Paramount???
 

Early Paramount on English EBay? I don't know anything about Paramonts. Had one in the early "70's" didn't like it. Ed

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380733804066...84.m1438.l2649

It's not a Schwinn Paramount. Schwinn never used lugs like that and used the same head badge on all Paramounts from the first 1938 Wastyn built bike until the early 1980s.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...t/HeadTube.jpg

A nice vintage handmade Paramount is a very nice ride, I find.

Correct, but still looks pretty good for the current price. The owner was liberal with the oil which is not a bad thing. Te downtube PARAMOUNT graphics do not appear original.

My view at the time was Schwinn built indestructible bikes for kids. The Paramount seemed to follow the same build stiff heavy and unresponsive. The story
at the time was Schwinn was using a special heavy gauge Reynolds 531. Who knows? Ed

The ebay listing says the frame number is 949, which according to Tam Phan's Paramount registry is a 1959 serial number. It's possible Schwinn was experimenting with different lugs at that time, so I can't say the lugs automatically disqualify the ebay bike, but the head tube decal instead of the iconic metal Paramount head badge is very suspicious. Schwinn offered a choice of double-butted Reynolds 531 or double-butted Accles & Pollock Kromo tubing for Paramounts in the late fifties.

I've also heard the story about Schwinn using heavier gauge 531 in the Paramounts, but the only place I've seen that in writing is in the 1979 book The Custom Bicycle by Kolin and de la Rosa where the authors quote Schwinn's Frank Brilando as saying Schwinn used Reynolds 531DB on all its Paramount frames (track, road racer, road tourist) except frames over 26" which used a straight gauge chromoly down tube and tandems, but the tube gauges were heavier than the standard-packaged Reynolds 531DB sets because of Schwinn's belief that the slightly heavier tubing provided a stiffer frame. In the late fifties/early sixties, though, I believe they were using standard 531 gauges. My 1940 23" Paramount track bike double-butted chromoly frame (27.0 seatpost) weighs 5 pounds and the fork is 1.8 pounds. The complete bike weighs 20 pounds.

it's clearly not a Schwinn paramount, and I don't think it's even trying to fake it, nobody is going to think with those graphics that it came out of Chicago.
It is an interesting bike with what looks like nice Prugnat lugs and a nice forkcrown. (edit: or those could be Oscar Egg lugs, but in either case I think they've been customized)
Based on the crown I'd say it either uses Reynolds "Continental" style blades or it's not British at all...but the rest of the kit sure looks "Brit", enough.

With that fork rake I would have thought more "40's". Ed

French or English for sure with those lugs however the fork rake is interesting it is clearly a well made frame and good components but NOT a paramount

it has incorrect headset bearings (the bike in post 2)

Is the ebay bike a Schwinn? Maybe its a Paramount just not a 'Schwinn' Paramount.

It says right on the DT Sticker "A.C.S. Paramount", which would make it A.C.S. Cycles of Front St. Arnold, Nottingham, so...ENGLISH bike, NOT a Schwinn.

Thank you! Mystery solved!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/689006@...7610694667951/

Did a little more searching for Alan "Pongo" Braithwaite and his brother but there's not much info...they built Aende frames in Nottingham or perhaps it was "Pongo" solo by then. Seems he was known for a really short wheelbase and close clearances (specializing it TT frames), so this ACS Paramount would not be typical of his (later) work.
Looks like a nice frame, and I'm more certain that those are Oscar Egg lugs, now.

Right on both counts, Jim. The bearings that came in the headset from the ebay seller that sold me the frameset are 5/32" and I assumed they were correct. The 1940 Schwinn parts catalog says they should be 1/8", though. I guess it's a good thing I haven't ridden it much. 1/8" bearings are on the way.