Collecting almost anything can be hit and miss, Paramounts, Masis, or baseball cards. I too always lusted after a pristine Paramount, like many of us, a lust going back to the time when I was a kid, and the most I could aspire to was a Continental. The Paramount, sitting there in all of its glory up behind the counter (where our grubby little hands would not tarnish the chrome) was a dream not to be obtained.
Now, trying to find one that was not overpriced, poorly maintained and needing "just a few parts" or (as you) finding myself outbid at the last minute before I could hit that *%#@! bid key on Ebay was a frustrating experience.
But time wounds all heels, and everything comes to he who is patient (sometimes that is, since I STILL can't find that Oval CX in my size) and your Paramount is out there and it WILL turn up. After that, it all comes together.
After some frustrating experiences, I saw an ad for an all chrome 1973 P-15, said to be in perfect condition, bought from the original owner, rebuilt to replace bearings, repack the headset, and with all the right bits and pieces from new, except for some original and (according to my sources in the Paramount collector community) changes that were comnon options at the time: Campy centerpulls and bar end shifters (not a lot of Campy bikes used them, but a friend turned up several contemporey photos of early 70s Paramounts with these or Japanese bar ends mounted.) The price was reasonable, the owner very pleasant on the phone, and after a week, it showed up at my dealer friend who was going to help me unpack it and adjust the seat height and fix whatever we found wrong.
The boxes got there before me, so he had it up, together (it was shipped virtually assembled except for the seat, but still came through intact) and in the trainer when I got there to meet him before he opened for regular business hours. I was stunned. It quite literally looked brand new. The chrome finish was perfect, the components showed no sign of wear, hell, even the bar tape (blue cloth) looked fresh (it was, he had replaced it.) It was correct down to the Shimano-sourced, Schwinn rebadged rear mech, Schwinn Tires, and with the one 'defect' he had carefully pointed out to me before he sold me the bike, a tiny tear in the seat tube decal.
It now sits proudly not behind a counter at the Schwinn dealer, but in my home office, where I can put my grubby hands all over it any time I want. (But the Never Dull is never far away, and the polishing cloth close at hand, that chrome finish does show marks quite easily.) Is the bike all that I wanted? Yes, and I like it enough after riding that I just bought a 59 frameset, Waterford restored to build up as my end-of-winter project.
So the Paramount you want is out there. Be patient and keep looking. Are there other great vintage lightweights out there (and my all chrome Paramount is hardly 'light', the chrome is great eye candy, but it adds to the already less-than svelte overall weight of the Schwinn) and no need to stop at one, bike or brand.
Tell your wife they are like peanuts. Who can stop at one :-)
Dave Novoselsky,
Chicago, Illinois