Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established Paramount as their answer to high-end, professional competition bicycles. The Paramount used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and expensive brass lug-brazed construction. During the next twenty years, most of the Paramount bikes would be built in limited numbers at a small frame shop headed by Wastyn, in spite of Schwinn’s continued efforts to bring all frame production into the factory. By 1950, Schwinn had decided the time was right to grow the brand. At the time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in bulk to department stores, which in turn sold them as store brand models. F. Goodrich bicycles, sold in tire stores, Schwinn eliminated the practice of producing private label bicycles in 1950, insisting that the Schwinn brand and guarantee appear on all products.
Mark Smith has a nice page about his Schwinn bikes , also some good Schwinn Repair and Restoration tips. Designating the width with a fraction instead of a decimal usually signifies a straight-sided rim, not a hook-edge rim. There are similar problems with other Schwinn tire sizes. The most common difficulty is that the Schwinn 26 x 1 3/8 (I. S.O. 597 mm) interchanges with the British 26 x 1 1/4, not the British 26 x 1 3/8 (I. S.O. 590 mm).
If I recall, it was what Schwinn called a “cantilever” frame, where the seat stays pass by the seat cluster and continue on in a graceful curve to join the bottom of the head tube. Older Schwinn “cruisers”, such as the Excelsior that was the inspiration of the first mountain bikes, used a straight lower top tube from the bottom of the head tube to the seat tube. By the mid-1970s, competition from lightweight and feature-rich imported bikes was making strong inroads in the budget-priced schwinn dealers and beginners’ market. While Schwinn’s popular lines were far more durable than the budget bikes, they were also far heavier and more expensive, and parents were realizing that most of the budget bikes would outlast most kids’ interest in bicycling. In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram’s horn handlebars, yet still have braking control.
Search results are sorted by a combination of factors to give you a set of choices in response to your search criteria. “Preferred” listings, or those with featured website buttons, indicate YP advertisers who directly provide information about their businesses to help consumers make more informed buying decisions. YP advertisers receive higher placement in the default ordering of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the top, side, or bottom of the search results page. In 2001, Schwinn/GT was once again in bankruptcy court staving off creditors. During the court proceedings, Pacific Cycle outbid Huffy Corporation to purchase the Schwinn/GT bicycle brand from Questor.
This was a no-expense-spared project of Frank W. Schwinn, who wanted the bike to be introduced in 1938. It was an unqualified success, other than that it was very expensive to produce and showed little if any real profit potential. Sponsorship of 6-day riders produced a team to showcase the Paramount, the riders such as Jerry Rodman (The Michael Jordan of that time in Chicago) and the rest of the Schwinn Co. bicycle line.
This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens. In the 1950s, Schwinn began to aggressively cultivate bicycle retailers, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their predominant, if not exclusive brand. 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 topped one million.
The main producers of Schwinn bicycles in China and Taiwan were not being compensated for shipping their products. The banks were swooping in and taking any cash from the business to hedge their possible losses. In essence, the Bank loans were taking away schwinn dealers any possible way for Schwinn to pay its suppliers. Two-speed rear hubs, that the rider shifted by back pedalling, were common, but some featured external rear derailleurs with 3 or 5 gear ratios and automotive-like gear shifters mounted on the top tube.
The fund was worth $1 billion and was well known for purchasing troubled companies. Sam Zell, one of the funds owners, was often called the grave dancer. Zell-Chilmark was quite attracted to the economic potential of acquiring the Schwinn name at a fire sale price. Schwinn had taken a hit on its balance sheet in the early 1980s with the closing of the Chicago factory.
Questor tried to breath new life into Schwinn again developing an updated line of historic models. Zell-Chilmark had no use for the Waterford plant which specialized in high-end bicycles. The investment group had decided to focus on the wider markers of less expensive bicycles.