Schwinn Paramount
 

I've seen raves over this old steel bike, and ye olde LBS still has one for sale, complete with campy group, although the stem shifters were swapped for bar end shifters. It's a 58 cm, my size with tubular rather than clinchers. It looks rather sweet. Not sure if I need it though...

If you're a high mileage recreational roadie it may be worth it. If you're hoping to race it, you might think of something newer and lighter.

Paramounts are great riders. The modern Paramount today is a Waterford and nobody knocks their quality.

I'm a little surprised about stem shifters. They never should have been on a Paramount. On the classic Paramount you'd almost certainly have downtube or perhaps barcons. I've never seen stem shifters with a Campy group either, even lowline ones like Valentino. Towards the end of the 80s Schwinn started using the "Paramount" name on bikes that were not hand built. Decent bikes but not truly "paramount" bikes.

If it's an old school Paramount, you're buying the only bike still (somewhat) available that can trace an American racing legacy back to the 1930s. It's also a handbuilt frame with quaity to match anything out of Europe.

To be concise: If it's an old school Paramount, buy it. You'll be happy.

I have to agree with Walter!! If it is an older Paramount, I would jump at the chance to get it. Both of my Paramounts are 56's...might be interesting to see what a 58 feels like! LOL Really, they are a wonderful bike. I don't know what you are riding now, but for me, it would be darned hard to beat the ride, comfort and speed of my old Paramounts!!
Get it and ride it and have some fun...after all, that is what it's all about!

Assuming it fits you, get the bike and lose the stem shifters. By the way, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Schwinn DID offer TwinStiks as an option on the Paramount, and apparently some people took them up on it! Campag. downtube levers show up all the time on eBay at very reasonable prices. SunTour barcons are a bit harder to find, and Campag. barcons are rarer still.

Hey John:

I never knew that. That would be a strange looking bike IMO. Lugged Reynolds frame, Campy drivetrain .... and those big 4 inch long chrome stem shifters.

I was a helper in a Schwinn shop during the mid to later 70s but the only Paramounts I ever saw were in catalogs. LeTours were the best he carried.