Steven,
On your wife's Paramount, are the skewers stamped "closed" and "open" on the outside and inside of the curve, respectively? I have one curved QR like you describe that is unmarked, and I've seen some that are marked. The markings are a CPSC thing, but I'm starting to wonder if the curve was. It's hard to say what force was behind each change. It does seem that there was an early curved QR that was just the flat QR with an added bend, and it *could* have been made prior to any CPSC mandate. Then there was one just like that, but with "open/closed" markings for safety, with said markings being the only change actually required by CPSC. Finally the completely redesigned lever (with script logo) would have been brought out later as a cosmetic refinement. Both the semi-scarce flat lever and fully-redesigned lever are far more common than the two intermediate types. Of course, my unmarked early curved lever could truly be a flat lever that someone bent, and it could be that all the "factory" curved levers are marked, with both changes (the curve and the markings) added at the same time, one or both in response to CPSC requirements. But, if your wife's bike has curved QRs with no markings, we can probably rule out this scenario. Perhaps a FOIA search of CPSC records is in order.
Also, does your wife's bike have curved QR's ft and Rr? I've seen pars where one is flat and one is curved. And finally, do those QRs have the older, cone-shaped wingnuts?
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
My wife's '79 Paramount came with the CPSC calipers, but had globe logo hoods. It also came with a sort of transitional hub QR skewer, which was just the older NR skewer with a bent lever. It looks like something done to a standard straight lever, as it is not the smooth curve of the domed adjuster skewer.
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