Harry Akaki’s 50th Anniversary Schwinn Paramount

1988 Schwinn Paramount

Wow, look at this classy old road bike.

This black bike with it’s gold plated fork is a special edition that Schwinn made in 1988 to herald the 50th anniversary of the Paramount racing division within the company.

Harry Akaki, a friend of ours, bought this limited edition frameset back in ‘88 and took great pains to build it with some appropriate and unique parts.

French component maker Mavic is all over the bike. Besides the Mavic-labeled Look pedals you’re looking at Mavic’s model 631 crankset, model 851 rear derailleur, model 810 front derailleur, model 500 hubs and Mavic Open 4 CD rims.

The brakes are Modolo Master Pros, stoppers that were a common pick for bikes that might line up in the Tour de France or other elite races in the 1980’s. The handlebars and stem are also made by Modolo, in this case they’re the Professional models that replaced the “Master SSC” as Modolo’s top handlebar offering after the SSC was recalled because of some reliability issues.

Modolo Professional

Modolo Master Pro brakes

Mavic derailleurs

Cinelli Saddle, Tioga carbon post (made in ‘88!)

The seatpost was made by Tioga, and it’s one of the first ever made with carbon fiber. The shift levers? Yep, the Modolo levers showcase another early use of carbon fiber.

While we’re at it, you should look at another Schwinn Paramount. The white bike pictured here is one of the first Schwinn “Paramount” bikes ever built. In 1938 the Ignaz Schwinn company decided that a separate division for their special racing bikes was the way to go, separating the racing bikes from their more utilitarian offerings. Oscar Wastyn built this white track bike and other early Paramounts. They were all very good bikes and still ride quite nicely even compared to modern competitors.

1939 Schwinn Paramount (built by Oscar Wastyn)

Modolo nylon shift levers

Mavic “Starfish” crankset

This “modern” black bike wasn’t built by Oscar Wastyn, as he had died in 1969, but it would have made him pretty proud to see his legacy.

The 50th Anniversary bike was built quite well and rides great, again even compared to modern 2020’s era competitors.

The people who made the 50th anniversary frames, the Paramount design group, broke away from Schwinn corporate following the sale of the company in 1993 and became known as Waterford Precision Cycles.

I’m not sure if they did a 75th Anniversary version in 2013…