1968 Schwinn Paramount P13
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

As my bicycle collection and experience has grown, it has begun to take on a life of its own. The other day, my good friend Dave asked if I'd like to have two old bicycles to restore. As a young man, he was an avid cyclist and had racked up thousands of miles on his bikes. As his interest has shifted to auto racing, he had two bikes sitting in his backyard under a tarp for many years. One was an old Paramount and another one was a Bianchi. Of course I said yes, there was no way I was going to turn down a Paramount and a Bianchi, especially when they have been sadly rusting away in the backyard for many years. So on October 29, 2011, I picked up the two bikes. They were quite rough, but they were straight, complete, and about my size. With a little work, they would easily be rideable; with a lot of work, they could be restored.

The Paramount was purchased used by my friend Dave when he was 13 years old in 1970. He bought the frameset with only a headset and seatpost, carrying it over his shoulder while he rode home on another bicycle. He gradually built up the bike with Campagnolo components.

The first thing I did with the Paramount was look up the serial number, which told me the bike was the 23rd bike made in August of 1968. That part was easy, but then I noticed that the lugs did not look like the ornate Nervex lugs I saw in many photos. I was really puzzled, was this a real Paramount? Other than the headbadge, all the decals had worn off of the frameset, so there wasn't much information to go off of. Through a lot of random images searches on the internet, I found a visual match to the lugs - the bike had Prugnat lugs. That made perfect sense, because for a short period from 1967 to 1971, Paramount had used Prugnat lugs instead of the usual Nervex lugs. Same Reynolds 531 tubing, same silver-soldered brazing, same Campagnolo forged dropouts, same handmade quality, just different lugs.

3/4/2012 - After hanging around the garage for a few months, I finally decided to build it up over the weekend. I still don't know what to do with the finish of the frameset, but I figured I better ride it for a bit and see if I like it first, before I consider any sort of restoration. So I cleaned the framset with soap and water and then used a cleaning wax to remove some of the heavy oxidation. The wax actually does a pretty good job of protecting bare steel from rusting, so I put on a pretty heavy coat before buffing it off. The frame looks decent, its still very warn with a lot of scratches and rust, but at least its clean with a dull sheen. I built it up as a fixed gear, since its really quick and easy to do so. The 120mm rear width was perfect for the new track wheels I had and the chainline is perfect. Everything came together quite nicely, so I'll ride it around for a bit and figure out what to do next.

3/17/2012 - I finally take it out for a ride on a cold overcast day, after many days of rain. This bike rides really nice, the fit is pretty spot on, the steel frame feels solid, light, and lively. I'm starting to appreciate all the scratches and rust on the bike as part of its unique patina. The crazy rake on the fork still looks odd, especially in contrast with the modern deep profile wheelset, but it rides really nice. The heavy rims just roll over everything with momentum and force. I plan on putting fenders on it, see if my old cyclocross tires will fit, and put on a suicide brake lever.

11/5/2023 - After 12 years of ownership, I just sold the bike to a gentleman in SF. He plans on using all the original parts and restoring it back to its original condition.

Here are the specs:

Frame: 1968 Schwinn Paramount, 58cm, 120mm spacing, silver. Serial Number: H823. Reynolds 531 double butted tubing with Prugnat lugs.
Fork: 1968 Schwinn Paramount with Nervex "Professional Racing Feature Cut No. 5" fork crown, 1" threaded, silver.
Wheelset: Origin8 Track Lite Pro, 30mm deep double wall rim, pewter. 32h High flange sealed cartridge bearing hub, pewter. Bladed stainless steel spokes with brass nipples, black.
Tires: Continental Ultra Sport, 700x23c.
Cog: IRO 18t, 3/32" with Dura-Ace lockring.
Cranks: Campagnolo Nuovo Record (1049) Strada, 52x42, 172.5mm, 144 BCD. Small chainring has diamond C (1973?) stamp. Titanium crank bolts.
Bottom Bracket: Phil Wood, 112mm.
Headset: Campagnolo <C> Record (1039) Strada.
Chain: SRAM PC-1, 3/32".
Stem: Cinelli 1" quill, 100mm.
Handlebar: Cinelli Campione Del Mondo.
Front Brake: Campagnolo Record (2040).
Brake Lever: Tekro RX 2.0 in-line/cyclocross levers, silver.
Pedals: Forte Campus.
Seatpost: Campagnolo Record (1044), 27.2mm.
Saddle: Brooks B17, black.

The original bike weighed 24 lbs 9 oz, the bike currently weighs 20 lbs 4 oz as shown. The frame weighs 4 lbs 8 oz and the fork weighs 1 lb 14 oz.

The following are the parts that I am currently not using:

Front Rim: Saturae C20 700c, 36h, silver.
Front Hub: Campagnolo.
Rear Rim: Weinman 700c, 40h, silver.
Rear Hub: Campagnolo Record (1034), low flange, 120mm spacing.
Front Derailer: Campagnolo Record (1052/1), 28.6mm clamp-on.
Rear Derailer: Campagnolo Nuovo Record (1020/A), Patent-72 (1972)
Shifters: Campagnolo Record (1014), clamp-on.
Stem: Cinelli 1" quill, 100mm. Reg N. 935128. The stem bolts are not original and do not fit well.
Brake Levers: Campagnolo Nuovo Record (2030).
Pedal: Campagnolo Superleggeri (1037/a), black with Christophe cages.
Saddle: Brooks Professional, brown.
Pump: Silca, silver.