# Schwinn Paramount  value question



## teisco

I am looking for a vintage Schwinn Paramount and wanted to know how the market is for these bikes. Not sure what would be a fair price these days.


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## kccomet

it depends on what you call vintage, road or track, chrome or painted. really prices are all over the place on paramounts. they have a strong price point among lightweight collectors. 5 to 6 hundred to the skys the limit. narrow down the year, years your looking for and road or track and you will get some better information


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## detroitbike

Pictures Please!   

Prewar & WW2 bikes are usually 1.5-3.5 K in nice original shape.
    PDG bikes (80's-90's) are 2-800 at most.
   Most desirable are early 60's especially 'Disney'
      send pix with description and I can give an est value..


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## teisco

kccomet said:


> it depends on what you call vintage, road or track, chrome or painted. really prices are all over the place on paramounts. they have a strong price point among lightweight collectors. 5 to 6 hundred to the skys the limit. narrow down the year, years your looking for and road or track and you will get some better information




I am looking for chrome but would consider painted. Early, 60's 70's, touring if possible or maybe road, no track.


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## rhenning

I bought my 1974 P-10-9 10 speed touring Paramount 14 years ago and wouldn't sell it for what I paid for it  then which was more than $500.  It would even be harder to find one now.  E-Bay is you best chance and if you watch sales it will give you a feel of what they sell for.  My bike was built in the bike boom era and it is the 149th frame that month.  Schwinn was in those days probably making more other bikesmthan that in one hour.  I have only had the chance to buy 2 of them and they are still mine.  Looked for years and then bought 2 in a weeks time.  I haven't seen one since those crossed my path.  The second bike is a 1992 PDG OS2 Japanese built bike and by comparison it was $125.  Pramounts are probably one of the few bikes that don't loose value.  Roger


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## teisco

That is interesting because I am looking at at '74 that is local and close by. I am hesitant because it has the shifters in the handle bar ends rather than the downtube. It also has no Paramount decals, only a large schwinn decal near the top of the downtube.

It does have campy stuff and wieman side pull brakes. Just a few things that are not correct according to all the pictures I am seeing of the '74 model. 

He is asking 1200 for it and it does look good in the pictures with some slight wear on the black paint.

Also is an early version more desirable than a later '74 ?


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## buisky

teisco said:


> That is interesting because I am looking at at '74 that is local and close by. I am hesitant because it has the shifters in the handle bar ends rather than the downtube. It also has no Paramount decals, only a large schwinn decal near the top of the downtube.
> 
> It does have campy stuff and wieman side pull brakes. Just a few things that are not correct according to all the pictures I am seeing of the '74 model.
> 
> He is asking 1200 for it and it does look good in the pictures with some slight wear on the black paint.
> 
> Also is an early version more desirable than a later '74 ?




The bar end shifters were offered as an option.They should be either SunTour or Campy. You can always change them out to down tube shifters with little effort. Ron


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## vincev

I have 3 Paramounts.This one I am selling has the hard to find bar end shifters. Mine is all original except new tires and leather bar wraps.I tried a few times at $900 and never get a bite.


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## rhenning

My 1974 has bar ends made by Sun Tour but are stamped Schwinn approved not Sun Tour. I think many of the touring bikes came with them.  The bike you are looking at tell us what is the serial number on the left rear drop out.  Paramounts had a unique numbering system that other Schwinns did not follow.  Also show a pictures as anyone who is interested in Paramounts should be able to tell if it is or isn't a Paramount as well as the model.  I not sure there is a better value for older or newer Paramounts as long as they were Chicago built bikes.  Roger


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## teisco

Pm sent to vincev.


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## stoney

Beautiful bike vincev, good luck telsco. That could be your bike. I like the bar end shifters, you could find the lever shifters and just hang on to them.


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## vincev

Does th 74 have the fancy chrome lugs? I like the fancy lugs in chrome against the black.


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## Machine Age Victim

I'm late to the party, just seeing this now. I personally wouldn't pay over $1000 for a painted paramount, even in great condition, unless it was a pre1950s model. If it has the bar end shifters then it's likely a touring model which would also have the mounting holes for fenders and a rack, also a triple crank and a long cage rear derailleur. First of all you need to make sure it's a paramount, it should at least have the head badge that says "schwinn paramount." If it doesn't then look on the left rear drop out, the serial number will be a letter followed by 4 or 5 numbers, letter is the month, first two digits is the year, 74, the next digits will be where it fell in the production line that month. A '74 would also have the Nervex lugs, they're very distinctive. Also, Weinmann side pull brakes wouldnt be original. It should have come with Weinmann center pull or campy side pulls. However, the touring frame went to braze on brake bosses that were routed on the right and the campy side pulls are on the left, so someone could have changed the original brakes if that was the case for this '74.


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