By 1975, bicycle customers interested in medium-priced road and touring bicycles had largely gravitated towards Japanese or European brands. In reality, mass-market French manufacturers such as Peugeot were not infrequently criticized for material and assembly quality — as well as stagnant technology — in their low- and mid-level product lines. Nevertheless, Peugeot proudly advertised its victorious racing heritage at every opportunity. By 1979, even the Paramount had been passed, technologically speaking, by a new generation of American as well as foreign custom bicycle manufacturers. A growing number of US teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears.
Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or road ‘racer’ bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production Paramount series. As always, the Paramount spared no expense; the bicycles were given high-quality lightweight lugged steel frames using double-butted tubes of Reynolds 531 and fitted with quality European components including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs, and gears. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today.
The Paramount is a wonderful piece of cycling history which rides like a whirlwind and is good for many Eroica races to come and as many weekend rides as you can fit into your schedule. A place for pictures, articles, and discussion of bikes and parts pre 1990. This bicycle has been refurbished to the Blue Tag standard which includes a 30 day warranty.
This page lists Schwinn bicycles models (sorted alphabetically) and links to their details. Over the years, Schwinn has empowered millions of people, earning a special place in the hearts and minds of generations of riders. We have spent over a century building the bicycle industry into what it is today, and we’re not done yet. This Schwinn Paramount from 1986 is exactly one of those standard bikes from the mid 1980s with Columbus SLX tubing and a complete Campagnolo Super Record groupset. The colour was called Icy White by Schwinn and corresponds perfectly with the shiny aluminium parts and the modern plain decal design.
The new company produced a series of well-regarded mountain bikes bearing the Schwinn name, called the Homegrown series.[62] In 2001, Schwinn/GT declared bankruptcy. In September 2001, the Schwinn Company, its assets, and the rights to the brand, together with that of the GT Bicycle, was purchased at a bankruptcy auction by Pacific Cycle, a company previously known for mass-market brands owned by Wind Point Partners.[63] In 2004, Pacific Cycle was in turn acquired by Dorel Industries. In 1980 the production of the Paramount was completely reconsidered, which resulted in a completely new factory in Waterford, Wisconsin. By 1985 Paramount was in full gear, with what became the “standard” model.
Over the years the Paramount would turn out to become the most successful US racing bike of the 20th century. The angle finder read 72.5 degrees up front and 73 degrees at the seat tube. The top tube measured in at 54.6 centimeters with a 30.2 inch stand-over height. Starting in 2005, Schwinn also marketed Motorscooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand.[69] Production ceased in (approx). The Sting-Ray[28] sales boom of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a period of two years.
By the late 1970s, a new bicycle sport begun by enthusiasts in Northern California had grown into a new type of all-terrain bicycle, the mountain bike. Mountain bikes were originally based on Schwinn balloon-tired cruiser bicycles fitted with derailleur gears and called “Klunkers”. A few participants began designing and building small numbers of mountain bikes with frames made out of modern butted chrome-molybdenum alloy steel. Using the standard electro-forged cantilever frame, and fitted with five-speed derailleur schwinn electric bike gears and knobby tires, the Klunker 5 was never heavily marketed, and was not even listed in the Schwinn product catalog. Unlike its progenitors, the Klunker proved incapable of withstanding hard off-road use, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce the model as the Spitfire 5, it was dropped from production. Another problem was Schwinn’s failure to design and market its bicycles to specific, identifiable buyers, especially the growing number of cyclists interested in road racing or touring.
Bikes featured on the Working Bikes website are not available to test ride. If you would like to test ride a bike, we have a small selection of bikes schwinn mountain bike on our sales floor during our in-store shopping hours. As stated on the manufacturer’s site, Schwinn is no longer producing road bicycles.
During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with the bulk of sales going to youth models. In 1900, during the height of the first bicycle boom, annual United States sales by all bicycle manufacturers had briefly schwinn road bike topped one million. By 1960, annual sales had reached just 4.4 million.[10] Nevertheless, Schwinn’s share of the market was increasing, and would reach in excess of 1 million bicycles per year by the end of the decade.
Unfortunately, the same history and heritage which did so much to propel the brand forward over the years brought it to a sad day in 1993 when Schwinn filed for bankruptcy. In my opinion, it’s crazy to go out & spend $ 1,000 plus when one is not sure how much they’ll enjoy road riding / racing. I trust that in a very short while, we’ll be able to give a more substantive description of how this rides & performs, as my son will pound this Schwinn Varsity CF as has hard as possible – both on our club rides & also as he’s starting to ride Criterium races and some longer road races as well. The Schwinn Varsity Carbon Men’s Road Bike frame is made of an aluminum carbon composite (ACC) construction for superior strength. The bike has been fully serviced in our workshop and is ready to be ridden. When Schwinn introduced the Paramount as their top class racing bike in the 1930s, they started a real success story.