Iowa10Speed

I'm considering buying a Schwinn Paramount Touring model. I'm pretty sure it's a 1957. It has very few original parts left, so what is a rough value range for the frame? I came up dry on internet searches.

Paint and rust is in OK condition, about a 3 on a 1-5 scale.

trailangel

Nice Picture

Kactus

That's a pretty rare bike. I'd estimate somewhere between $100 and $1000. Pictures could help narrow that down some.

Iowa10Speed

Yeah I'm a dolt for not posting pics I don't have a full bike shot just some closer-in shots:

paramount_06.jpg

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bikemig 

I'm looking at one of these as well . . .

nesteel 

No idea on frame value, but it appears to be wearing an early Campagnolo crankeset, which fetch decent coin in good condition.

Iowa10Speed

724 is stamped on BB shell. I presume that's the serial #?

nesteel 

You both are looking at the same bike. It appears to be the one for sale in Des Moines.

bikemig 

i know, 2 of these don't pop up often; I'm just letting the OP know. It's really a kludge at this point.

nesteel 

I'd say his asking price is high, given the state of the parts mix on it.

bikemig 

Agreed.

Scooper

Serial number 724 would be 1957 based on known serial numbers listed on Tam Phan's Paramount Registry (page 4).

CliffordK

Schwinn Paramount - $1000 (Des Moines)




What an odd bike. It appears to have had several customizations over the years.

The 3x2 on the rear, and 2x on the front. Although I'm seeing some notes about 3-speed Paramounts.

Also the top tube shifters (odd top to down tube shift cable routing, but perhaps using a factory made adapter kit).

Apparently a big shift in Paramount production pre-1958 and post 1958.
Paramount The Early Years
The Classic Era 1958-79

I agree, it may well have started out with high flange hubs, and cotter type cranks, so it may take a fair amount of sleuthing to put it back to original.

I'm not sure I really like the early Paramount looks. But, I'm sure there are some Schwinn collectors that would go nuts over the bike.

With that in mind, the bike appears to only have been up for less than a day. If I was the seller, I'd stick to the $1000 asking price. Perhaps take names and offers for the next month or so before dropping the price.

Kactus

It's going to be difficult to find the parts to return it to an original Tourist or even an original P-12. I don't think I would be willing to go much over $600.

CliffordK

Are you going to ride the bike with or without a kickstand?

For that price, I would probably talk too the seller about taking off the kickstand before buying it.

bikemig 

Nothing like paying top dollar for flattened seat tubes . . .

I doubt the bike is worth $1k even restored with period correct parts.

xiaoman1 

I agree that the price may be high but how often do you see these? If you are a collector you either want A-1 condition or if you have been looking for awhile and not found the one to "fill" the hole in your lineup it might be worth it...demand and availability will set the price. The fact that a number of us are interested......you get my point.
Ben

merziac

If you want it, get out your wallet now, rare opportunity on a rare bike.

AND it's OBO!

nesteel 

Seller is just fishing at that price. Stay patient, and in a few weeks make a more realistic offer. Are these really that hard to find? I find the frame pretty bland and boring myself.

Scooper

The 1957 Paramount catalog page shows the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed IGH tourist model as a P-31.

bikemig 

+ 1. This bike makes sense as a 3 speed but it's a weird set up as a multi speed. Honestly I'm skeptical of the value of a top dollar 3 speed. I like my 1969 robin hood special just fine. If I were really looking for a top end IGH bike, I'd find some cool old British club racer. That's my 2 cents worth.

AlexCyclistRoch

So, it has a 3-speed internal gear rear hub, with a 2-speed freewheel and a dual chainring, with, what, 3 shifters total? Total of 12 gears? Odd......

Kactus

However the OP's bike has a rear derailleur hanger... would a Tourist model have been equipped this way? I'm wondering if it is a P-12 that someone added the Sturmey-Archer hub, upright bars, etc to.

CliffordK

There would be no reason for it to have a fairly modern looking rear derailleur hanger (Campagnolo?) and rear cable stop if it was designed to be a simple 3-speed.



I'm not seeing a lot of multi-speed racer photos around that era. It isn't their single speed "track" model.

It is possible the rear dropouts were changed at some point, but it doesn't really look like a repaint. Still, it would be worth carefully inspecting the paint around the rear dropouts and cablestop.

I wonder if the Paramount multi-speed racing bikes from the mid 50's are relatively rare.

Oh, also, are the wheels/tires 700c or 27"? It doesn't look like the clearances are that tight, but it would be cool if it was designed to work with sewups.

CliffordK

Same as my thoughts. I just don't see a mid 50's P-12 that looks similar.

The bars appear to be drop bars that have been mounted upside-down.