Re: [CR]Re: Paramount Touring Bikes -- Rear Mechs?

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 20:47:27 -0500
From: "HM & SS Sachs" <sachs@erols.com>
To: "Mark A. Perkins" <bicyclemark@juno.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Paramount Touring Bikes -- Rear Mechs?
References: <20030304.194723.-116663.1.bicyclemark@juno.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Mark - I've acted on your request that I look again. In my post, I quoted directly from the "Schwinn 1973 Specifications for Paramount Models, Sports Tourer, and Super Sport." The quote is from p. 3, under "Derailleurs and Gears." It says, "The P15 Paramount is equipped with the new Schwinn-Approved GT-300 "Le Tour" derailleur with outstanding wide-range shifting capabilities..." Although the catalog is printed in black with blue, the photo of the P15 (with fenders and suicide brake levers) is monochrome, as are all the others in this catalogue. I have looked at the derailleur picture with my rock-hound magnifier, and it just shows the half-tone dots. With my poor, naked, eye, it looks much more like a Crane than the Gran Trashmo; the two hang side-by-side on pegboard in my shop. For what it's worth, p. 3 of the 1972 Paramount specifications states that the P15 Deluxe Paramount has the Gran Trashmo.

All I can conclude is that Schwinn's documents may not have been mutually consistent. Happens in the best of families, I guess.

Harvey "not real good at text deconstruction" Sachs McLean VA

Mark A. Perkins wrote:
>Harvey Sachs wrote:
>
>
>>1973: "The P-15 Paramount is equipped with teh new Schwinn-Approved
>>GT-300 "Le Tour" derailleur..." Picture at poor angle, but looks like
>>
>>
>a Crane.
>
>Harvy and everyone:
>
>Please look again Harvey. I have a copy of every Schwinn catalog from
>the '70's (as well as some '60's & '80's - everything after that doesn't
>matter to me), and last week I checked, and again tonight. Get your
>magnifying glass out, because the main photo of the "Opaque Blue"
>Paramount P-15-9, which is a perfect right-side view of a P-15, clearly
>shows a Campy Gran Tourissimo rear derailleur. The catalogs list this
>Campy one-full-pound-of-steel on the P-15 for '71, '72' & '73. The
>Schwinn approved GT-300 "Le Tour" was introduced (in the catalog at
>least) in '74. Of course we all know that it (the Le Tour der.) could
>have come out in late '73, but the catalog does not indicate so, it does
>indicate that the "Le Tour" tires were new for '73. Also, upon looking
>through the catalog a little further I noticed the Campy GT rear on the
>"Sports Tourer" as well.
>
>It seems like I read or heard somewhere that Campagnolo dropped the Gran
>Tourissimo derailleur sometime around '73 or '74, but I couldn't confirm
>that with my copy (probably 6-mos. old) of the Campy time line. Unless
>Chuck has updated the info. I couldn't find any mention of when they
>dropped the GT rear der.
>
>"Bicycle Mark" Perkins
>Fresno Cycling Club - Historian
>Fresno, California, U.S.A.
>
>________________________________________________________________
>Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today
>Only $9.95 per month!
>Visit http://www.juno.com