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.

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.
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.
Tires:
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.
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.
Headset: Campagnolo <C> Record (1039) Strada.
Chain:
Stem: Cinelli 1" quill, 100mm. Reg N. 935128.
Handlebar: Cinelli Campione Del Mondo.
Front Brake: Campagnolo Record (2040).
Brake Levers: Campagnolo Nuovo Record (2030).
Pedal: Campagnolo Superleggeri (1037/a), black with Christophe cages.
Seatpost: Campagnolo Record (1044), 27.2mm.
Saddle: Brooks B17, black.

The original bike weighed 24 lbs 9 oz. 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:

Saddle: Brooks Professional, brown.
Pump: Silca, silver.