General Curiosity: Serial Number Conventions

[Rex Kerr]

Just wondering... does anybody know if there's any pattern to the serial numbers on our bikes?  Looking at mine I can't really make out much of a pattern (hard to do with one example).  I see one possible pattern, but it's a weak connection if any.

[Leslie]

Awhile back, we started sorting out the Rambouillet frames by color, seeing if we could pin down the number of each color;  on them, the orange and blue ones started with an RB, and the green ones started with an RM; their numbers appear simply sequential. 

Not sure on the others.   Have seen one Bombadil that started w/ an L followed by numbers, an All-Rounder that had an 01JS then numbers... 

Atlantis, Hilsen, Hillborne, I would expect them to have some sort of a pattern; but I don't know...

[Seattle Smitty]

Not sure if bike mfg is regulated the same... but boat Hull ID #s follow a Coast Guard specified pattern that includes manufacturer ID, mfg generated serial number, month + year of mfg, and the model. If I didn't already know the pattern, I'd have a hard time figuring it out just from looking at a few. 

[cyclotourist]

Most customs have the builder's initials, followed by year then bike # for that year.  JS02037 = Joe Stark 2002 #37  Not sure about the match or W'ford bikes.

My friend has the enviable RS02 on her frame, which is Richard Sachs #02 build for Rivendell!!! 

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Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from
improving their taste than from improving their performance. - RTMS

[Rex Kerr]

On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 9:07 PM, cyclotourist <cyclot...@gmail.com> wrote:

Most customs have the builder's initials, followed by year then bike # for that year.  JS02037 = Joe Stark 2002 #37  Not sure about the match or W'ford bikes.

 
Hrm... if that's true I'm curious who F is at Waterford. :-)

[Bruce Herbitter]

Waterford's web site explains their serial # system, regardless of the nameplate on the bike. Toyo bikes were sequential, iirc. So my RB841 was the 841st Ram frame to come from there. Have not seen any Taiwanese RBW #s yet.

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[Marty]

My new diaga-tube Waterford-built Bombadil = L10024

By their code, that would make it the 24th built in November 2010. 

What does my serial number mean?

It depends on the year it was built. If your bike was built after mid-1995, you have a 6-character number: For example: F98123. F - is the month (A for January, B for Feb and so on, skipping I but ending up at M for December. 98 is the 2 digit year code. 123 - the serial number within the month. For earlier Waterfords, we had an addition 6-digits: 560ALW J94123: 560 - the frame size in millimeters. ALW - indicates a Waterford. J94123 - the 123rd frame of September, 1994 - just like the shortened code.