‘92 Schwinn Paramount Series 90

[MSYT]

Hey folks. Here’s a shiny purple bike for you;

My 1992 Schwinn Series 90 PDG

I picked this frame up years ago. It was shiny and purple and the dropped chainstay looked cool. Then I did a bit of research and realised it was actually a very nicely spec’d bike. In 92 I believe it was Schwinn’s top offering. Tange Prestige tubing, Ritchey, Suntour XC Pro and Campagnolo. A really really nice bike. So… I thought I’d start collecting or looking for the Suntour group and oh boy was that an eye opener. How much does that go for?!

Well a year or two passed and I got a bit bored looking for XC Pro so I grabbed one of my XT groups and built it with that:

1992 Schwinn Series 90 PDG - Vintage Mountain Bike Build - Retro Bike Rebuild

I loved how it rode and looked but for some reason I thought I needed a rebuild so last year (I think) I rebuilt it with a bit of purple. I built up a purple Hope Ti wheelset, found some purple bars, whacked in some new Magura HS33 and then mixed up the drivetrain with a XC Pro front mech, XTR rear and XC Pro crankset… which then got changed for a Middleburn with purple spider and rings.

Upgrading My Schwinn With Some Retro Bike Bling - Vintage Mountain Bike Build

That brings me to yesterday where I stripped the bike down again and rebuilt it with a slightly mismatched XC Pro MD group. I haven’t ridden it yet but I’m crossing my fingers that the Suntour cassette is still in good condition.

The group came with 7 speed shifters, brake levers, cantis (rear SE), front derailleur, MD crankset, MD rear derailleur and a 8 speed MD wheelset. The wheelset had a mismatched rim on the front so the first thing I did was find a matching rim and rebuild that wheel. The crankset was pretty beat up too. The ND arm was basically black. All the coating had been worn off just on the top face but it polished up pretty well. The DS was better but I ended up replacing the middle ring and the outer ring with a NOS MD ring just so I could have the sticker. I’ve also decided not to use the Suntour cantis because the bike was originally spec’d with 987s so… I fitted a set of NOS. Oh and some Panaracers.

No video for that yet. I need some dry weather to get some riding footage but here’s some pics.

 

[mk one]

very nice, haven't seen one for a while.

 

[vtwinvince]

Underrated bikes IMHO. Just go easy on that purple anodising.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I remember those bikes came w/ a 1.5in rake fork, like the Yo Eddy fork, unlike everybody´s 1.75.

 

[genuinelunch]

I have the same bike, almost original, mine has the Campy Atek rims. So light and nice to ride. Got it on Craigslist in Florida last year. The bottom pull derailleur had been replaced with junk and the pulley wheel removed, but I found a top pull xc pro FD for $16 shipped on eBay. The existing cable sheath (or liner, whatever you call it) contacted the seat tube where the cable wrapped around and prevented any rub. Put my own saddle, grips (the originals were on there but felt worn out), tires, and some old Suntour bear traps on and it's one of my favorite bikes ever. I also got a '91 Series 50 that had almost all stock parts that I turned into a rat bike, so the original stem and pulley wheel can go to the Series 90, and I can maybe try to find a proper FD, but it does function just fine as is. I took the stickers off of the chain ring and RD and put them on some sticker paper to preserve them, I have taken this thing to some pretty gnarly trails and gotten it nice and muddy.
I've actually followed your build on Youtube, nice to see someone else caring for one of these, and I admire your style.
I'll throw a couple pics up for the thread.
Cheers!

 

[genuinelunch]

Almost forgot to mention; I noticed yours has a Schwinn decal on the fork and down tube, and mine has Paramount. Is that a region thing? As far as I know this colorway was only done in 1992.

 

[AirPressure]

Almost forgot to mention; I noticed yours has a Schwinn decal on the fork and down tube, and mine has Paramount. Is that a region thing? As far as I know this colorway was only done in 1992.

Yes, the exported models had Schwinn on the downtube. The US models had Paramount.