Richard Schwinn at Waterford Cycles Takes us on a tour of his shop! We bring him a frame to repaint.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Go to Waterfordbikes.com
My friend Cyril and I got to Waterford Cycles to see Richard Schwinn to get a Schwinn Paramount repainted and another one repaired. While we are there Richard gives us a tour of Waterford Cycles and the process to repaint and repair steel frames! Come along for the journey as Richard shows us around his shop!
Music by Bensound.com
#bikelover #restoration #bikelife
I walked into that plant for 6.5 years as a frame builder from 86 to 93. It was awesome. Marc and Richard are great guys.
That's awesome, it's a possibility you built either one of my two 1988 anniversary editions, or my 84 with chrome lugs.
What a thoroughly enjoyable visit with Richard Schwinn. This is one of the best bicycle videos I have ever seen. Richard's ebullient personality, his joie de vivre, his knowledge and love of bicycles, particularly Schwinn vintage bikes and the Paramount series, of course, is very inspiring and invigorating. What a great guy. It was quite edifying as well to see what they do at Waterford Cycles. Richard's comments were very interesting and instructive. Thank you for giving me this great treat to start my day.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Duuude! Masterpiece of editing. 100% serious! Wow!!!
Above was my private text to John when he sent me this. But let me add this…
Duuude!!!!!!!! Masterpiece of editing!!!!!!! 100% serious!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!
Man that is a serious TREASURE of a view into Schwinn, Paramount, Waterford Precision Cycles, and Richard Schwinn. I was soooo fortunate to be there!
Thanks John!
So grateful for your help
Very educational for a Brit who doesn't know much at all about American bikes. Thank you.
When I went to service school at schwinn their main competition they thought was Raleigh.
As a kid in the 80’s and then a teen in the early 90’s here in the UK, Raleigh were by far the most popular. Falcon were probably the next most popular. My father was always a Dawes rider until they emigrated. Back then all three brands were made in the uk and very durable. I still have a uk built Claud Butler hybrid, and its fantastic - I use it constantly, even with a new (2022) Vitus road bike in the garage.
wow, Richard Schwinn is great, wonderful to view this video!!!!!!
Thanks! He was very gracious
Man, this guy is GOLD. I'm in my 30's and we hear so many ungrateful young people now talking negatively about past generations of people ("boomers" for example), but these guys were the best. Honest & Respectful manner of interacting with others, courteous, and great humor. Seeing the way you and Richard speak to each other is refreshing. I could watch you guys go on all day haha Be well John.
Thanks. Thanks for watching!
I tell you....
First of all, thank you for your comment.
You are so right about ungrateful and negative comments when referring to old cyclists. Specially when you see riding up hill on a 5 cog cassette 11-25.
One of the TH-cam channels that constantly does it is GCN, they are out right disrespectful and I already started reporting that channel every time they do it. I've written to them because every time they had mouth a vintage bike they are disrespecting an entire generation.
Again, thank you for your comment.
Yeah, i enjoyed this video! i have a 25" red paramount that i never restored[yet]and i have a waterford paramount frame-24"emerald green in a box- i won a white 23"at the yearly dealer meeting in atlanta, but didn't want to build it up at the time because 2 of the guys i rode with[ occasionally,i was the store manager!] had white ones ,so i ordered in an emerald and traded it.
I had an emerald green on order when it came out.. then we lost our Schwinn Franchise and I had to cancel it! LOL
Thanks for the history lesson. Interesting guy.
I'll have more coming. He had some interesting stories that I kept out that will be in other videos.
Again an enjoyable slice of history. Richard is certainly a character. In the UK for me growing up in the 60’s and 70’s this brand was unknown. You had cheap brands and then the holy grail bike was Raleigh. Of course to an U.S. citizen growing up with Schwinn Paramount this may sound truly bizarre. Keep the videos coming.
When I went to service school the instructor Gary had a thing against Raleigh. In Schwinns mind Raleigh was a huge competitor.
As a life long Schwinn fan and owner of several Schwinn bicycles. I have a 1998 Moab 1 I built up and a 1964 Le Tour on the wall in my room. My daily driver is a very modified Schwinn Vantage. I just learned about the Gunnar Rock Tour and the connection to the Schwinn bicycle legacy. I am very sad to learn that Waterford/Gunnar is closing and I may never own 1.
Very interesting, Gunner was built by the same factory as Waterford cycles. That was owned by Richard Schwinn. As you could see here. I will be interviewing him later this month about his whereabouts and what he's doing. Keep an eye out for that video. It'll be part of a video where I take you through the Madison bike swap. You will probably see him there if you attend.
What a great visit with Richard! Nice to see the attention to detail and the effort to maintain "correctness" for the vintage frames. Kudos to Cyril for the video work too. :)
Thanks, It was great spending time with him!
Another great video John! After watching this video the other morning, I went on CL and found a Paramount frame set in my size (xl) and purchased it that same day. I’m looking forward to locating the various parts needed to complete a restoration. I’m looking forward to go through the learning process and building the bike from scratch. So thank you John for creating this you tube channel and sharing your collection and knowledge. Hopefully someday we will be able to talk, I need some direction in regards to the various components needed. Thanks again Bob
If you would like look me up on Facebook John Haboush
Great video, 👍
Thanks 👍
Wow , I'm impressed with Richard Schwinn, no BS , no attitude, he knows his business . Thanks for this thoroughly enjoyable video John.
Glad you enjoyed it. Going back up there tuesday to pick up two framesets.
Real neat video....i'd love to work in that shop, they got it all together
Give them a call. They might need help!
This was a great video, John. I'm slowly working my way through your vids. I was up at Waterford, around 20 years ago, to take the tour, and do their ride, with my somewhat newish Gunnar.
After all these years, they've never repeated that "color of the month". 21 years old, and still does the job. (even after a dozen+ crashes)
Wow! This was so much fun to watch!! I have two vintage Paramounts, a 73 Opaque Blue P15 and a chrome P13-9 from 1971. I also have a 1991 Paramount. I've had quite a few pass through my hands over the years, but these all are keepers. Like many, I'd drool over them in the Schwinn catalog and didn't get one until the early 2000s.
Who needed playboy. I had the Schwinn catalog! lol
@@JohnsVintageRoadBikeGarage 50 plus years out those Playboy girls don't look so great, but the Paramounts still do, so there's that.......
Thank you for sharing! For whatever reason Paramounts have always been just off my radar. Now on my must have list! Excellent video.
Funny enough, others have said the same thing to me personally or even on here.
Excellent video, looking forward to seeing the '72 completed.
Me too! I've been waiting for a campus green paramount since I was a teenager! Thanks for watching
This is so cool
It was a lot of fun!
This is a great video John. Richard is very interesting. It was very nice of him to let you do this video.
Thank you sir. He was a good sport.
Great video John! Enjoyed listening to some of the history and the current attention to detail. Quite the process that they remove the brake bridge to widen the area between the dropouts.
I was somewhat surprised when he said they did that. It makes total sense.
@@JohnsVintageRoadBikeGarage I just uploaded a new video and forgot to give your channel another shout out. So, I added a card at about 1:23 into the video. I’ll get a verbal one in next video. Love your channel.
@@BicycleRestorationMan thanks for the shout out.
greatest of all time Eddie Merkx
YES!
best advertising for waterford maybe ever. I can't wait to send mine in for a repaint.
There will be a video soon where I pick up and reveal the work that he did. Hopefully within a week or two
Hope you sent it in before the doors closed up 😕
@@grettaava1155 I got them both back
@@JohnsVintageRoadBikeGarage sweet, I’m still sad/shocked I will not get another Waterford, now the long search begins for another builder
@@grettaava1155 check out Jeffrey Bock
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing, especially as they're closing down. 😞
Funny. I was there right before he announced. He never mentioned it while I was there.
It's great to see old guys actually interested in bikes and cracking jokes about it. BTW I'm new to the Paramount but I think I'm hooked.
GREAT! Now I'm an old guy! LOL Thanks for watching.
Thank you all for a great video
Welcome. Thanks for watching!
Great video guys, throughly enjoyed it!
Thanks!
Tom Kellog built his first frame in my bike shop.Ed Cyclery ,Allentown,Pa. Mid 70s
@@edwardballek That's totally cool!
I never see any Schwinn bikes in the UK. It's a pity as I'd love to see one.
The Doering Brothers! Ah. Raced with them in the early 70s' Rode with Gary last some 15 years ago in Springfield.
Pretty cool..
Gary and Larry were good riders, senior cat 1. 1!! Larry kind of disappeared, but Gary kept racing I believe. Did you ride with them in Colorado or Illinois?
@@craiglewis6821 My brother Dan would know. He owns Grand Perfoamnce in St Paul. He raced with all over. I raced with them when I lived in Carbondale early to late 70s.
Why does this channel not have more subscribers? Presentation and content is better than many 250k plus channels
Thank you! Still trying to figure that out.
Great video, fount of knowledge …
Richard knows a thing or two. lol
That was cool. Nice vid!
Glad you enjoyed it
Kellog, yes.
We had one of those black frames in the shop with the gold fork, the fork got tarnished with fingerprints and dust/grime just being in the shop[hindsight-i shouldhave bought it,wrapped it up and took it home!]i had a customer who 's family had a jewelery shop in town, and i asked him about it,he wanted to know about the "nature of the plating"so he could consult with his father, who was in the business for years, i never got past that point...that might be an avenue to pursue.
I had asked Richard Schwinn how to clean the Gold fork. His answer was profound. he said: Very carefully! LOL
Totally Awesome 😎
Thanks.
Thanks John!
-Cyril
Thanks for your help!
Wow!
Glad you liked it!
I had the privilege of participating in a bike race with the 7-11 team and there he was, Lance Armstrong with his gianormous size bike. I tried to keep up with him until we got to a very steep hill and I saw him standing on the pedals and I just admired how and the speed he was climbing. I was fast in my younger years, but not that fast, in fact no one in the 7-11 team was that fast. Good old Armstrong, and the price some people pay for being honest.
I wish Lance would have a TH-cam channel because there's so much he could share with the young people of today, they are lost with Shimano wireless shifters and gigantic cassettes.
what a great experience.
Two words for BigTex, the first starts with F, the second with Y.
Hi, my first Schwinn find a few years ago was a '71 Le Tour. I have since learned just enough about bikes to know it's not a resto candidate. I came across a beat up '87 Prologue (not the TT). It's only 40$ but 310 mile round trip to get it. I did a little research and it seems to be an oddball in the hierarchy of Schwinns. It would need a ton of work. I guess my question is: Is it worth putting the money and effort and time like one would if they had a, let's say Paramount to restore?
Hi, In my opinion that is a personal question. I always tell people if you want a Paramount bite the bullet and get one. Because you can go through 5 bikes that you wont enjoy and have regret and spend money on something that doesn't ulimately do it for you. HOWEVER! the Prologue was an excellent frameset for sure. It will perform very well and you'll enjoy it. They were underrated and didn't see the love it should. Probably because at the time other frame materials were becoming more common. Interested to know what you do. Thanks for watching and reaching out.
I'm laughing, considering I watched this video about one million times, can't help not to laugh about the OCD bike illness we all are suffering from.
Were sick people.
Wasn't there a Raleigh Olympic in the 1984 Olympics?
not sure.
I am trying to figure out what to do with my father’s 1957 Paramount. It is a custom built frame for his 5’5” body. I am 6’4” and double his riding weight so it will only ever be a thing to look at for me. It is all original paint and parts. My dad had the wheels rethreaded in the summer. I don’t think it has been ridden in 25 years.
Hi, I'm not sure what to tell ya. Its a very collectable bicycle. You can clean it up and hang it on the wall. You can sell it. You can donate it to a museum. Either way its a great bike!
I can’t find Campus Green exact match anywhere I’ve been trying to get my Schwinn Twinn 1972 Tandem Repainted
When I asked Richard to paint the color he had to check with his painter with 30 years of experience. They charged me extra for the two stage paint. Its a "Candy" color. Try Jeffrey Bock Custom Cycles in Ames IA.
Did anyone else see that Gunnar/ Waterford is closing!?!?!?!?
Yeah. its getting around. I was up in waterford this month picking up a couple bikes. Sad to see him go.
Interesting -maybe in just a few years my 32 year old steel lugged frame Schwinn will also be valued by collectors. It is a fine shade of Chinese White as the frame came from Taiwan, I guess. Let's call it porcelain white with many many custom scratches. However, most of the time it is too grimy to truly appreciate the color. Will someone be restoring these expensive carbon fiber frames in 50 years? I think not.
What model do you have?
@@JohnsVintageRoadBikeGarage Crosscut - It replaced a Continental I replaced several years prior due to hard times.
Minimum carbon footprint at Waterford. Love the tour of that shop.
did i hear the word MINTY ?
Yes, you did. Lol
The factory must be staffed by old guys, up early and out by lunch and falling asleep by 7.
LOL>