I either missed it or can't read right (Nebraska Public Schools)

did he ever say what size it is?

it looks to be at least 62cm...

I think Miamijim has it about right. On Ebay, it would probably fetch about $400-600. If it is an 85, that is an earlier, desirable year - but it is really big, and it is not all Dura-Ace from what we can tell. You might get more for it if you tear it down and sell the parts and frame separately.

Whew! Glad I said $1200!

Keep in mind that the bike in the link is stunning, its a very desireable size and it has STI levers.

"OP" means "original poster," i.e. you, in this case.

I agree with Pastorbob - please do not fixie-ize that frame. At a minimum, under no circumstances hack off anything from the frame. Please, for the love of Ignaz, do nothing to that frame that cannot be undone.

To get a better idea of what you have, find the serial number and then check out this page of the Waterford website: https://waterfordbikes.com/now/home.p...aramountdating. That should at least give you the month and year it was built.

Paramounts, for most and perhaps all of their existence, were made separately from the rest of Schwinn's bike production. Even when Paramounts were made in the same Chicago factory as most other Schwinns, they were made in a separate fenced-off enclosure, known as The Cage. Eventually (meaning the late 1980's or thereabouts), Paramount production moved to its own home in Waterford, Wisconsin. (There were also other Paramounts, called "Paramount PDG's," that were not built in Waterford but rather Taiwan, I think, which are fine frames but do not have the cache of a Waterford-built Paramount or the older, Chicago-built ones.) Finally, the Paramount works were spun off from Schwinn to become Waterford Precision Cycles USA, which is completely independent from Schwinn or any other builder. Today's Waterfords are the direct lineal descendants of the Paramounts of yore (including yours) and they are the keepers of the Paramount flame. In fact, Richard Schwinn, the direct descendant of founder Ignaz Schwinn, is one of the shakers and movers at Waterford.

I may have a detail or two wrong here (if so, I'm sure someone will correct me) but I'm confident that I have been accurate enough to give a fair-to-middlin' start on your Paramount education. There are a number of folks who are very into these fine bikes, adn in my experience they are very giving of their time and knowledge. Take advantage of their knowledge.

And yes, $25 is beyond ridiculous for that bike. You scored - big-time.

I've paid more than that for a seatpost clamp bolt.

iphone converted the bike from inches to centimeters to 60 cm

So...what does the serial number say?

Sounds like a threat!
This is obviously not the first time you've been to the C&V forum. You knew exactly what button to push.

lol, no just an avid forum user, never to this forum until last night.

the serial is a 610D E8580, like i said, it was mad in 05/85, and it was the 80th bike in production i think, if i read the site correctly.

Absolutely EVERYTHING on this bike is dura-ace, accept the rear hub, and handlebars, which are Cinelli campoine del mondo's..? and the hub is Exage.. but even the quick releases are dura-ace, brakes, cranks, shift levers, front/rear derailleurs, head set, seat post.. i think thats all that is on it, i cant see/think of any more parts.

Except for the ones that were made in Wisconsin by Don Mainland (including many of the chrome jobs).

Actually earlier than that - 1980.



Common misconception. The Waterford Paramounts are also "PDG" bikes/frames: PDG stands for "Paramount Design Group." Waterford Paramounts thus commonly bear "PDG" decals. The Asian-built Paramounts are more accurately referred to as "Series" Paramounts, as they were designated by numbered series. If you see a "Series X" decal on the top tube, it's in all likelihood (there are a couple of exceptions) an Asian Paramount.

... and 61.0 cm (according to the serial number).

Bob

and no "W" in the serial # indicating waterford origin, but I don't think that rules waterford out.

You can't even buy a set a decent tire for $25 so I would say you did pretty darned well. A Waterford built Paramount will sell for good money - especially a complete bike like you have. These bikes seem to have a cult like following driving the price up. This is my opinion - based on keeping an eye on this stuff for the past year or so.

looks like it's now on san fran C-list: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/1328958128.html

1985 was the transition year to self-describing serial numbers, so they may not have included the W at the time the OP's bike was made.

it is indeed on CL now yea i wasnt too sure as to how i should have measured the frame, but it came out closer to 61cm, however i rounded down to make it seem like it would fit me more lol.

That one cm might make a difference to a potential buyer - If I were thinking about spending $750 for it, I would want to know the exact frame size, and not find out later it was different than listed.

fixed, thanks for the heads up

As a datapoint on prices, I bought this Dura-Ace equipped 1987 62cm Paramount a couple of years ago. It was advertised on CL for $295. I convinced the seller to take $500 for it, then had Dr. Deltron repaint it. I think $500 was a fair price.

As received from seller:



After Dr. D's magic:

Your ad sucks.

At least clean up the house before you snap pictures for a $750 bike.

well how would an ad perform up to your standards, miamijim? I have no idea about anything about bikes, clearly as this thread verifies. I wouldnt be here asking what I am finding out about this bike if i did. so before flaming me in this forum, how about some constructive criticism instead of stepping back some years to the 4th grade and insulting a fellow newbie.

1. go find a white garage door.
2. raise the seatpost (aesthetics)
3. take more pics
_________________________________
profit.

thanks bobsonator, i just spent an hour n a half with a toothbrush and cleaned it, and once the sun is back up i am going to do that