[CR]Chrome Paramount Brazing

(Example: Framebuilders:Cecil Behringer)

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 18:11:07 -0500
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "David Cooper" <dbcooper@rcn.com>
Subject: [CR]Chrome Paramount Brazing

This is in response to Stephen Barner's post concerning Chrome Paramounts from last Saturday. Don Mainland is a friend of mine and he told me the following:

Don was a good friend of all of the people at Schwinn from his racing days in the 1950's. He runs (to this day) a very successful production precision machine shop in Racine, WI. When the bike boom was heating up Don, with his friend and co-racer Roger Nelson, bid on production of Paramounts. Since he did not know what his actual costs were he bid on the low side and was awarded the contract to build frames. He shared production of frames with the Chicago plant. In 1972 Don made all of the chrome frames, because, as he said, his brazing was cleaner and the brazing quality shows underneath the chrome. Don did not say that his frames were any different, or rode differently, than the ones made in Chicago. The frames were given serial numbers after they were assembled so there is no way of telling whether a given frame was made in Don's shop or not. After 1972 I am not sure if Don continued to make every chrome Paramount frame or just some of them, and he did not remember clearly either.

Dave Staub and I talked about all of this when I saw him at the Cirque last May and he confirmed this information partially--but said that he could not verify personally if Don made all of the 1972 chrome Paramount frames. Dave did say to me, however, that he had no reason to doubt Don's memory about this.

I have a 1972 chrome Paramount P-13. Shortly before the Velo Rendezvous last year, I brought it to Waterford to show it to Mark Muller (chief engineer for Paramounts from 1974 on) to confirm that the components on it were accurate. Mark did not know that Don made all of the chrome frames in 1972 and looked for any telltale signs to see if my particular bike was made in Racine or Chicago. He could not tell. Mark was kind enough to look up in the old Schwinn records to determine the exact placement for the down tube decals (they changed position depending on frame size), and apply them on my frame.

On the way back to Chicago from Waterford, I stopped to Racine to show it to Don Mainland. Don looked at it for one moment and confirmed he made the frame. I asked him how he could tell and he laughed and told me the story I mentioned above.

Best regards,
David Cooper
Chicago, IL