Most 60's racers and earlier had few or none with cable guides/stops, shifters, bidons, etc. Race bikes tended have less braze-ons the earlier the year of manufacture. Inspection of lug design: pantographs, cut-out, stampings, custom brazing/filing, chrome, fork crow n sweep, etc.įrame/Fork Braze-ons. Number of gears (shift from 2x5 ten-speed to 3x8, 2x9, 1x11, etc.)
Manufacturing method (shift from lugs to TIG welding, for example)Ĭassette vs. Presence or absence of CPSC reflectors (USA only) Most bikes lost their metal badges in the 60's and early 70's, although some brands still have actual badges to this day, but in general a real badge indicates an earlier model bike.ĭropout style (including the later inclusion of lawyers lips) Headbadges: most early bikes had actual "badges", often quite detailed and fancy, made of metal, then plastic, and finally just using decals on the headtube. Earlier bikes tended to have less fancy, less colorful, less quantity of decals. Tubing decals (Reynolds, Columbus, etc.) also changed designs for same tubing made in different years, although the changes aren't made as often, and manufacturers didn't always put tubing Brand decals on every model. This applies only if decals are original or have been replaced with the identical design.
Many changed decal design for the same model bike often yearly, with special/limited editions even more specific. can help not only determine models, but also year of manufacture. *Decals: style/design, amount, placement, color, etc. So a frame with an original 501 decal can't be from the 70', 531 decal doesn't help as much because of the range of years produced. Reynolds 531 tubing introduced around 1934, still used today Reynolds 501 tubing introduced around 1983). Shifting ramps and pins on cassettes/sprockets and chainrings (versus flat sprockets)įrame material (e.g., shift from tubular steel to use of CF and hydroformed aluminium)įrame tubing type (e.g. Style of shifters (brifters, triggers, etc.) threadless)īraking system (especially with mountain bikes: v-brake, direct pull, etc.) How the steerer attaches to the fork (quill vs.
Quick releases versus contemporary through-axles old catalogues, fan websites)Ĭottered cranks vs square tapered or splined cranks and bottom brackets The span of answers would include things such as: To some extent, these will also help you narrow down the model as well as it will tell you what distinguishing features to look at. Each "answer" should address a different way to determine the manufacturing year of a bicycle. This is a canonical question that will hopefully encompass all of the questions we get asking us to determine what year a bicycle was manufactured (how old is my bike, how old is my frame, etc.).
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