Re: [CR] A tale of two Paramounts

(Example: Books:Ron Kitching)

Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:23:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, accobra <accobra@peoplepc.com>
In-Reply-To: <969246765DEB4B118DFA58D1BA6698B1@MarkPC>
Subject: Re: [CR] A tale of two Paramounts


Well, I thought the1966, or perhpas 1964 as the seller described it, went for about what I would have expected.  For many years the going price for an early 70's excellent original all chrome Paramount was $1,000.  This one isn't all chrome, but is earlier and has the realy nice Titan bars and stem and old Record RD.  So around a grand seems about right.  Might have done a bit better if more good pictures had been on the main auction page rather than a separate link.  Also, he calls this a 59 cm but it sure looks at least 60 cm to me, which is getting above prime size.  He could also have cleaned some of the light rust off the componets and the fact both brake QR's are open suggests the wheels wil need truing at minimum.  If this is 1964 then the Campy brakes are not original, and one wonders about the crank.  Is it the old Record 151 BCD that would have been original in 1964, or a more recent 144 BCD Nuovo Record?  None of these points is a deal killer, but they might have prevented someone paying a premium price rather tnan what I would call a fair price that it went for.

When the 1975 frame was first outed it was was at a $660.  If it had ended there, I'd just have said it shows one makes more money parting out a bike than selling it complete.  But at $1,000+ I agree this was probably a small bidding war with more than one person really wanting that particular year, color and size.  I have 5 complete Paramounts, 4 of them all chrome, and the other a 50th Anniversary, and the most I paid for any of them was $1,100.  So I think the seller did very well to get a grand for this frameset, albeit a very nice one.

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA


--- On Tue, 3/23/10, accobra wrote:


From: accobra <accobra@peoplepc.com> Subject: Re: [CR] A tale of two Paramounts To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 10:15 AM

I can't speak for the people that are/were actively bidding on these two Paramounts, but as a Paramount enthusiast I've been watching/watched both so I'll offer a guess.  For starters, I believe blue '75 is benefiting from several people really wanting it, i.e.: it's selling for more than I would have expected.

But why?  One, the color is not common for a mid-70's Paramount.  It's a very pleasant shade of blue.  That could be a lot of the appeal along with the fact that it's a P13 racing frame, versus the more common P15 touring frame.

And then there's this - my most serious riding started & took place in the early to mid-1970's.  When I look for bikes to add to my collection, that's the era that appeals to me the most from a nostalgia point of view. Anything from the 1960's (and earlier) and most bikes from 1980's don't do enough for me to want to spend $1000+ to add them to my stable.  There are bikes that I can admire from eras other than the 70's, but "generally" not enough to buy them.  So, maybe the people bidding on the blue Paramount can relate to the 1975 model more so than the 1966 even though, granted, they are very similar in appearance, in terms of graphics & lug style.

By the way, speaking of graphics, I find it curious that this late 1975 model has the earlier generation decal set, rather than the new style/font that was introduced in 1975.  Has it been repainted?  The seller claims it hasn't and apparently he's gotten plenty of questions about it given his additions to the auction description.

Here are the two links again:  http://tinyurl.com/ybhbju2 1966                                             http://tinyurl.com/yljy4wd 1975 Mark Winkelman Dallas, Texas USA

----- Original Message ----- From: "George Allen" <jgallen@lexairinc.com> To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 9:35 AM Subject: [CR] was "market slump" now a tale of two Paramounts


> Can someone explain this to me?
>
>
> 1966 Paramount with Campy brake and Phil hubs upgrade, sold for $1025.00
> URL: *http://tinyurl.com/ybhbju2*
> Eaby Item #: 160411434603
>
> 1975 Paramount frame presently at $660.00
> URL: http://tinyurl.com/yljy4wd
> Ebay Item #: 120543784694
>
> The 1966 was in very nice shape with some nice semi-period upgrades.
> And I've always heard the pre-bike boom Paramounts were put together better.
>
> Is the color on the 1975 rare or something? What am I missing? Can the Paramount experts enlighten me?
>
> BTW, I thought both auction were well presented with great pictures.
>
> George Allen
> Lexington, KY
> USA
> There's my two posts for the day!