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Ebykr Guides
Identify and Date
Practical guides to working out what a bicycle is and when it was built, using the frame, the components, the decals and the catalogs rather than guesswork. Start with the date codes below, then read the guide for your marque.
Date codes, maker by maker
When each code applied, 1945 to 2001. Every year and mark is copied from the guide or history its maker links to, where the full method is set out.
The rule behind every reading: a frame can be no older than the newest original part fitted to it.
Components
Brooks saddlesLetter and year on the cantle plate
No date on anything before the end of the 1950s, so date the model instead · from about 1959 a letter and two digits on the cantle plate: the digits are the year, so C64 is 1964, and the letter is probably the quarter, A = January to March · the practice did not run forever, and the number, letter, number stamp in the leather of a modern saddle is a production lot, not a date
Campagnolo cranksMark on the back of the arm
Undated 1958–1972 · last digit of the year in a diamond 1973–1979 · in a circle 1980–1984 · from 1985 a rectangle: 11 = 1985, 22 = 1986, 33 = 1987
Campagnolo Nuovo RecordPatent line on the rear derailleur
PATENT with no year before 1970 · PAT. 70 or similar from 1970 on
Maillard and Normandy hubsWeek, then year: 27 78
27 78 is the 27th week of 1978 · the Normandy name gave way to Maillard around 1981
ShimanoTwo letters: the year, then the month
First letter the year, A = 1976 to Z = 2001 and then A again · second letter the month, A–L = January–December, so VI is September 1997
Stronglight cranksNo date stamp: read the model
49D from about 1936 to 1984, although the name came into general use only after the war · 93 1968–1978 · 105 1976–1983 · 106 from 1984, so a 106 crank means 1984 or later
Frame numbers
Cinelli framesFive digits from 1980, year first
Before 1980 the number indicated neither the date nor the sequence · from 1980 five digits, the first two the year of manufacture and the last three the frame’s number for that year · a bottom bracket grease port was taken out of the design in 1965
Fuji framesSerial under the bottom bracket
The month is a letter, A = January to L = December · 1971–1974: a factory letter, the last digit of the Japanese imperial year (6 = 1971 through 9 = 1974), then the month, so K9B10021 is February 1974 · 1975–1979: two digits of the year, then the month, so 77B13425 is February 1977 · 1980–1987: a facility letter, the month, then the last digit of the year, so FB125349 is February 1981 · a separate short scheme covers the limited hand-built models of 1984 and 1985, and later numbers are much less well documented
Hobbs of Barbican framesPost-war frame numbers
From the Veteran-Cycle Club: for the first two years of post-war production a six, seven or eight digit number, the first two digits the year of build · from 1947 a letter for the build month, then a number beginning with the year digit, so B7500 is July 1947 · frame building ended some years before the firm closed in the late 1950s
Peugeot framesSeven-digit frame number from 1976
Before 1976 the serial is an identifier and nothing more: 1355592 was built in 1975 · from 1976 the frame number carries a digit for the year and two for the month, so 605 is May 1976 and 904 is April 1979 · a factory letter often comes first, B for Beaulieu or Y for Romilly-sur-Seine
Raleigh framesSeat lug, bottom bracket or rear dropout
Raleigh reused older numbers, and those from roughly 1963 to 1973 are particularly unreliable · from 1973 the first letter is the factory (N Nottingham, W Worksop, E Enid), the second the month (A = January) and the numeral the year (3 = 1973), so ND5 is Nottingham, March 1975 · the higher Reynolds 531 and 753 frames from 1974 used a Worksop W followed by a letter for the fortnight · SBDU team frames read SB and four digits, with no date
Dated in plain sight
- Sturmey-Archer hub shellsThe month and the last two digits of the year, in plain sight on the shell.
- Campagnolo hub lock nutsCAM. and the last two digits of the year, so CAM 65 is 1965.
- Simplex derailleursThe Prestige in particular carries a month-and-year code on the back face.
- Brooks bags and carriersFour digit numbers in the 7000s to 9000s are 1913 or earlier; the same items in the 2000 series are 1914 or later.
Numbers that are not dates
- Peugeot serials before 1976An identifier and nothing more: a frame carrying 1355592 was built in 1975.
- Brooks leather stampsThe number, letter, number code under a modern saddle, such as 9E9, is a production lot.
- Raleigh SBDU framesSB and four sequential digits, which encode no date at all.
- Pierce frame numbersThe first two digits are not the year: a frame stamped 256,237 was built in 1922.
The full method
Cross-marque referenceHow to Date a Vintage Bicycle by Its ComponentsHow each guide reads a bicycle
Choose a guide to see its method at a glance. Every reading comes from the guide itself.
The bicycle
Frame numberUnder the bottom-bracket shell
Before 1976 an identifier and nothing more · from 1976 a digit for the year and two for the month, so 605 is May 1976 · the number confirms; it does not decide
ModelWhere it sat on the ladder
The PX-10 was introduced as a model in 1953 and carried as Peugeot’s flagship for three decades · the UO-8, the entry 10-speed, was sold into the United States from the 1960s through to about 1980 · the PR-10 gave way to the PKN-10 around 1980
LugsRead the frame
Nervex Professional lugs with the blackened heads mark the 1960s and early 1970s · from about 1974 plainer Nervex lugs, sometimes outlined in gold on the LE, ran through 1983 · chrome fork crowns and chromed tips belong to that later lugged period
TubingThe transfer and the tubes
The seat-tube Reynolds 531 decal was dropped around 1973 · the PX-10DU used Vitus 979 aluminum tubing in 1981 and 1982 and made its last catalog appearance in 1983 · 1984 was the last year for a lugged and brazed Reynolds 531C frameset, the PX-10L · the lugged flagships of the mid 1980s switched to Columbus SLX
LiveryRead the decals
Arc-en-Ciel rainbow bands appeared on the down-tube transfers after Tom Simpson took the 1965 World Championship · the white frame with black lugs and the damier band reached consumer models from 1967 · a scheme frequently belongs to a span of only two or three years, so compare it with dated advertising
The components
Stronglight cranksNo date stamp: read the model
There was never a consistent Stronglight date stamp, so date the model: the 49D ran from about 1936 to 1984, the 93 arrived for 1968 and finished in 1978, the 105 followed in 1976 and the 106 not until 1984
Maillard and Normandy hubsWeek, then year: 27 78
An open date, two digits for the week and two for the year, so 27 78 is the 27th week of 1978 · the Normandy mark gave way to Maillard around 1981
The worked example: plain Nervex lugs, the damier band, hubs stamped 27 78 and a Stronglight 105 crank, built and sold for the 1979 season
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Peugeot.
From 1973
- N: Factory: N Nottingham, W Worksop, E Enid in the United States, and others
- D: Month, from A for January: here March
- 5: Year: 5 is 1975
- ····: The rest of the number
Reads ND5: Nottingham, March 1975
From 1974, the higher 531 and 753 frames
- W: Worksop
- A letter for the fortnight of the build
- ····: The rest of the number
Reads A related Worksop system, dated by the fortnight
Ilkeston team frames
- SB: Specialist Bicycle Development Unit
- ····: Four sequential digits
Reads No date at all: read the decals and the equipment instead
- Do not count along the alphabet to find the month: Raleigh’s own account of its 1980s frame numbers says the month letters run from A for January to S for December and are not in alphabetical order, and gives NE4 as Nottingham, April 1984. Read the letter against a chart.
- Raleigh recycled many older numbers, so a frame of the 1960s or 1970s can carry a serial that suggests far greater age. The numbers from roughly 1963 to 1973 are regarded as particularly unreliable.
- The widely used decoding charts were assembled in the mid-2000s from limited data. Read a clean later code as strong evidence, and anything else as a lead to confirm.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Raleigh.
On the cantle plate, from about 1959
- C: The letter: probably the quarter
- 64: The year: 1964
Reads C64: 1964, the letter probably a quarter
In the leather of a modern saddle
- 9E9: Number, letter, number: a production lot
Reads Not May 1999: Brooks’ own leaflet calls it the production lot
The letter, read two ways
As a quarterABCDAs a monthABCDE to L: these letters do not appear to turn up
- The letters reported in the wild run A to D and stop, which is why the quarter reading is the more defensible. Brooks has published neither, so record the code, the year and a note that the letter is probably a quarter.
- Use the leather stamp to identify a lot and to register a saddle, not to date it.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Brooks Saddle.
Nothing dated between 151,581 in 1910 and 172,448 in 1918About 10,000 to 15,000 numbers a year in the later 1890sRoughly 4,000 to 8,000 a year after 1901
- A model year stated in the notice
- Dated only by the notice: the bicycle existed by then
- Nothing dated between 151,581 in 1910 and 172,448 in 1918
- The worked example: a number in the 180,000s, most likely the middle or later 1910s
- A notice dates the theft rather than the build: a number without a model year belonged to a bicycle that existed by that date and no more. The run is noisy, and the two 1919 numbers arrive out of order.
- Angola frames, from 1918, run from about 255,000 to past 600,000, but every one of those numbers comes from an owner’s report rather than dated print. Nobody knows where the Buffalo numbers ended.
- Collectors sometimes read the first two digits as the year. They are not: 101,192 was a 1903 model and 144,850 a 1909 model.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Pierce Bicycle.
| The transfer reads | Main tubes | Stays | Fork blades |
|---|---|---|---|
| FORK BLADES, STAYS & BUTTED FRAME TUBESThe starred rectangle, or REYNOLDS laid across a large 531: the two top marks mean the same thing | Butted 531 | 531, plain gauge | Taper-gauge 531 |
| FORKSThe small triangle near the crown, usually with one of the top marks | Not this mark | Not this mark | Taper-gauge 531 |
| BUTTED FRAME TUBESThe top, seat and down tubes only | Butted 531 | Of lesser quality: may not be Reynolds | Of lesser quality: may not be Reynolds |
| PLAIN GAUGE TUBES FORKS & STAYSAll 531, none of it butted | 531, plain gauge | 531, plain gauge | 531, plain gauge |
| FRAME TUBINGLater 1970s: unbutted main tubes, “even scarcer” | 531, plain gauge | Not stated | Not stated |
- Even the top mark does not promise butted stays or forks: Reynolds’ later sheets spell out that the frame tubes and steerer are butted while the head tube and stays are plain gauge.
- A frame wearing BUTTED FRAME TUBES is a perfectly good bicycle with three good tubes, but not a “full 531” frame, whatever the listing says. A French frame says the same in French: TUBES RENFORCÉS for butted tubes.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date Vintage Reynolds Tubing.
1971 to 1974
- K: Factory
- 9: Year: Shōwa 49, 1974
- B: Month: February
- 10021: Frame number
Reads Factory K, February 1974, frame 10021
1975 to 1979
- 77: Year: 1977
- B: Month: February
- 13425: Frame number
Reads February 1977, frame 13425
1980 to 1987
- F: Factory
- B: Month: February
- 1: Year: 1981
- 25349: Frame number
Reads Factory F, February 1981, frame 25349
1984 and 1985, limited hand-built models
- B: Month: February
- 5: Year: 1985
- 14: Frame number
Reads February 1985, frame 14
The month is always a letter
- AJan
- BFeb
- CMar
- DApr
- EMay
- FJun
- GJul
- HAug
- ISep
- JOct
- KNov
- LDec
- Until 1974 the single year digit counts the era of the Shōwa emperor: Shōwa 46 was 1971, so a 6 means 1971 and a 9 means 1974.
- Factory letters recorded so far: K, F, I, M, S, J and G. Treat the letter as a fingerprint rather than an exact address.
- Read the month position as a letter even when it looks like a number: 79B00003 is a B, not an 8. After 1987 the formats are much less well documented.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Fuji.
First digit: the blade
- 1polished racing
- 2drilled racing
- 4drilled, anodized silver
- 5drilled, anodized gold
- 6children’s racing
- 7town
- 8guidonnet
Second digit: the body
- 1resin (on a town or guidonnet lever, a resin lever)
- 2alloy (likewise, an alloy lever)
- 3Promotion
- 4double control
- 5safety lever
Third digit: the clamp and the hood
| Hood | Simplified clamp | Patented clamp |
|---|---|---|
| No hood | 0 | 5 |
| A hood with a small adjuster | 1 | 6 |
| A hood with a large adjuster | 2 | 7 |
| A black wraparound hood | 3 | 8 |
| A translucent wraparound hood | 4 | 9 |
- Course 429
- A drilled blade anodized silver (4) on an alloy body (2), with the patented clamp and a translucent wraparound hood (9)
- Ville Forgé 725
- A town lever (7) with an alloy blade (2) and the patented clamp but no hood (5)
- These are catalog codes, the numbers a dealer ordered by, and nobody has shown that Mafac stamped them on the levers. Use a code to name a lever, then, not to date one.
- Some online references give the 419 an alloy body and the 429 a plastic one; Mafac’s own key says the reverse.
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date Vintage MAFAC Brakes.
- F, IDÉALE, T: Before 1950
- On the badges drawn in the 1927 Tron & Enfants advertisement and the Tron & Berthet catalog of about 1936
- What the F stands for is not recorded; F. Tron, the name on the firm’s 1910 letterhead, is a good guess
- T, IDÉALE, B: After 1936
- T and B, for Tron & Berthet, on the badges by about 1950, when the guarantee card draws one
- The firm had been Tron & Berthet since 1928: the roundels lagged the name, and the change came somewhere between about 1936 and about 1950
- SPÉCIALE COMPÉTITION / T 90 B: The 1960s to the 1980s
- A rounded-rectangle badge on the top racing and touring models: SPÉCIALE COMPÉTITION over T 90 B on the No. 90, Diagonale in script on the No. 92
- IDÉALE: The Rilsan 2000 series, from 1973
- An applied black oval label instead of an embossed badge
- And a late Cyclo-Touriste 75 reads FRENCH DESIGN where earlier badges say MADE IN FRANCE
Every reading here comes from How to Identify and Date a Vintage Idéale Saddle.
Guides by marque
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Peugeot
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Raleigh
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Brooks Saddle
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Pierce Bicycle
How to Identify and Date Vintage Reynolds Tubing
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Fuji
How to Identify and Date Vintage MAFAC Brakes
How to Identify and Date a Vintage Idéale Saddle
How to Identify and Date a Vintage RaleighHow to Identify and Date a Vintage Brooks SaddleHow to Identify and Date a Vintage Pierce BicycleHow to Identify and Date Vintage Reynolds TubingHow to Identify and Date a Vintage FujiHow to Identify and Date Vintage MAFAC BrakesHow to Identify and Date a Vintage Idéale SaddleOnce you have dated it
Log the serial number so the next owner of a machine like yours has something to read, or bring the question to the forums and let somebody look at your photographs.