# What might this Schwinn Paramount be worth?



## TimJo

I am considering finding a new home for my Schwinn Paramount, circa mid to late 1970s. The Paramount has original Campagnolo handlebars, brake sets, downtube shifters, derailleur, crank and pedals. I bought this bike lightly used in 1979 or 1980 in Gainesville, Florida. At the time, it also had Campagnolo wheels and sew-up tires but those have long since vanished. I cannot give a serial number for the bike since it has been repainted twice, I believe, and the bottom bracket where the serial number goes is covered over. But you can see from the photos that the flanges on the frame are from the Paramount. The Schwinn decals faded away long ago. The bike has been used normally but cherished. Also in most recent repainting, the front metallic Schwinn logo partially detached so I took it off. But you can see it in the photo. I've recently retired and am considering getting a cross-country touring bike to replace the Paramount. Does anyone have an idea of what might be a fair price for this bicycle? I am in the Washington DC area.


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## Roger Henning

What is the serial number?  That will help with an answer.  It will be on the left rear drop out.  Also that is going to be an expensive bike to fix up.  Waterford paint jobs start if the $600 plus range.  Roger


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## dweenk

The serial number is the key, and Waterford will help (or at least they used to). If it were mine, I would check E-Bay sold prices, not asking prices. It has been repainted and the decals are gone - that will be a serious hit on value.


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## unregistered

I see $250 tops. The poor repaints really ate at any provenance of it even being a Paramount almost. The smattering of unoriginal parts sure doesn’t help, either.


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## TimJo

I called Waterford and took the bike to an REI workshop to find the serial number on the left rear dropout. We used bright lights and rubbed quite a bit but could not determine the serial number. I'd have to damage the paint to reveal the number. The Waterford guy, however, made me more convinced than ever that this is a legitimate Paramount. I have the Paramount badge from the front. It came with Paramount decals that were scraped so severely that I just had them removed once maybe 15 years ago. The flanges on the frame were never chrome, and the guy at Waterford confirms that between 1978 to 1980 there were models of Paramount that did not have chrome flanges. Waterford guy says that if I had time, I should sell it for parts on eBay. But I am not sure I have that much interest.


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## unregistered

Throw that sucker on your local craigslist for $200 and be done is my recommendation. Thing is toasted.


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## harpon

HA!  $200- Are you trying to steal it?  I think maybe the sophistication of Cabe collector opinion is snobbish here.  On the other hand there aren't many of us old pharts around to place a value on it and the kids have been dumbed down somehow- I'd at least try for $350 or $400.  If you put the head badge on and bought a set of decals, even more.  The dilemma is: how much effort do you want to put into it?  If you sold it piece by piece on ebay it might clear a grand.....

An older Paramount is never "toasted" if it's not bent up or rusted.

Here's an amusing situation I've thought about writing of on this forum and this might be the place for it.
Apparently- I'm guessing, but fairly sure- my old '74 Paramount track bike has been for sale on ebay the past several months at least- currently ended, but I've seen it relisted several times now- they want WAAAY too much- and even though it has some sentimental value, I probably would not buy it back unless I was flushing dollars down the toilet-
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=123703459136

My parents gave me this bike on my 21st birthday in February 1975- a 22" silver mist paramount that retailed at the time for about $350. Although we had no track then in Indiana for hundreds of miles, and I was mostly a climber I wanted a track bike and convinced I need some track experience.  By then I had been racing about four years and though mostly an "A" or "B" category senior rider,  I rode a "C" race up at Northbrook that first summer, where I got caught in a huge wreck and trashed the deep steel drop bars that came on it, on a metal rope support, before taking another support in my back. And after that it just sported an alloy stem and alloy drops. I never got a lot of track time, but rode it in the foothills of the Rockies at Colorado Springs on a fixed gear when the snow was so thick it froze our derailleurs. And I rode at Detroit and Encino and once at Trexlertown and at the Olympic Velodrome at Dominguez Hills- where I retired in 1984 and sold the track bike- I knew I'd never lug it through an unsettled life- on consignment at a bike shop in Carson CA near the velodrome- I think for about $250 or 300.

So a couple months ago I came across this ad of the old ride on ebay and in a place hailing from Pasadena.  I'm just really calculated guessing that even in a city like L/A. there can''t be that many silver mist track Paramounts that size- although there are changes-

the front fork has been changed- probably crashed- and replaced with one all chrome, with less rake not indigenous to 1974- the wheels also now have flat spokes I never had or used back when- and the aero Campy seatpost is a later item from the early 80's. The hideously drilled out chainring is not the original Campy, but I also often used a Sugino knockoff I won at some race with 168 arms instead of 165 and a smaller ring.  I can't recall how it was set up when I sold it 35 years ago. Arc en Ciel sew up rims were fairly heavy and mostly for training or rough road races so I don't think those were on it, although I was street riding it at the end, so who knows? The stem is slightly shorter, but the Alfredo Binda toe straps look very familiar and what I used mostly toward the end, beautiful friends.

Anyway- there it is- I can hardly ride at all anymore without electric assist (hypertension, crashes and  beatings) and no room either.
My mother passed on in 2011 but my old man is 94 and will be here Friday passing through.  Time flies and life goes on.   That black Paramount is probably worth more than $200 but how bad do you need it?



Here I am on the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis at the very first event before they painted lines on the track circa 1980/81


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## Goldenrod

What makes a Paramont so much more costly than a LaTour.


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## Roger Henning

Paramounts were custom built bikes made in the USA of the best materials versus an off the shelf high production bike.  Think Yugo versus Rolls Royce.  It is LeTour by the way.  Roger


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## Roger Henning

Second advice is take the rack off the bike.  The serial number is under that on the left side of the bike.  Take the paint off that area and you will find the number.  The paint is worthless anyway as it is not original.  The picture is the serial number of my 1974 P10-9 touring bike.  A74149 and translates to A=January 74 means 1974 and 149 means it was the 149th frame that month.  Roger


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## ccdc.1

Easiest answer to the serial number question is to drop out the fork...the serial number will also be stamped on the steering tube, if it is a Paramount. The one anomaly seems to be that it has fender eyelets on the dropouts (like a P-10) but no brake cable stop on the top tube (like a P-13).


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## bikecrazy

Did any other Schwinn bikes come with Nervex lugs? Frame looks to be a 58cm? In my opinion someone with reasonable skills should be able to turn that into a really special bike.


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## GiovanniLiCalsi

It will cost around $1600 to Fully restore it.
The restored value is $2,500.


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## b 17 fan

I have a friend who has a chrome paramount that may be for sale


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## TimJo

Thanks for all the feedback. It is a 58 cm frame. I could feel that there was something under the paint on the rear left dropout but couldn't stomach the idea of destroying the paint job just to find out. I'm still pondering my next steps, either to sell it for parts or "as is" to a buyer through eBay or Craigslist.


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## Roger Henning

I have said this before but the paint job on that bike is worth nothing.  It is not the paint Schwinn put on the bike and is not is good condition.  From my pictures of my bike you can see there should be no paint in the area where the the serial number is.  I am starting to wonder why you just do not do it.  Roger


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## GenuineRides

Easier said is that the legitimacy of the serial number and date coding it is worth far more than the existing paint...


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## TimJo

Do you know what kind of solvent I can use to get enamel paint off to at least make the number visible? I don't want to use a file because it could damage the number itself.


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## ccdc.1

Sorry to repeat myself, but if you simply take the fork out you will find the serial number stamped on the fork steerer....no need to do anything to the paint on the frame. Attached is an example of the serial number on the frame dropout and on the fork 




steerer


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## Roger Henning

Paint stripper and thinner will remove the paint without damage to the frame as will very fine sand paper.  Just do it by hand not with a grinder.  The fork is also an option as long as it is original to the bike.  Roger


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## TimJo

Thanks for all the suggestions. I finally took the bike into a shop to have the front fork removed to see if a serial number was on the fork steerer. I'm happy to say that the number was there! It is L7433 or perhaps L7438. So I presume this means the frame was produced in December 1974 and was the 33rd frame produced that month. I'm attaching some photos. I am certain that this fork is original to this frame. Is there anything special about that year?

In short, what is a fair price for a 1974 Paramount in the condition of this bike on eBay? Still guessing $350 to $400?


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## Roger Henning

Nothing real special about it other than all Paramounts are special.  It might be a 1975 model being it was built late in the year.  They were between $500 to $800 new depending on the build model.  There were many more Paramounts built in the 1970 to 1975 era so they are more common than the earlier and even later bikes.  This was because of the "Bike Boom" of that era.  Put it on E-Bay starting at $400 and see what you get and then let us know.  Roger


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## TimJo

I sold it on Craigslist for $450 this morning to a collector.


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