Fun Conversion
 

I converted this Paramount to a fixie and man is this bike fast. I've been riding a Cutter for while now but this bike is much, much faster. I know some will hate the fact that I converted this old Paramount. But this set up is so much more fun than the road set up.

Know what's even faster?
...
...
...
...
Gears.

Seriously, I rode my fixed bike for the first time in a while today and I was surprised by how slow it felt. However, I live by the philosophy that anything more than 15 years old that isn't a Hetchins or a Merckx is fair game for pretty much anything you want to do to it. The only exception to that rule is paint, which puts you in violation.

i understand and support sensible conversions, but why did you paint it?

I was wondering the same thing.

I guess I should say that it's much more responsive. On my Cutter it took a bit of work to get to 90rpm. The Paramount just takes a few mashes and it's rolling 18-20mph. The Paramount is a lot lighter and I guess the geometry of a 90's-upper-end road bike still holds some ground. I kept the same gearing 46x18, but this bike rips. I'm still smiling ear to ear.

The Paramount was pretty ratty looking and rusted in many spots. I have a friend that has a sand blasting/powder coating business and he hooked me up. I'm not into rat bikes. It'll never see gears again so I wanted to make it my own. I still want to do a few more cosmetics to it. I can't help but tinker and this bike fell victim....

Hate.

Just how slow are you on your Cutter to think that a tarcked out Paramount is much much faster ?

It is like you neutered the bike.

Damn.

Just... damn.

Well it's not like he dremeled off any bosses or the derailleur hanger, so there's that.

That last sentence is the one that really counts. I stand by my convictions about paint-jobs though. A cosmetically untouched conversion will always trump a powdercoat in my book. An unmarked black bike looks like any other black bike. An original paint-job has character. Chips and surface rust have even more character.

Yeah man, typically I say "hey its your stuff do whatever you want." In this case it looks like the derailleurs/cassette were in pretty good shape, and I personally really preferred the pre-deep v/riser/paint look. I guess if you're grinning go for it.

So you wanted a faster bike. Then took a perfectly good road bike and converted it to a horribad single speed.

http://i.imgur.com/SF93M.gif

The main problem, as I see it, is that a lot of people here still think derailleurs have cooties and only fixed gears can be fun. Jesus loves all bikes equally, guys. Learn from His example.

that bike had some serious flavor before you touched it.

glad you're having fun riding it though- that's the important thing. it's not like you just killed the last surviving Paramount (but you did kill a Paramount).

just...well... don't do that again.

Man, this thread has a lot of hate. No doubt because the Paramount has a huge following - if I'm remembering correctly, someone else converted a Paramount last year and posted it up here and got a similar amount of hate. haha

I knew I was throwing myself to an angry mob but that's part of the fun. I chop and improve Harley's, taking the OEM crust off the scoots. Same for a bicycle as far as I'm concerned. I just got done building a bobber out of a sporty. So why not bob out a cycle? People can hate all they want. Riding a fixie is challenging and fun. I guess everyone will really gasp at this conversion. My Super-Cross Touring Bike.

Haters gonna hate. As long as you're having fun on your bike, have fun on your bike. At the end of the day, you're the only one riding it. Some people put these older roadies on a pedestal and act like you're drawing a Hitler moustache on the Mona Lisa, but a Paramount isn't really a masterpiece. It's a nice bike, and it's still a nice bike after the conversion. It's just that it would be even nicer as a classy restoration. ;)

I, at one point, had an old triumph bobber. Rad bike.

Also, as much as a hate the tarck look, view my signature to see what I think of this conversion.

Exactly. The perfect bike is the one that does exactly what you want it to do, and isn't powdercoated.

It's really not so much that you killed it. You just made it boring.

I will agree with highonpez, but ultimately it's your ride man.

Ive always wanted to convert a paramount ;~; but not paint/powdercoat it! Bad man touched it in the no-no spot.

Its a bike and it doesnt have feelings,when the world ends your bike wont help you kill bears attacking your family.

Speak for yourself, Boozy. I installed a harpoon mount on my Raleigh for exactly that situation.

That would be awsomeness.

So to reasure anyone worried about what he did to a paramount, it's not that big a deal. This clearly looks like a "paramount design group" schwinn. Notice the PDG on the top tube. They were schwinn's attempt to cash in on the paramount name by having much cheaper bikes made in asia. They have tange tubing and are nice bikes, but they are not in the same class as the chicago or waterford made paramounts. And even if this wasn't one of the much more common models, who gives a ****. It's his bike; if he likes it more this way god bless.

Haters be hating.. that being said it's a decent conversion even if I don't care for those blue accents. If you don't want to anger the hipsters and upper middle class bike gods, might I suggest converting le tours and not posting anywhere near the C&V forum?

Original paint is ALWAYS better than a repaint. Now the decals are all gone. I'll never buy a repainted bike, because there's no telling what it actually is. It could be hi-ten junk or something really nice. Leaving the paint original would keep it instantly recognizable as a nice bike. Now it just looks like every other spray bombed piece of junk.

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...Mondecross.jpg

I'm still considering painting my SS cross bike, but leaving the surviving decals and fork chrome intact. It's really rusty. (Don't mind the ridiculous rear brake cable, I haven't had time to get zip ties yet...)

^^^ hi-ten junk ^^^





;)

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out much about that bike. The only surviving decals say "Champion Du Monde" and the bare frame only weighs .5lb more than my Reynolds 531 Trek, so I assume it must be at least decent.

To be clear, I didn't actually buy that bike. I saved it from being thrown away.