None of those are anywhere near me, I'm 20 minutes from Atlantic City.
Even if that Paramount was near me, I'd still have to buy it some new street tires and fenders, making it far more than the Mesa Runner.
Either way, the Mesa Runner is gone, I called him this morning and he said it sold Christmas morning. He sold that and two others he had there.
There's a 24" frame Panasonic ATB in a local free paper here that 'needs work' for $250. There's dozens of newer bikes for cheap, plenty of newer non friction shift bikes but nothing older with s big frame.
I trash picked a Raleigh Talon this morning, its a taller frame but it needs everything. All the cables are frayed or jammed up, the twist grip shifters are broken, it needs two tires and tubes, has no fenders, and the bars, stem, seat post, and cranks are steel. The cranks will have to go as one pedal is stripped out in the arm, the chain is rusted stiff on one side and the rear wheel is missing about 8 spokes.
I can make it like that Mesa Runner with a pair of fenders off ebay for $75, two new tires and tubes, about $100 if i can find something in a wider tire with a solid center tread rib, I'm likely better off just respoking both wheels with good spokes, so figure $80+/- for two boxes of DT stainless spokes, (no local dealers keep spokes so I'll have to order a complete box of both sizes). A pair of alloy bars and stem, another $30 or so off ebay, a decent seat post and saddle, another $50 or so, maybe more. A used alloy crankset and most likely a new bottom bracket, at least another $50 for something to match the era of this bike. Then I'd like a decent rear rack, so ad another $20 or so to the list.
The only problem is I'll have more into this Raleigh that I got for free than I'd have had in the Mesa Runner. Parts aren't cheap, tires have gotten downright expensive these days, and finding good tires is tough. There isn't any local dealers that stock older type parts either.
At the very least, the Raleigh needs new shifters and cables, a new seat, the wheels rebuilt, and a crankset and pedals. I'm leaning toward it being nothing but junk. The tires on it are ok but they're more suited for plowing the back 40 then rolling down the road here, and the seat is solid plastic, not something my 50 year old butt wants any part of. The original shifters look like junk, all plastic and all torn up. As are the grips. The bike itself isn't in bad shape otherwise, no rust, no paint loss, and its a taller frame. It is heavy but that don't bother me much. The frame says 4130 tubing, so to me that means plain steel, which is fine by me, I'm not racing and a few pounds either way don't matter much. Thicker tubes means it'll take longer for it to rust through and break.
I did try aluminum but it lasted only one summer, the salt ate into the aluminum anywhere it touched a steel part. The bottom bracket broke free of the frame after the first ride of the second season.
Steel lasts longer, especially if I spray the inside of the frame with something like BoeShield or even a good congealing chain lube.
Even if say that Gary Fisher was local, I'd still be looking at new tires, tubes, a rear rack, and fenders. So the $90 bike becomes a $300 bike real fast.
Another point I'm noticing with this Raleigh here, mounting fenders with the cantilever or U brakes might be an issue? I don't see how the V cable can clear the wide fenders it'll need to clear the tires.