repainted, this one has a bunch of braze-ons added , shifter bosses, water bottle mounts are the most apparent.
Non standard color.
Phil parts are later exchange, not a bad choice.
My example has a Campagnolo solid axle rear hub. Original, Campagnolo axle and washer-nuts.

My wife was willing but not excited. The frame does flex, that spooked her. My daughter, no way- same reason, which is interesting as she forgot how to ride a bike... "Oh, the tragedy I feel..." but so it is.

I have to go look, but I think the original had seatpost binder clamps, the braze on bolt fittins, and the top tube pump pegs are also non standard.

These bikes were designed for 27" wheels unless the racing version was custom ordered, but it would be all men's. I have a pair of Super Champion 27" Gentleman rims, benefit of a hooked bead. I would like more tire pressure range.

If the frame was a bit laterally stiffer I would go mod disc brakes front and rear. Even with fresh pads, the Mafacs are OK, but not good enough.

It was an experiment. Probably donate it to the local non profit bike co-op and take the deduction.