Amazing, someone on CR always knows the answer. The history of Schwinn, like that of Raleigh, always has some little turn one didn't realize before. Too bad they are both now reduced to just empty names slapped on Chinese-made stuff made as cheaply as possible to enrich the marketing spin artists. Too bad Richard Schwinn and Waterford can't reaquire the Schwinn brand.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas, USA
edvintage63@aol.com wrote: Here is a variation of the Schwinn Superior I did not know existed:
The seller is fairly clueless, including the all too common mistake of confusing Reynolds 531 with Reynolds Aluminum. But it appears the frame is 531 DB, essentially the same frame as the Paramount. But if you look closely at the poorly chosen photos, it appears the bike has a Campy Nuovo Grand Sport gruppo - the RD is definitely NGS.
One questionner suggests this is a Paramount with incorrect decals. But the NGS gruppo suggests otherwise. It appears to me that in the early 80's Schwinn built a bike with essentially the same frame as Paramount, but equipped with NGS instead NR/SR to sell at a lower price point. And they recycled the Superior name last used in 1978 on the last of the fillet-brazed Schwinns. Anyone know for sure if I am correct about this? And if so, was the 531 frame built in Chicago (or maybe Waterford) or in Japan? It may seem odd to suggest a 531 frame was built in Japan, but Schwinn did exactly that with the late 70's Volare.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas, USA _________________________________________________________________________ __
Jerry et. al.
When Schwinn shut down the Chicago Paramount operation, they used the remaining tubing and Nervex lugs to have those Superiors brazed up. They are basically the same as the Paramount frames, and came equipped with the Nuovo Gran Sport group. They were built by Don Mainland, who subcontracted quite a few of the 70's Paramounts from Schwinn. Most are that distinctive orange, but a few show up in other livery. They were only available for a relatively short time (circa 1979), and are fairly collectible.
Ed Granger
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA