Paramount??
 

Had a bid on this one but after looking closer, didn't seem like a paramount to me, is it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=260393856372

Probably yes.

Agree.

Crappy photos, disclaimer about originality of a critical, expensive-to-replace wheels, ...

If it was his since 1972, why does he not know about originality of the wheels??? <-- red flag

Well, for one thing, it's not a '72 - it's '73 or later, as far as I can distinguish. But it's in all likelihood a Paramount, which doesn't mean I'm saying anyone should have bid on it.

even with the shifters on the stem? I thought they should be on the downtube.

Stem mounted shifters were an option, as were bar ends. Or someone could have made a swap. The shifters look more to me like Suntour or Shimano than Schwinn, which also could have been a potential swap. Or, given that it was the bike boom, Schwinn could have used what they had to hand. In any case, the presence of stem shifters doesn't rule out it being a Paramount.

I think it's a seventies Paramount, but unless it has been repainted, it's a '73 or later. The 1972 seat tube decal had the olympic circles:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...tTubeDecal.jpg

My chrome 72 came like that....

I would be reluctant to buy a high end bike from a new Ebay seller. His pictures don't show enough of the bike, in fact they appear to have been selectively taken. By the way, the front fork appears to be bent.

It doesn't say in the listing that he has owned it since 72.

It is a Paramount - has a Prugnat BB shell. Dicey spending that much without seeing it in person, nor knowing whether the post and stem are stuck or not (especially that post, I should add).

I'll say one thing though - those do not look like Schwinn Twin-Stik shifters (they'd attach to the headset). Stem shifters from a later addition, most likely. I'll back Stan on those seattube decals too. '73-75.

As for the fork - photos aren't good enough to tell.

-Kurt

It went for a reasonable (these days) price. Yes, there was some risk involved, but it seemed like an all around decent deal, though too small for me.

No, it doesn't. I read that into it while quickly scanning the listing. My mistake.

Those lines on the shifter tips look like the ones on Suntour Power Shifters. Per Berto in The Dancing Chain they debuted in 1973, so those shifters might well be original on that bike.

Back in the day there had to be plenty of buyers who could afford a Paramount, yet be unwilling to reach down to the downtube or the ends of the bars to shift gears. This bike's apparently good condition suggests that one of those buyers bought it, rode it a little, and parked it.