[CR]Mfg. Date for Bike Components

Hello CRers -

I get a fair number of inquiries "What year is my Trek". Now that we have assembled catalogs from 1976-88 on the Vintage-Trek.com site, the question often can be answered by comparing the graphics, assuming the graphics are still original. However, ambiguities still remain; especially in the years 76 though 83.

CR member Larry Osborn made a very useful observation. He pointed out SR seatposts (and Sakae) have a date of manufacture stamped on them below the insertion line. For example: K-82. The number is the year and (I believe) the K is for the month, in this case November (11th letter). For Treks, this is especially important as virtually all of the non-Campy or Dura-Ace equipped bikes started life with some grade of SR seatpost. Not a proof positive way of dating a bike but could provide an oldest date for the bike.

The dating of Campy components (hubs, r. derailleurs, cranks) is described in Chuck Schmidt's most excellent timeline: http://www.velo-retro.com/tline.html

There is a code on Dura-Ace seatposts. An X-X is stamped near the bottom of the post, where X is a letter. I suspect one letter is the month and the other is the year, but I am only guessing. It could be a date code? model number? or what Mr. Shimano had for lunch that day? If it is a date code, does anyone know the code? Perhaps all that is needed is the year the letters start, and which letter means what? One older Dura Ace hub I have is stamped with FL (no dashes) on the center of the body and another is marked DB. Other Shimano hubs have two letter codes stamped faintly into the flanges. Does anyone know if these are date codes or model numbers? or?

Many cranks seem to have date codes, but each manufacturer (or model) seems to have it's own marking methodology, usually coded and inscrutable (as gleaned from my modest fleet of work-a-day bikes).

Are there date codes on other significant components? Is there a list of such date codes for non-Campy parts? If not, is this a list worth making?

Thanks for your attention.

Skip Echert
Renton, WA
vintage-trek.com