Re: Rivendell Serial number decoding...what's it mean?

[Leslie]

"It depends..."

Different Rivendell frames have been made by different companies.   For example, the Rambouillet frames were made by Toyo, the Roadeo frames have all been made by Waterford.  Some, like the AHH, were made by Toyo, are are now made by Waterford.   Some, like the Hilborne, are made in Taiwan.  The customs have been made by various builders over the years (Joe Starck, Curt Goodrich,  Mark Nobilette, etc.

Some are just sequential numbering, but some, like the Waterford-built frames, have a coding implemented in the numbering.

Any particular model you're asking in regards to? 



On Thursday, August 2, 2012 6:07:40 PM UTC-4, lungimsam wrote:

What do the numbers mean? Does it indicate date of manufacture, etc?

[Leslie]

Waterford numbering info can be found here: http://waterfordbikes.com/w/support/serial-numbers
It addresses pre-1995 in the top portion of that page; at the bottom, the key portion for post-94 bikes ( and should be applicable to Rivs built by Waterford) is this part:

• Month Code: This one letter code corresponds to the month with A=January, B=February and so on. Because I is not used, September=J and December=M.
• Year Code: This two digit code is the last two digits of the year – 96 is 1996.
• Sequence Number: This three digit number represents the nth frame and/or fork scheduled during the month.

Though a gap may appear between the letter and the rest of the serial number (a result of Waterford’s serial numbering machine, the serial number is recorded in our records without spaces. A number that shows up as “D 08123″ is recorded as “D08123″.     

Now, for a non-Waterford bike to use as an example, the Rambouillet, built by Toyo for Riv, used an RB prefix followed by consecutive numbering (at least through 1200... )   More can be found here:   http://www.cyclofiend.com/rbw/rambouillet/

[Matt Beebe]

I think Waterford has always made some of the AHH frames, so it gets even more confusing.

On Friday, August 3, 2012 1:32:31 PM UTC-4, Leslie wrote:

[Will]

...and some Sam Hillbornes have been made by Waterford too.

[Leslie]

On Friday, August 3, 2012 2:45:40 PM UTC-4, lungimsam wrote:

Bleriots. Wondering what my serial number means.

http://www.tfl.net/Bleriot/BleriotRegistry.htm

Looks like it's an M (guessing Maxaway), followed by a sequential number...

I suppose you've seen this page?  http://www.cyclofiend.com/rbw/bleriot/index.html

 

[Leslie]

PS:  Must've been a delay, I didn't see your Bleriot reply before I posted the other number info;  I wouldn't have gone through the Waterford stuff, etc., if I knew it was a Bleriot at the time.

Bleriot was a project w/ QBP to get a more affordable Saluki-like 650b out into other bikeshops.   Made in Taiwan (and, I shouldn't have had the extra A in Maxway).

Good bike. 

[Marc Irwin]

Ok, now I am confused. In the Waterford world, what is month "N?" My Hunq is a Waterford with serial # N10050 which makes it the 50th bike scheduled in month "N" of 2010.

Marc

[Leslie]

Hmmm.......

Are you sure it's a W'ford? Hunq's are built both places... What does your dropout say? (I've seen Rivs w/ dropouts that say 'Waterford'; but I've also seen W'ford Rivs that say 'Rivendell' in the dropout, too....)

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

The Bleriot serial # is most likely just a sequential number. As far as I know, the Bleriot was a single-manufacturer, maybe only 2-3 batch imports before it was discontinued.

[Marc Irwin]

It's a Waterford.

[Leslie]

Marc, if it's a W'ford Hunqapillar, it should follow that; meaning, I don't know why it's have an N instead of an M, or is it maybe an H w/ paint obscuring its clarity? I dunno...

My Bomba is W'ford, has its number on th BB, and paint makes it difficult to read too... Also has a few other irrelevant characters... Anyway...

[Marc Irwin]

I figured it out!  I keep the serial #'s for my bikes on the memo pad of my phone.  Somehow,  the dyslexia I don't have was acting up, and I put the N from the Hillborne in place of the J from the Hunq.  I went out and looked at the bikes, and that's what I did.  All the other numbers are correct the Hunq is J10050.  We can stop worrying about that, it was just me.

Marc

[Leslie]

:) Glad to know, just because... not critical, but still, just good to know the system is clickin' along.... :)