1959 Schwinn Paramount Track

I know I have already talked about Schwinn Paramounts on the blog before but for some reason, we really have an affinity for them here. They were the pinnacle, or paramount(ha!), of an American made assessable bikes. Sure there were other high quality American frame builders- Brennan, Drysdale, and others, but they were much harder to buy and somewhat unknown outside a small elite circle. Many Americans were importing and racing on European lightweights. Schwinn really threw their hat in the ring coming out with the Paramount, on the heels of the Schwinn World. They imported on all top of the line parts and even used produced many parts themselves.

This Paramount is from the turning point with Schwinn. They had just recently started importing some derailleur gear stuff, releasing 5-10 speed derailleur geared Paramounts. This 1959 model is right around the cut off date when Schwinn was discontinuing their proprietary cranks, hubs and stems, for those made in Europe by Campagnolo and Cinelli, that would become ubiquitous on the racing circuit even to this very day. Campagnolo had been producing parts for about two decades at this point and had recently developed and produced their own line of cranks, seatpost, bottom bracket, headset, pedals, and hubs. Almost a full group, minus the brakes. With this, a Paramount could be outfitted with the latest Italian components from front to back.

The 1959 track bike here is all strictly Schwinn produced or approved parts. The bike parts would have been the same as found on an earlier Paramount from the 1930s, minus a few minor details.

The frame shows progression from the earlier Paramounts as Schwinn started to import French Nervex Professional lugs, found on all the high end European lightweights. Also Schwinn's use of chrome reflects upon the European influences. Schwinn did not use Campagnolo dropouts on this bike, but I have seen road racing models from this time that did.

The bike has Schwinn Paramount hubs, bottom bracket, crankset, handlebars, adjustable stem, and capped off seatpost. The rims are made by Weinmann. The saddle is a Brooks b-17 swallow. The color of the bike is Radiant Coppertone, a translucent copper color sprayed over a silver undercoat.

This bike had very little use, if any when we got it, and we have only cleaned it up. It is a rare time capsule piece that shows an original finish, box-lined, Schwinn Paramount in it's glory.

A rack of bicycles

Here is a rack of cool bikes located in the bicycle museum, that no one ever gets to see. I just learned of their placement the other day. i knew we had the bikes, but i had no idea they were looking good up there. From the top to the bottom-

The top bike is kind of a mystery. It has an Alvin Drysdale (Pop Brennan Cycle shop)decal on it, but it isn't like any other. It has diamond shaped chainstays and other interesting frame particulars (not visible from the pictures). One thing I cannot recall ever seeing is a BSA cotterless crank set. that is new too me.

The second bike down from the top is an early 1960s Raleigh Gran Sport. Campagnolo Gran Sport derailleurs, Brooks Swallow saddle, GB Spearpoint stem and red sleeved handlebars, GB brakes and levers, and Bluemels fenders. All original.

Third bike down is an early Schwinn Paramount. it is a repainted one with very clean original parts, no replating.

The final bike at the bottom is a Legnano outfitted with Campagnolo cambio corsa gear system. It is all original, other than the cloth handlebar tape. It has most of it parts stamped Legnano, including pedals, cranks and hubs. It is a rare bike, and it is awesome it was found in New Jersey of all places.

Also visible is a wooden rear wheel. it is from an 1890s bicycle, and thought to be of the Elliot Hickory style(not 100% sure if it is Elliot Hickory or not)

Click on pictures for better view.