Well, you don't know what you got 'till it's gone.......Paragon machine works in Richmond, Calif. has been manufacturing parts in titanium and steel for frame building since the late '80's. Mark Norstad has manned the company since its beginning and had successfully survived economic downturns, the pandemic and of course the often changing and occasionally harsh economic swings of the bike industry. Mark handed off the company to his son, Calvin maybe a year ago. This brings us to yesterday when Calvin sent out an email that Paragon would cease operations immediately and if builders wanted to buy anything, they had better act quickly before the stock ran out. There was no mention of a sale of the business or any kind of continuation of any of their products- this news was particularly harsh as the bike industry is getting hammered by all sorts of adverse economic factors- oversupply of goods, undersupply of customers and tariffs that put small builders in a money squeeze that they are not likely to afford . Yes, I'm getting a little political now- if you really are liking the tariffs then you can stop reading here and curse me and my 'California values' . I don't really care- everyone has to believe in something but what you might believe in is killing my craft and putting some people out of work , some people into the street and in this case, killing a decades-old company that a large number of small builders depended upon. You are reading this blog, correct ? You must have an interest in the subject of small, independent frame builders, correct ?....well, the subject that is literally on life support just got it's oxygen tube yanked out yesterday by factors that were not present a couple of years ago.
Paragon was not just a supplier, they made products that made the manufacture of bicycle frames more systematic and easier for builders. Paragon as a company responded to the market and periodically updated products and standards to keep small builders current with an industry that has been changing rapidly with no regard for how it effected the frame building community or its customers. Paragon on the other hand really showed a kinship with the small builder. When the bike industry decided to change an axle, brake mount, BB thread or derailleur hanger spec, Paragon was right there within a couple of months offering the new designs to small builders. They kept up with the market in a remarkable way. There are many builders out in the world who came along after Paragon was well established- these builders only know building with Paragon parts and with the closing of the company, these builders will be left out in a big way.
So what does the future hold ? For me, I know that frame building existed before Paragon and it will exist after Paragon , but if someone does not step up and try to keep making the parts - such as Derailleur hangers- there will be a massive blood-letting in the builder community so to speak. Builders who mainly build in titanium will have a really difficult time sourcing parts to complete orders. What am I going to do about it ? Not sure what I can do , other than for now to buy every der. hanger I can find. My hope is that Paragon will sell or release CAD programs and/or drawings so that someone can source parts through a machine shop. I have done this with my 7005 dropouts and flat mounts, courtesy of Mike Ahrens- Mike might play a role in re-launching some of this Paragon stuff. Not sure if Mike wants to re-start his company but he might be the savior in this dilemma to keep bikes with Paragon Der. hangers rolling and make it so builders who exclusively relied upon Paragon parts can continue building. It's a mess-I should not comment on how Paragon got to the decision to close as I do not know the whole story , but having been through nearly 4 decades of this business I can guess that a new owner might not have the experience or confidence to steer a company like Paragon successfully through times like the ones we are in now. Stay tuned....get a spare der. hanger if you need it and wait for the dust to clear. I cannot say that we will all make it through this one- looks like Paragon certainly won't- but if enough of us rally together we might be able to do what Paragon could not manage- we might survive.
