Alas, I have sinned. I have lusted for 30 years for a Paramount in my size. I did not want to wait in '73, and bought that 23" black beauty P13, knowing I needed a 21". I sold it when reality kicked in, and bought a P15 in '77, only to discover that the top tube of the 21" touring model was the same length as the 23"! There I was, all stretched out with numb hands again. By the time I saved up enough for the matching P13 (I wanted a pair), the ladies on Kostner Ave had hung up their torches and retired to the Old Brazers' Home.
A year ago, I started watching for 21" P13s on eBay. In despair, I bought an early '80s Colnago Master that I didn't need, just because it was virtually brand new. Sin #1. It wasn't a Paramount, so I kept watching. A month ago, I spotted a '75 Raleigh Pro on the Bay. I had sold Pros in '75, so I bid--turns out, I was the only bidder (high starting bid), and so landed a little-ridden bike boom import with pretty chrome, lousy paint, and the kind of detail work that only a drunken Englishman could get away with. Sin #2.
Finally, today I scored the long-lost 21" P13. It's one of my least favorite Paramount colors--white, and has the cheap Weinman centerpulls, but it looks to be pretty close to stock, and the years haven't appeared to take too bad a toll on it. I had to bite my tongue to see that deRosa get offered on the list for only $750--easily twice the bike of this Paramount I was watching, and a real steal for whoever bought it, but I held out for the final sin and scored.
Now I have to keep my fingers crossed and wait for the bike to get here to find out what I really bought. I will have 4 racing bikes with close to the same geometry, that are all Campy NR/SR machines, all built within 12 years of each other. How do you justify that? No way I can hide this from my wife in this tiny cabin, though she hasn't spotted the Pro yet--just wonders why I spend so much time in the basement when it's only 40 degrees down there.
I think I am cured of buying bike stuff for awhile, except maybe a pair of Campy sidepulls for the new Paramount, of course, but I really need some help here, folks. Any of you people with more than 20 complete bikes in your collections have them posted on the web, or have photos you can share, so I can show my wife that there are worse sinners out there than I?
Steve Barner, that kind of logic doesn't work with God, and I'm afraid it won't work with a goddess, either, Bolton, Vermont