Classic & Vintage - Is there a Schwinn Paramount mtn bike?

Someone local is advertising a "Schwinn Paramount mountain bike" for sale at $50.00. Is there such a thing? I thought they were all higher end vintage roadbikes.

Someone local is advertising a "Schwinn Paramount mountain bike" for sale at $50.00. Is there such a thing? I thought they were all higher end vintage roadbikes.
Not that I know of.....

It also says it comes with shimano components. Didn't they all come with Campagnolo?

Yes, buy they were called Paramountain. Run and buy it but be prepared for some weird eighties parts.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=90695&highlight=paramountain

Someone local is advertising a "Schwinn Paramount mountain bike" for sale at $50.00. Is there such a thing?The Paramountain was an '86/'87 vintage top-end bike built at Schwinn's Greenville, MS plant (brass brazed, lugged frames). The Paramount MTBs were imports* that came along with the "Series" road bikes in late 1990 as 1991 models (through 1994) and ranged from the Series 20 through the Series 90 (there was also a very nice Team Model). Some were TIG'd and some were lugged.

* Some 1994 R80s were Waterford built.

More info here:

http://www.waterfordbikes.com/site/company/para_series.php

If the bike is a Series 50 or lower, $50 might not be too far out of line ... :(

In the early nineties, Schwinn imported the "Series" Paramounts from Asia. The single digit "Series" bikes like the Series 2, Series 3, Series 5, and Series 7 were road bikes, while the double digit "Series" bikes like the Series 20, Series 30, Series 50, Series 70, and Series 90 were mountain bikes. Here's a '91 Series 90:

EDIT - Darn, Bob, you beat me to it.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/1991ParamountSeries90MTB.jpg

The Paramountain was an '86/'87 vintage top-end bike built at Schwinn's Greenville, MS plant (brass brazed, lugged frames). The Paramount MTBs were imports* that came along with the "Series" road bikes in late 1990 as 1991 models (through 1994) and ranged from the Series 20 through the Series 90 (there was also a very nice Team Model). Some were TIG'd and some were lugged.

* Some 1994 R80s were Waterford built.

More info here:

http://www.waterfordbikes.com/site/company/para_series.php

If the bike is a Series 50 or lower, $50 might not be too far out of line ... :(

I'm going to disagree with the above. Paramount MTB's were and still are, all really good bikes and any Tange Prestige tubed mountain bike with the LX group on it is worth more than $225 in good shape.

DG1

Yes, buy they were called Paramountain. Run and buy it but be prepared for some weird eighties parts.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=90695&highlight=paramountain

If that includes the rear brake mounted on the chain stays, then I agree. Does anyone know what the reasoning was for that design?

If the bike is a Series 50 or lower, $50 might not be too far out of line ... :(

What does that mean?

I'm not sure I'm interested anymore anyway. I was hoping everyone would tell me there was no such thing and I was getting a franken-paramount roadbike conversion.

I have a near-new condition Giant Yukon made of chromoly. Would the Paramountain ride feel any better?

Thank you for the information. The level of bike knowledge on this forum never ceases to amaze me.

Simply put. Get it. For 50 bones your probably cannot go wrong. My buddy had the red/white/blue series 90 with suntour xc pro groupo on it. It was a sweet bike.

Mud

Supposedly the chain stay brakes (U brakes generally) were so much stronger than cantilevers that they would bend the lighter weight seat stays. Far as I could ever tell the lowered location makes good mud collectors. Roger

Far as I could ever tell the lowered location makes good mud collectors. Roger

+1 on that. Plus they're ridiculously hard to get at to adjust, etc. I've got an old Trek in the basement with U-brakes, I give it a dirty look every time I see it, mostly because of that ridiculous rear brake- :rolleyes:

What does that mean?
I think Bob means that if it's a Series 20, Series 30, or Series 50 it probably isn't worth much more than $50., whereas if it's a Series 70 or Series 90 it might be a bargain for $50.


I'm not sure I'm interested anymore anyway. I was hoping everyone would tell me there was no such thing and I was getting a franken-paramount roadbike conversion.
The only way you'll know for sure what it is, is to go look at it. It could be a Paramountain or it could be a Paramount mountain bike; they're two different animals. If it's a Paramount Series 70 or Series 90 you should probably be interested.

Supposedly the chain stay brakes (U brakes generally) were so much stronger than cantilevers that they would bend the lighter weight seat stays. Far as I could ever tell the lowered location makes good mud collectors. Roger

Roger that, er, Roger. Seriously, there are some other benefits, but they would be very small. Lowering a mass on the frame lowers the Center of Gravity, but the brakes don't represent that much of a mass. Moving a mass towards the Center of Gravity reduces the polar Moment of Inertia which would make the bike respond quicker to turning inputs. Again, the brakes don't represent that much mass.

Interesting about bending the seat stays. Never heard that before.

I think Bob means that if it's a Series 20, Series 30, or Series 50 it probably isn't worth much more than $50., whereas if it's a Series 70 or Series 90 it might be a bargain for $50.Yeah -- I was probably being a bit harsh. The Series 70, 80 and 90 frames (for some years these were the same) were particularly nice -- I'd really like to have a lugged one -- and came with top-end components. The lower end of the scale do not really hold their value in the market and you can usually find these for under $150 fairly easily. I'd really like to have a Paramountain ... :D


http://www.geocities.com/sldbconsumer/1987/87atb03.html

As my signature attests, I ride a June 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10 mountain bike, which was Schwinn's made-in-Greenville successor to the Paramountain. It features full Tange Prestige tubing, a SunTour RollerCam front brake (big and bulky, but it really does the job) and an under-the-chainstays Shimano U-brake. I really like it for my relatively tame on-road and dirt trail use. It is also a blast to ride and show off a beautiful red-white-and-blue Schwinn on national holidays, particularly since I bought mine from a San Diego firefighter. I found a fair bit of data on the firstflightbikes website, but the component list does not match mine at all.

I know digging up old posts is a faux pas, but I thought putting a pic of my 50 series would help document this great pre-suspension era line of MTB's for the future. I still ride mine all the time every fall/winter and have cyclocrossed it as well (with some narrow tires and minus the bar-ends) Thanks
~'91 I think w/ Deore DX
http://webpages.charter.net/bswing/mtnbike.jpg

My 1992 PDG 70 below. Lugged frame and full Shimano XT. I picked it up for $100 on ebay (local pick up only) It is a fantastic bike. It weighs 23lbs and I have removed the rack and put a different saddle on it since my this picture was taken. I say get it. Rigid mountain bikes are great rides and a quality steel one will treat you right!:thumb:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/013-2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/015-1.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/015-1.jpg

EDIT: I just realized how old this thread is!

My 1992 PDG 70 below. Lugged frame and full Shimano XT. I picked it up for $100 on ebay (local pick up only) It is a fantastic bike. It weighs 23lbs and I have removed the rack and put a different saddle on it since my this picture was taken. I say get it. Rigid mountain bikes are great rides and a quality steel one will treat you right!:thumb:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/013-2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/015-1.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/bylar13/014-1.jpg

Holy double post, Batman!

This thread is TFF. I just scored a blue Paramount mountain bike for $50. No joke.

I have a series 50 like the one above in my garage... just the frame set, I have to say even th series 50 is a decently light and well made frame. And damn if that chainstay isn't super cool.

So I converted my '$50' series to a cyclocross bike for now, with Mavic brake adapters for 700C's.
http://webpages.charter.net/bswing/paramountcx.JPG

^ Very nice conversion.

There's one in Milwaukee CL right now for $100. Anyone know what series this is?

SCHWINN MOUNTAIN BIKE CHRO-MOLLY - $100 (OCONOMOWOC)

Date: 2009-11-14, 2:28PM CST
Reply to: sale-gpwhe-1465971282@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads? (http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/replying_to_posts)]

21 SPEED SCHWINN PARAMOUNT MOUNTAIN BIKE
HEAVY DUTY LIGHT WEIGHT CHRO-MOLLY FRAME
TREK ROCK SHOCKS
VERY NICE CONDITION JUST DUSTY FROM LACK OF USE
100.00 OR MAKE AN OFFER
CALL 414-550-6507 OR EMAIL IMUB1@NETZERO.NET





Location: OCONOMOWOC
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

http://images.craigslist.org/3kc3m73o65O15Rf5Sd9be604fda775a451b85.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/3ne3kf3o95O55S35Rb9be2208cb26cf671235.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/3mb3p53o75O45T85P99be570e97b05bf21917.jpg

30 series

There's one in Milwaukee CL right now for $100. Anyone know what series this is?

SCHWINN MOUNTAIN BIKE CHRO-MOLLY - $100 (OCONOMOWOC)

Date: 2009-11-14, 2:28PM CST
Reply to: sale-gpwhe-1465971282@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads? (http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/replying_to_posts)]

21 SPEED SCHWINN PARAMOUNT MOUNTAIN BIKE
HEAVY DUTY LIGHT WEIGHT CHRO-MOLLY FRAME
TREK ROCK SHOCKS
VERY NICE CONDITION JUST DUSTY FROM LACK OF USE
100.00 OR MAKE AN OFFER
CALL 414-550-6507 OR EMAIL IMUB1@NETZERO.NET





Location: OCONOMOWOC
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests



Missed it.

I bought a PDG "series" bike this month. It took forever to get to me. When I opened the box, the seat tube was cracked and one crack went under and around one of the seat stays. After taking it to 4 bike shops in Milwaukee and Waukesha and one frame builder- the bike is not feasably repairable. The seller is being really cool and will be refunding me. As soon as I saw this post, I was thinking I'd get lucky and get one in spite of that fiasco.

Oh well.

Wow! ^ That is a rare bird.