Zell-Chilmark firm knew nothing about running a bicycle company. Consequently, they decided partner with Scott USA, a burgeoning sports company with strong ties in Europe. Another youth movement was about to begin at Schwinn bicycles. She liked the idea of moving from drop handlebars to riding a performance “cross” or “mountain style” bicycle with straight handlebars. This is a testament to the durability of Schwinn bicycles made overseas.
Other road bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid 1960s, such as the Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for a few years. The Varsity and Continental sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn’s leading models. The wheel rims were likewise robust, chromed, stamped steel with a unique profile designed to hold the tire bead securely, even if pressure were low or lost.
Unlike its progenitors, the Klunker proved incapable of withstanding hard off-road use, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce the model as the Spitfire 5, it was dropped from production. A growing number of US teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or schwinn dealers road ‘racer’ bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production Paramount series. As always, the Paramount spared no expense; the bicycles were given high-quality lightweight lugged steel frames using double-butted tubes of Reynolds 531 and fitted with quality European components including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs, and gears. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today.
By 1960, annual sales had reached just 4.4 million.[10] Nevertheless, Schwinn’s share of the market was increasing, and would reach in excess of 1 million bicycles per year by the end of the decade. None of the Schwinn Chicago employees were seen as a good fit for the new company. This was the end of the road for the Schwinn family bicycle company. The Schwinn name would live on adorning the tubes of bicycles made in Asia.
Edward Schwinn figured that the bankers wouldn’t want to lose their equity in Schwinn if the company declared bankruptcy. Frustrated with Schwinn’s excuses, the Banker’s increasingly began playing financial hardball. In time, the Paramount came in a variety of models but remained expensive to produce and purchase. The Schwinn® Airdyne® AD2gives you all of the benefits of wind-resistance technology for an intense upper & lower body workout right from the comfort of home. Built with the unmatched quality and durability you expect from Schwinn®, the streamlined AD2 keeps it real—adding only the features you need to get the comfort, control and incredible results you demand.
After a crash-course in new frame-building techniques and derailleur technology, Schwinn introduced an updated Paramount with Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing, Nervex lugsets and bottom bracket shells, as well as Campagnolo derailleur dropouts. The Paramount continued as a limited production model, built in small numbers in a small apportioned area of the old Chicago assembly factory. The new frame and component technology incorporated in the Paramount largely failed to reach Schwinn’s mass-market bicycle lines. W. Schwinn, grandson Frank Valentine Schwinn took over management of the company. At the close of the 1920s, the stock market crash decimated the American motorcycle industry, taking Excelsior-Henderson with it. Arnold, Schwinn, & Co. (as it remained until 1967) was on the verge of bankruptcy.