From: marcus.e.helman(AT)gm.com
"I don't know anything about Paramount tandems, but I am struck by the lugless construction, the clamp-on seat post collars, and the Varsity-like seatstay to seat tube treatment. The bike also has a fully sloping fork crown. None of these details conform to my knowledge of Paramount singles. The only things that keep the bike from looking utterly cheap are the Campy parts and the forged dropouts.
Is it really a Paramount?
Best regards, Marcus Helman"
hi gang,
regarding the lugless construction.... this is not uncommon for tandems built by smaller builders. It offers the ability to adjust the angles without needing a large variety of lug angles in stock. I'm guessing that even Schwinn didn't sell a lot of high-end tandems back in those days, so this concession to low sales volume makes sense to me.
The curved seat tube was unique to Schwinn (at least to my limited knowledge), and I don't recall it being used on the low-end tandem models. Was the purpose of the curved tube just to keep the frame tubes short, and thereby reduce the flex that was typical of tandems of that era?
Bob Hufford(sp?) has his Schwinn Lightweight site on the web somewhere... ought to be able to check it. And I have a 1976 Schwinn catalog stashed away too..... I can check it, if there is an interest.
regards,
Steve Kurt
Peoria, IL