# Decoding Raleigh Frame #'s to determine age



## apn (Mar 1, 2012)

Before I start, let me unequivocally state that I'm under no delusions that I have a gem on my hands. This is simply a curiosity that I'd like to answer.

I use an an older steel Raleigh R-100 as a dedicated trainer bike. Since it was a craigslist find, I don't know the history and the bike has a mix of parts, none of which seem original;

- FD is Shimano 105, no externally visible series #
- RD is Shimano Sora, no externally visible series #

- Crankset is Shimano FC-1051 (square taper), which I understand to be circa 1989 'Biopace', which may explain why the chainrings were replaced with Campy 52/42.

The bike operates fine, so I've not had to swap out any parts. The rear dropouts are also spaced at 130mm, which if original, suggests that that it was built in the era of 8-speed gearing (although now it's 8/9/10 compatible). Rear hub is Shimano RSX FH-A416. 

The frame serial # is *YF98K00287*, which I've triple-checked to ensure I have it right. It's stamped under the BB shell, and there are no other markings.

Checking on the usual sites e.g. 

Determining the Age of a Raleigh

Raleigh Serial Numbers & Charts

» FRAME NUMBER BICYCLE DATING GUIDE The Online Bicycle Museum

...drew a blank. I also recall finding another site that decoded the post-1974 serial #'s, but it didn't seem to work for me, and I can't find the URL again 

There are some clues on the frame. The head tube logo and a decal on the seat tube suggest that it's an original England-made frame. The down tube contains a decal indicating that the frame or parts thereof are made of "4130' CrMo steel.





















Per above, the serial # is the only visible stamping on the frame. The only remaining decals are the "Raleigh" and "R-100" on the down and top tubes respectively and a "Raleigh England" decal on the seat tube.

Are there any other sites/resources or clues I can find from the actual frame that would help confirm its year of manufacture?

TIA.


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## GOTA (Aug 27, 2012)

I know that Sheldon Brown used to catalog old Raleigh bikes. Here is a link to his site. You might want to start here.

Retro Raleighs


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

The Kurt Kaminer site (your second link) does list what he calls the "universalized" 1973-1982+ scheme, with a letter code starting (factory location), second letter for month and then the serial. On his list of known production sites, including the possibly best known "W" for Worksop, he does list a couple of unidentified letter code prefixes--so perhaps your Y prefix is another anomaly.

By the '80s production had started to fragment--Raleigh USA, manufacturing in the far east and Canada and maybe if (as you think) the frame was made in the UK, they had consolidated (or changed) factory locations and codes?

If you check closer on the rear mech/front mech, crank arms etc--you may find two letter date codes that will help dating--here is a simple list from Classic Rendezvous:
Shimano date codes

Other sites have detail as to where they are to be found on parts.

My guess is that you are close to the mark--mid-to late 80s--the bike still has a head badge (glued by the look of it), Biopace (1983-1993) etc.


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## apn (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks for the input, guys. I'd already checked Sheldon Brown (my first link), but the Shimano date code info is really useful.

I also remembered that I found the N=Nottingham...W=Worksop info on Kurt Kaminer's page. From the following pic, there's no doubting that I have a "*Y*F98K..." serial #, for which I can find NO explanation. I assume the '00287' is the frame number in the shift/batch etc.









I think dating the components gets us close. From next set of pics;

- The crankset is Shimano 105 FC-1051 52/42 Biopace, and if correct 'ML' = Dec 1988
- The (replacement) rings are Campy, but no visible reference to which group or date code.
- The FD is Shimano 105, but no visible reference to series # (likely inside the band)
- The RD is Shimano Sora 3400, and if correct, 'HC' = Mar 1983

...which suggests to me that in addition to losing the 'Biopace' rings, a previous owner downgraded the RD/cassette, or more oddly, upgraded everything but the back-end to 105.



























The seatpost/saddle seem to be original, but the (quill) stem/bars/shifters/tape were brand-new when I got the bike.

So far the components point to a build from 1983 to 1989. However, I don't believe that the manufacturer would put Sora on an essentially 105 build spec. IIRC, they usually 'bling' a build with a nicer RD, not cranks and FD.

Assuming the FD and crank date codes are close, then it points to a ~1989 build. If I'm wrong and the FD date code aligns with the RD, then we're looking at a ~1983 build. However, I'd still like to decode that darned frame serial # for a more definitive answer.

In the absence of other clues, is it possible to identify the period in which bike companies started using 4130 CrMo steel?


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I did a bunch of browsing on this, but didn't write because I didn't find anything too helpful.

Because it's a 105 crank and biopace, if we assume that those were original, then 1989 ties into the first number "9" in the serial #.

The next big clue is the frame material. I looked through 1989 catalogs but saw nothing with 4130. At least nothing in the UK catalogs.

It's also a welded frame, not lugged. Asian?


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

bikerjulio said:


> I did a bunch of browsing on this, but didn't write because I didn't find anything too helpful.
> 
> Because it's a 105 crank and biopace, if we assume that those were original, then 1989 ties into the first number "9" in the serial #.
> 
> ...


I browsed a little as well and did not spot a catalog that showed this model, but there is a UK seller who is offering that exact 4130 decal for sale as a Raleigh replacement with no details of models or dates. It's so distinctive, but I did not find any useful information.

I would lean towards Asian manufacture as well--possibly assembled in the UK? And I agree that it was probably matching Fr/Rear 105 (and 1989) when shipped and the Sora was either to accommodate a larger freewheel or a crash replacement.

When I was banging around I was surprised to find that it was only 2002 that Raleigh finally packed it all in in Nottingham--reposted article about the last work day here:
The end of Raleigh in Nottingham


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## apn (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks again guys.

I also found the '4130 CrMo' decal on the ebay.uk site when I was digging, but no other references to when the material was used.

I also found a same-colored Raleigh R-100 bike for sale on ebay.uk last week, and I should have emailed the vendor before the listing expired on Friday. doh!

Thanks for the interesting article, paredown. As you say, the "Made in England" decal may just reflect final assembly. It would also appear that Raleigh evolved this model into an Aluminum frame, since I found references to a Raleigh R100/R-100 AIRLight model.

I tend to agree that the 9-speed RD is the odd-man out here (possibly pre-dating the bike?, garage find?), and so it appears that the best clue is the FD. I'll remove when I get a chance and report back with my findings.


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## Migen21 (Oct 28, 2014)

apn said:


> I also found a same-colored Raleigh R-100 bike for sale on ebay.uk last week, and I should have emailed the vendor before the listing expired on Friday. doh!


If you choose 'Advanced Search' you can search closed listings on Ebay.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

> and so it appears that the best clue is the FD


I had a 1991 bike with Shimano 105. And I don't remember the FD looking like that. Could be wrong, and the bike is gone.

When the bike has obviously had parts changed, these things don't mean too much.


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## apn (Mar 1, 2012)

Thanks for the tip, Migen21 :thumbsup:

Although the saddle may have been swapped, the bike I spotted on eBay last week looks more original than mine, and appears to have the same crankset. The most obvious change being that mine was "upgraded" to bar shifters and somewhere along the way, the RD got swapped. Here's the eBay bike (same color, decals etc.);









I've emailed the vendor with a few questions.



bikerjulio said:


> When the bike has obviously had parts changed, these things don't mean too much.


I totally agree that the frameset holds the definitive answer, but examination of the components may support an estimation. FWIW, I pulled the FD and found that it aligns to the crankset;

- It's Shimano 105, FC-1050, and the 'MB' date code suggests Feb 1988









The only other element is the BB, which although I've not removed it, is a 68mm square-taper, perhaps a BB-1050.



bikerjulio said:


> I had a 1991 bike with Shimano 105. And I don't remember the FD looking like that.


I did some reading and discovered that on this FD, the pivots are ~45deg to intentionally to move the chain Up/Down and Right/Left when selecting the Larger/Smaller ring, specifically to support the non-round 'Biopace' chainrings.

I've done some more digging, including looking at VeloBase: Shimano 1050/1051 Groupset and given my crankset is Dec 1988, it may suggest that I have an early 1989-built bike.

Of course all this goes out the window if all these parts are not original, however, despite the chainring swap, it appears that the FD and Cranks are original. The latter match the eBay bike (above), plus it's not often that one changes a Shimano-for-Shimano crankset and then goes to the trouble of adding Campy rings.

BTW, I made a error dating the RD. 'Sora' couldn't possibly be 1983, and so wrapping the Shimano date codes suggests that it's actually a Mar 2009 part i.e. the easiest/cheapest 7-speed part the owner could find at the time.

So while it's not a definitive answer, it appears that I have a circa 1989 Raleigh R-100. Thanks all for you help and interest, and I hope to get a response from the eBay guy and will continue researching the frame #.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Just my bad memory on the FD then. Mine was a Biopace setup as well.


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