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1960's Paragon
Recently picked this bike up made by former Olympian Lars Zebrowski - 1960's Paragon
It has been a full time rider for the original owner since his father bought it for him when he was 11 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f81108691b.jpgAs bought with a quick wipe down - I know, the seat will be gone as soon as I find something to replace it with - I don't have the seemingly bottomless spare parts bin y'all seem to have (I am working on it though) |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41ab5e0920.jpg
One of the rear Canti posts was sheared off as you can see in this picture - caliper brake added https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a1650d4b1f.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...52355e5b73.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...02e8f370c7.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0a841860d4.jpg |
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Originally Posted by SoCaled
(Post 22654168)
Recently picked this bike up made by former Olympian Lars Zebrowski - 1960's Paragon
It has been a full time rider for the original owner since his father bought it for him when he was 11 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f81108691b.jpgAs bought with a quick wipe down - I know, the seat will be gone as soon as I find something to replace it with - I don't have the seemingly bottomless spare parts bin y'all seem to have (I am working on it though) Frame looks excellent. Looks like one rear canti post got removed? Damaged? Mafac Driver front brake is rare and "collectible". Not really better than the classic Criterium canti, but cooler. Ask the seller if he still has the original rear brake. It'd be worth more with a matching pair, and the canti post on the rear can be replaced. Though that sidepull probably works just fine, and it's only a rear brake... Mark B |
Trying to gather more info on this bike and Paragon.
I have found some more tidbits of info on the frame and builder, of course from a bf member: "Lars Zebroski was a member of the US Olympic Cycling Team in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was also a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Pedalli Alpini racing team. After the Olympics he stayed on in Italy and raced with Italian amateur teams. When Lars returned to the US in the early 60s, he started building frames in the SF Bay Area under the Paragon marque. He continued do so through the mid 1960s. During that time he and another local cyclist built somewhere between 150 and 300 frames." https://www.velobase.com/Velos/ViewE...0da69&Enum=226 - Verktyg |
Apparently the Gary Fisher Paragon was a tribute:
https://www.bikehugger.com/posts/fir...-fisher-parag/ First Race Bike: a Fisher Paragon https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e94e26a29b.jpg "I didn’t know at the time it was named after Lars Zebroski as [MENTION=1100]Gary[/MENTION]_fisher tweeted this morning." |
Your second post with the close-ups came in while I was typing my response to the first one, so I hadn't seen them.
Everything I said still stands though. Excellent frame workmanship! Something weird going on the with the headset lower bearing. Either a too-thin crown race was subbed in, or too-small balls? Easy to fix either way. Check the stem insertion, looks like it may be too high to be safe. What's the date on the bike license sticker? Hub locknuts also have a date stamped on them, though of course wheels aren't always original to the bike. Are those 27" clinchers? 700c might work too. We didn't really get a good close-up of the front brake, but from the side-view, it looks like the pads might be angled up. If so then it'll be easy to angle them down enough to fit 700c clinchers (or tubulars). Keep us posted, I want to see how this looks finished. Mark B |
Originally Posted by bulgie
(Post 22654187)
Wow, an 11 year old with a full campy race bike, lucky kid!
Frame looks excellent. Looks like one rear canti post got removed? Damaged? Mafac Driver front brake is rare and "collectible". Not really better than the classic Criterium canti, but cooler. Ask the seller if he still has the original rear brake. It'd be worth more with a matching pair, and the canti post on the rear can be replaced. Though that sidepull probably works just fine, and it's only a rear brake... Mark B |
Originally Posted by bulgie
(Post 22654202)
Your second post with the close-ups came in while I was typing my response to the first one, so I hadn't seen them.
Everything I said still stands though. Excellent frame workmanship! Something weird going on the with the headset lower bearing. Either a too-thin crown race was subbed in, or too-small balls? Easy to fix either way. Check the stem insertion, looks like it may be too high to be safe. What's the date on the bike license sticker? Hub locknuts also have a date stamped on them, though of course wheels aren't always original to the bike. Are those 27" clinchers? 700c might work too. We didn't really get a good close-up of the front brake, but from the side-view, it looks like the pads might be angled up. If so then it'll be easy to angle them down enough to fit 700c clinchers (or tubulars). Keep us posted, I want to see how this looks finished. Mark B |
Originally Posted by SoCaled
(Post 22654250)
Camera battery died while I was taking the photos, more to come. License is later 1973. Ad listed bike as "60's" then owner told me he had it since he was 11 and I stopped asking questions. Research so far seems to say Lars only made bikes in the 60's.
Of course bike builders often had old stock on hand, so the frame could be newer, but I'd say the parts are '65 at the newest, probably older. Let us know what the hub locknuts say when you get them off. (date stamp is on the inner face where you can't see it until you take them off) |
Originally Posted by bulgie
(Post 22654202)
Are those 27" clinchers? 700c might work too. We didn't really get a good close-up of the front brake, but from the side-view, it looks like the pads might be angled up. If so then it'll be easy to angle them down enough to fit 700c clinchers (or tubulars). Mark B |
Originally Posted by SoCaled
(Post 22656130)
Yep good eyes, looks like he must have switched to 27" when he added the rear brake? Too bad, because the rear caliper looks like it has a long enough reach for 700c. Front brake definitely is at a funky angle with the 27"rim, pad hits at a 45 degree angle, tiny amount of wear on front pads, looks like he relied mostly on the back caliper. When I find some time, I will post some more photos.
Finding a replacement Driver canti may be difficult. I've had a saved search for them on ebay for years, can't remember ever getting a hit. So if you like your brakes to match, maybe sell the one Driver, and with the money buy two Criteriums (normal Mafac canti), probably with enough money left over to pay a FB to reattach the missing canti boss. I dunno, maybe I'm the only lunatic out there looking for Driver cantis. So hard to gauge "market price" for something that almost never sells. But I bet there's some dentist in Japan willing to pay a pretty yen for them. BTW someone recently posted some photos of Jaques Anquetil using canti brakes in the TdF (presumably for their lighter weight), and in one of the pics you could tell they were Driver. I think, for the brief time on the market, they were the top of the line. Simlar to the 'Top 63' centerpull, that was only made briefly and now sells for megabucks. Mark B |
Additional info from coolkat from my post on this bike in apprasials:
"There was also Hugh Enochs (of La Honda, CA) who, according to this article (Frames and Framebuilding (1970-1979) 21 More American Framebuilders) built frames under the Paragon name as well as the name Jevelot." - Picture of Hugh Enouch bike in the article, although it is lugless |
Zeus dropouts. Interesting. Was Campy still making only Long slot drops at that time...?
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