Schwinn Paramount 700c Conversion "Country Bike"

[Jim Cloud]

I had a post, a while back, regarding questions about the Rivendell
Silver/Tektro R556 brakes, in regard to a 700c conversion that I was
considering for an older Schwinn Paramount 27" wheel size bicycle.
This isn't strictly speaking a Rivendell content post, but I think it
has some relationship to the type of bikes that Rivendell is building,
especially the AHH and Sam Hillborne models. In fact, one of the
photos on the Flickr website of Rivendell staff bikes got me thinking
about the conversion (it was a photo of a AHH, nice blue color very
much like this Paramount).

At any rate, I'm pleased with the conversion. The Tektro R556 brakes,
which were originally spec'd by Grant for his Country Bikes are a
godsend for a 700c conversion from a 27" wheel size. The brakes work
very well, with ample clearances to fit larger wheel sizes and
fenders. My Paramount is presently fenderless (and may stay that way,
given the relative dryness of the Arizona climate) and it's presently
fitted up with a 700x28c tire size (Panaracer Pasela) simply because I
had those available from my personal stock. I'm planning to fit the
bike with the Rivendell Jack Brown Green tires, which I think are
about as wide as I'd like to go with Mavic MA2 rims.

I posted some photos of this bike on my Flickr photostream, if you're
interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964304@N05/sets/72157624699133170/

Jim Cloud
Tucson, AZ .

[JoelMatthews]

> At any rate, I'm pleased with the conversion.

I'll bet you are! Very good job. Mr. Schwinn looks right handsome in
his Riv clothes.

> This isn't strictly speaking a Rivendell content post, but I think it
> has some relationship to the type of bikes that Rivendell is building,
> especially the AHH and Sam Hillborne models.

I imagine anyone in Grant's generation with a hankering for bikes at
one time or another spent some time admiring a Paramount.

[doug peterson]

That really came out nice. I dunno, but polished lugs, a front rack,
a triple,...looks pretty Rivish to me. The matching pump plus single
bottle cage is cool. Hey, I recognize those shifters - got a few of
those myself; they're the best.

dougP

> > Tucson, AZ .- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[ejg]

Jim,
that bike is gorgeous.

[Rene Valbuena]

Jim,

The conversion is very neat and it shows that it was well-though of.

Rene

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[Jim Cloud]

Joel,
Thanks for your comments! I hope Grant (whom I talked with while I
was working on this conversion) would agree that the result was
satisfactory. I certainly give him credit for influencing Tektro to
manufacture the long-reach sidepull model brakes (although I'm sure
his intent wasn't just to allow people like me to convert an older
classic bike to 700c - hey, Rivendell sells new bikes!). I liked the
idea, however, of updating my Paramount not in maintaining it simply
as a "period-correct" collector bike.

Jim.

On Aug 10, 6:44 pm, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote:

[Jim Cloud]

Doug, Rene and ejg,

Thanks for your remarks. The Paramount has been a nice ride for many
years, and I expect it will continue!

Jim

[rob markwardt]

Beautiful. The old Paramounts were kind of like Rivendells before
Rivendell. Beautiful lugs, wonderful to ride, loads of clearance,
great all-around bikes.

On Aug 10, 7:42 pm, Rene Valbuena <valbu...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> >For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text -

[J. Douglas Way]

Jim-

Thanks for the pics. Your Paramount is stunning, just gorgeous. You
did a magnificent job!

Enjoy,
Doug
Boulder, CO

[Jim Cloud]

Rob and Doug,

Thanks for your comments on the conversion. I've enjoyed upgrading
the Paramount a lot, its a great ride.

Jim

[nathan spindel]

Beautiful bike and upgrades, Jim. Can you comment at all to the
difference in ride quality before and after these changes?

-nathan

[Jim Cloud]

Nathan,
As I mentioned in my post I'm currently running a set of Panaracer
Pasela 700x28C tires on my Paramount. These tires aren't really much
different than the equivalent size in a 27" tire (i.e. 27" x 1 1/8").
The difference in the wheel size between a 700c and 27" is also not
sufficiently different to make much of a change in feel or performance
(bead diameter of a 700c wheel is 622mm, the 27" wheel is 630mm).

What I have obtained with the conversion is access to a much more
diverse range of tires, especially in larger widths (e.g. 35mm, 37mm,
40mm, etc.). The 27" wheel size is essentially an obsolete size of
tire and manufacturers only make a few tires in the 27" size. I'm
planning to mount a set of the Jack Brown green 700C tires on the bike
soon. These tires have a width of 33.3mm and I think they'll provide
a nice ride.

Jim

[RoadieRyan]

Its already been said but WOW what a gorgeous ride! those lugs are
stunning and you have it set up beautifully. I would never know it
was a conversion looks like a 700c bike from the ground up. Hope you
get that beauty out on Cyclofiend

[Jeremy Till]

Jim, that thing is beautiful! Can you tell us more about that front
rack? Was that original equipment for the bike or did you (or somebody
else) have it made after-market? It looks like it has dedicated braze-
ons on the fork.

I've just acquired a 27" tourer (a beautiful old Takara) myself, but
it has cantilever brakes so I think I'll stick with the 630mm rims for
now. Harris seems to have a decent selection of tires in that size
for my purposes.

On Aug 11, 5:15 pm, Jim Cloud <Cloud...@aol.com> wrote:

[Jim Cloud]

Jeremy,
The front rack was made as a prototype for a Denver custom bicycle
builder's intended touring racks, way back in 1977. It was designed
and custom made by Jock Fisher, who was Tim Isaac's partner at that
time. The front fork mounting braze-on's were added at the time and
the fork was entirely chrome plated. Jock patterned the rack after a
Karrimor steel rack that I believe he'd used at one time.

I've regretted that I didn't also let Jock Fisher use my Paramount to
do the prototype of his rear rack. I wasn't really game to have the
Paramount entirely repainted, however, which would probably have been
necessary after adding braze-on's to the seat stays. Still, it would
have been nice to have a matching rear rack!

Tim Isaac, as you may know went on to work as a lead designer at Trek
and subsequently ran Match Bicycles. His partner Jock Fisher died
quite young from a heart attack. I don't know if Tim and Jock's
touring bike ever came to fruition, but I definitely benefited by
their efforts. Here's a link to an interview of Tim Isaac that
appeared some time ago in a Rivendell Reader (he mentions his
partnership with Jock Fisher in the article):
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/tim_isaac_interview_in_rr.htm

Jim Cloud
Tucson, AZ

[Jim Cloud]

Ryan,
Thanks for your kind remarks! I've never tried to add anything to the
gallery on Jim's Cyclofiend site, but I'll have to try that. Thanks
for the suggestion.

Jim