Many Italian bikes, including Cinelli, showed similar evidence of lug filing. Colnago in the 70's was very inconsistent, and it seems they subcontracted to a lot of shops, some of which weren't so great. I'd put 73 Paramounts up against any Italian bike of the era made in large enough quality to become widely known in the US. Of course there were Italian craftsmen who spent many hours producing impeccably finished frames, but these guys were mostly unknown outside Italy, as they never made enough frames to support an export business. There were also young American framebuilders beginning to build exquisite frames, but in 1973, I only recall Albert Eisentraut having yet become widely known.
I personally consider the Italian reputation for superior workmanship mostly mystique. Italian frames did have style and visual appeal and often set new design trends, but I don't think they were particularly any better in workmanshio than French or British frames in the same price range. One thing that bolstered the Italian mystique was that, except for Atala, the Italians mostly sent their higher end models to the US. Most of the cheap bikes which flooded into the US were low end Raleighs or Peugeots or products of numerous other French companies. It also seems that several of the Italian builders did not make cheap models and therefore avoided having these undermine the public perception of their overall quality. But I don't think the average Colnago or Cinelli or Guercotti one bought in the US was any better finished than a Raleigh Pro or Schwinn Paramount.
Paramounts are remarkable because for about three decades beginning with the severe decline in interest in serious cycling in the US after WWII, the Paramount was the only top quality road bike produced in the US in any large numbers. In fact, with the exception of a few brief projects like the Ross Signature, no other top quality lugged steel frame ever was made in the US in large numbers after WWII, although we now have all sorts of European teams riding US-made (or US designed, Asian made) TIGed aluminum or Titanium frames. I don't think it was until about 1990 that Schwinn seriously degraded the Paramount image by slapping the Paramount name on mid-range Asian made bikes.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Todd,
>
> I was speaking specifically of Paramounts in the vintage of the '73 on
eBay.
> Quality varied, depending on the year of manufacture or luck of the draw.
> As I stated, Paramounts compared well when held up next to the other
> mass-production manufacturers' top line models. My observation is that
the
> '70s Paramounts were not in the same category as the Masis, Colnagos, and
> even the Cinellis of the period. And they couldn't be considered even
> remotely as being in the same class as the budding American frame builders
> of the era. They were well-built, wonderful bikes, but you just have to
> look closely at them to see the difference in workmanship. My point is
that
> their popularity with the masses made them an object of disdain with some
> connoisseurs.
>
> If anyone wants close-up photos of examples of less-than-excellent
> workmanship on '70s Paramounts, I will be happy to suffice. It's all
> cosmetic stuff that doesn't detract from the great ride of a silver-brazed
> 531, classic geometry frame.
>
> Steve Barner, still loving Paramounts in Bolton, Vermont
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Todd Kuzma" <tullio@theramp.net>
> To: "Stephen Barner" <steve@sburl.com>; <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 10:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [CR] Paramount on Ebay
>
>
> > on 4/5/03 4:46 PM, Stephen Barner at steve@sburl.com wrote:
> >
> > > This is probably justified by the fact that Paramounts had
> > > a very good reputation with the uninformed, while many bikes, while
> superior
> > > in workmanship, were largely underappreciated. Those chrome Nervex
> curlies
> > > loist their appeal when the more sophisticated eye spotted the
filemarks
> and
> > > sloppy bike boom workmanship that too often lay underneath. . .
> >
> > > They compare very well against similar off-shore companies, such as
> Raleigh,
> > > Peugeot and Atala. In 1973, the bloom was still pretty shiny on the
> > > Paramount rose, so, yes, it would be a shame to part it out, and I bet
> it's
> > > still a really sweet ride.
> >
> > Steve,
> >
> > This is quite an indictment of the Paramount name. Remeber that the
> > Paramount history is quite a long one (starting in 1937) and includes
many
> > famous builders. For example, Albert Eisentraut apprenticed under Oscar
> > Wastyn.
> >
> > Personally, I would place the quality of the Paramounts that I have been
> > familiar with above most Raleighs, Peugots, and Atalas, but I'd like to
> hear
> > comments from others on this matter.
> >
> > Todd Kuzma
> > Heron Bicycles
> > LaSalle, IL
> > http://www.heronbicycles.com/