Conference noted::bicycle

    
    As you probably know, Paramount is the professional frame-building
    shop owned by Schwinn.  There are lots of people who like Paramounts.
    
    As with most any professional-frame business (American, Italian,
    whatever), the shop is fairly small.
    
    It would be easy to find out, but I don't personally know what
    connection, if any, the Paramount Design Group has with the
    frame builders.  Quite possibly very little.
    
    In the parts you are mentioning, I tend to select by spec - that is,
    feature/price.  That's how I chose the Cateye Micro, for example,
    which especially at the time had more feature for less money (and
    a better reliability record) than most other cyclocomputers.
    
    So maybe Paramount Design is like buying a designer label.  But
    this is just conjecture - someone else may know more.
    
    -john

Paramount bicycles are Schwqinn's top of the line.  Paramount
clothing/accessories are IMHO pretty run of the mill stuff marketed through
Schwinn dealers.

ed

    I have a Cateye Micro on my Paramount. .........
    
    No problems.
    
    I do have a pair of paramount shorts.  They are no better than any
    other cheap shorts.  The paramount helmet dos not fit me, to 'round'.

    John

    
    
    I recently purchased a Paramount series 8 bike computer at gamaches in
    fitchburg for $29. The $80 price listed in .0 for a series 10 seems
    incredibly high. 
    
    I opted for the series 8 because I didn't want the cadence feature on the 
    series 10. I can't say it really any better than any better computer
    but I'm quite happy with it.
    
    One really nice feature (and the reason I bought mine) is the road time
    display. This display keeps track of the time you are actually riding
    and computes average speed on that number. Stop the bike to take a
    break or wait for a red light and the road time counter stops. Start
    up again and it starts counting again. It also has an elapsed time
    counters, max speed, avg speed, current speed, clock, trip odometer
    and total miles odometer. 
    
    I'd recommend it!
    
    DS

    I bought 2 paramount series 10s (one for my wife and one for myself)
    this past weekend.  The price was $69.00, less $8.00 discount because I
    was installing them myself.  I wasn't aware of any particular
    "prestige" associated with the label, and selected these solely based
    on the features.  Of the models reviewed in "Bicycle" magazine (August
    issue, I think), there was only one other model with the same
    combination of features.  I believe it was the bottom of the line
    Vetta. It was less expensive, but I was unable to find anyone who had
    one in stock (they only carried the more expensive one and the wireless
    model, both of which lacked one or more features I wanted.).  
    
    	So far, they wrok very nicely.  One problem I experienced in
    installation was that when I went to attach the mounting bracket, it
    seemed as if the screw immediately stripped.  I thought about bringing
    it back, but I figured they'd just say "so, you stripped the screw, you
    oaf, what do you expect us to do?".  So, instead, I found a bigger
    screw, forced it in, and cracked the mount, like an oaf.  When my wife
    installed hers, she discovered immediately that the problem is that the
    screw supplied is too small.  She located an appropriately sized one &
    it worked fine.
    
    Features (from memory) :
    
    		Speed
    		Cadance
    		Maximum speed (for the trip)
    		Average Speed (for the trip)
    		Trip Odometer
    		Odometer
    		Stopwatch
    		Clock (always visible)
    		Cadance Alarm
    		Speed alarm

    re [.5] I kept going back and forth between the two features - I think
    it would have been nice if they could have added the cadence without
    deleting the riding time feature.  However, I decided on the cadence
    because you can simulate the road time feature by simply stopping and
    restarting the stop watch whenever you take a break - that
    automatically puts the average speed on hold.  Of course, it's a pain
    at lights, but I REALLY like the cadence - more in fact than I expected
    I would.  I generally watch that more than my speed & it's resulted in
    my average speed increasing considerably.
    
    							Joe

    I feel that cadance is VERY important.  For my training rides I
    have cadance display on the whole ride.  How long can I spin @110rpm
    Just what does 95rpm "feel" like?
    
    Re: average speed
    
    The Auto shut off  feature is  IMHO not a feature.  average speed
    is just that.  the average speed of your time out on your ride.
    
    If you get a light, or stop to wait for a friend, or SO, you are
    resting!  
    
    Now I get PISSED when my time is looking real good and I get EVERY
    light on the last leg of my ride too, so I can understand the want of 
    having this option.
    
    I do shut mine off on "lunch" breaks, and forget to turn it back
    on!  gee its been 22.6 miles for a LONG time!!
    
    John
    
    

    When I started riding with the cadance monitor, I noticed that when I
    started climbing a hill I would bothe gear down AND drop my cadance. 
    Using the monitor tends to keep me honest & give me the feedback I need
    to keep the revs up where I want them.  I really don't watch the
    speed nearly as much as watch the cadance, and my average speed has
    increased as a result.  Also, I'm finding that when I go out on my
    mountain bike (which I ride solely on the road, for commuting), which
    doesn't have a computer, I find that I have a much better sense of how
    fast I'm spinning, even without the instumentation.  All in all, I'm
    very glad I went for this feature.