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Name:Paramount 70th Anniversary frameset (09)
Built by:Schwinn
Description:Material - Reynolds 953 Stainless Steel, Includes 330g (Reynolds UL carbon fork)
Weight (kg):7.5 kg
Available Sizes:Custom cm
Available Colours:Red
Year:2009
Paramount was once one of the brands to have and Schwinn hope to capitalise on some of that storied heritage with a 70th anniversary edition of their elite nameplate. Boasting one of the most advanced steel tubesets on the planet, there is much to love about this limited edition creation.
Normally we prefer to evaluate a bicycle solely – or at least primarily – on its performance: how well it rides, climbs, descends and handles, and how much it weighs. But in the case of the Schwinn Paramount 70th Anniversary, the aesthetics are such an inherent and key part of the appeal that it’s impossible not to give them equal billing.
Put it outside and the metallic paint and chromed rear triangle and head tube lugs glimmer in the sunshine. The artful lugs cleverly integrate Schwinn’s trademark four-pointed star and the pierced seatstay caps are wondrous creations of metalwork.
Classic bicycle aficionados will notice the short-point bottom bracket lug with its neatly integrated chainstay bridge and the open-architecture rear dropouts. During our photo shoot, the bike drew a small crowd of admirers, and you simply can’t help but stare for a moment. Only this is no ‘classic’ bike and that’s not chrome – it’s polish.
Each 70th Anniversary frame is handbuilt by Waterford Precision Cycles – a Paramount producer back in the 1980s and one of today's premier small-batch steel builders – using the latest Reynolds 953 stainless super steel and a set of stainless steel lugs designed just for Schwinn. The look is old school but the materials used are decidedly new, and the craftsmanship is unmatched by mass manufacturing.
Though not nearly as light as modern carbon, our 56cm test frame still weighed just 1,720g (3.79lb) and the complete bike as tested with matching Reynolds UL carbon fork, Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 and Mavic R-SYS wheels was a thoroughly competitive 7.5kg (16.66lb). Not bad for a material supposedly past its prime
Drop dead gorgeous looks, killer ride
Bicycle journalists speak often of a bike’s ‘liveliness', ‘springiness’ or ‘snap’, yet as close as some carbon frames come to the ideal, this Schwinn Paramount epitomises the gold standard of how a bike should feel and communicate to its rider and establishes a mark for which others should strive. On smooth roads it’s firm and direct, yet even nasty washboard dirt tracks that would normally detach your retinas are uncannily smoothed out as if you were following behind a turbocharged steamroller.
The steel pipes admittedly don’t dampen vibrations in the same way as carbon does but buzz transmits through in such melodious harmony that you almost begin to actually like it and there is sufficient flex in the frame to take the sting out of harsh potholes, too. Even so, we were happy to have a painted-to-match version of Reynolds’ superb UL carbon fork up front. Though steel makes for one of the finest riding frames around, we’ve yet to find a ferrous fork that can beat a top-notch carbon prong. In this case, the UL’s feel complements the rest of the bike nicely and its 330g weight shaves a bunch of mass, too.
Best of all, the 70th Anniversary is alive beneath you with that characteristically resilient personality that high-end steel exhibits almost exclusively. It’s nearly impossible to convey the sensation in words alone. Those who are familiar with it will know exactly what we’re talking about and those who aren’t… well, let’s just say your bicycle quiver isn’t quite full yet.
Much as we love the Paramount’s ride quality, though, carbon fibre’s anisotropic material properties (ie. its stiffness varies with the loading direction) still give it a clear upper hand in terms of overall performance and tuning potential.
The difference is most obvious up front. Remember that springy feel we enjoyed on washboard and broken pavement? Unfortunately the front triangle is equally springy in torsion, which manifests in a bit more twist than usual when sprinting out of the saddle and some flex in hard cornering. It still feels better than the equal amount of movement in a carbon frame but can be a bit distracting at times, especially coming off of something stiffer. Shaping the tubes would help but for now, Reynolds only offers 953 in round cross-sections.
The disparity is subtler out back, though still noticeable. The beautiful rear triangle is admirably rigid under power but just doesn’t quite deliver that immediate surge of speed that full-on carbon race bikes now provide. You can still get up to the same speed but the build-up is more deliberate (think lots of horsepower but not so much torque). In essence, there’s a bigger reward from remaining seated and winding things up than by getting out of the saddle and muscling the bike around.
However, if your primary purpose in cycling is just getting out and clipping off some enjoyable miles, rather than screaming off the front at your local criterium, there are few better ways to do so than on one of these.
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