Paramount opinion

[axel23]

I'm thinking of buying a mid-80s Schwinn Paramount (SLX tubing, U.S.-made, 21"). I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with experience on these frames: stiffness, comfort, quirks, re-sale value, all that stuff.

Pix of course would be welcome.

Thx in advance.

[witcombusa]

I've got an '85 PDG Paramount. Full Shimano Dura Ace 7400 6sp. What did you want to know?

[559Rando]

Is it local? Can you ride it?

I had a 60x57.5cm Paramount of that era. The Paramounts are legendary and for good reason.

To answer your questions...

Stiffness:
I thought my Paramount stiff and I prefer more flex. I'm guessing your frame would be stiffer; that they'd use the same wall thicknesses, so on the smaller frame that would make it stiffer. I could be wrong; I didn't ride fancy bikes back then and don't know much about Columbus.

Comfort:
I got rid of it, primarily due to the limited tire clearance. For me, fat and supple tires are a requirement now.

Quirks:
80s bikes, though, tend to have a few characteristics in common including the "nervous" handling. And mine had the old fashion-y short top tube.

Resale value:
I'm not sure I can answer that for you. My buddy really wanted it when I decided to get rid of it. I really wanted them bike when I bought it. It's matter of finding the right sucker?

All that other stuff:
If you like and if it's a fair price and you have the bread, why not? Would I buy another one? Probably not. Would I consider a similar bike but with more tire clearance? Absolutely. So if you don't mind being limited to 25mm tires, open the wallet and get ready to straddle an American icon.

Wait! That came out wrong :banana:

[SPOKE]

I've had 4 of them from that era. Every one I bought new had really nice quality paint. The alignment was spot on......even the derailleur hanger. The ride quality suits me just fine but the OS seat tube version I had seemed a little more "robust". Not bad, but just not as smooth as the 50th anniversary models I now have.

[cnighbor1]

80's paramount were built by waterford and are a great buy. I ride a 87 57cm Waterford built Paramount with all suntour superbe components. it rides great. richard schwinn of Waterford will give you data on the one your looking at with serial number. if frame in good shape I would own one. go to waterford web site and check outhistory of paramount for 80's
Charles Nighbor
PS email me for photos of mine
<cnighbor2@yahoo.com>

[Elefantino]

I've got an '85 PDG Paramount. Full Shimano Dura Ace 7400 6sp. What did you want to know?
To quote Jake Blues:

"Sell me your children!"

[djg21]

I'm thinking of buying a mid-80s Schwinn Paramount (SLX tubing, U.S.-made, 21"). I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with experience on these frames: stiffness, comfort, quirks, re-sale value, all that stuff.

Pix of course would be welcome.

Thx in advance.

It's a classic. I had a 90 paramount which was awesome. I would love to find an old chrome Paramount track bike.

[Jaq]

Get in touch with the folks at Waterford, too. They're great folks and don't mind answering questions at all.

[Ralph]

The last one I had was a red 50th anniversary model. Built it up with Campy of that era. 56X56. Made by Waterford I think. I sent the frame to them once for a refinishing. They did a fantastic job redoing the frame. Great bike for it's era.

But like more modern steel even better.

[BobC]

My favorite race bike ever.

I rode & raced the crap out of it & it held up incredibly. Crashed it & had the top tube replaced. Repainted twice. Still hanging up in my garage & every so often i think about getting it restored again.

[katematt]

my first race bike was a '89 56cm 853 Schwinn Paramount. After 15 years was a bit of a noodle but the cool thing is there is not a lick of rust on the bike and the paint, other than self imposed scratches is in great shape. Can't say that for some other paint jobs I've had. Its a fixie now and still love it.

Cheers.

[bargainguy]

The Match Paramounts are worth a mention in this discussion.

From the late 90's, these are outliers from the Paramount line and were built by a gaggle of top-notch framebuilders under contract. Tim Isaac, Curt Goodrich, Kirk Pacenti, Steve Hampsten, Mark Bulgier to name a few. Only about 750 made.

Interesting interview here: http://classicrendezvous.com/USA/Isaac_T_RRinterview.htm