Originally Posted by
soonerbills
Ok' I pulled the rear derail. I don't think it was ever removed before. The dropout had marks from the hanger and they look like it never was moved or adjusted. After cleaning (it surprisingly cleaned up really nice) I found the date code stamp on the rear parallel leg. It appears that they are a T then L
which according to the VintageTrek page shows the date as December of 1977 if I'm reading it right.
The problem with component dating is that they can sometimes be replaced or the bicycle manufacturer may not have rotated their stock, resulting in a component that is a couple of years old being installed on a frame. However, in this case the derailleur makes it no older than a 1978 model and this is certainly in the range for the head badge. If you want to increase your confidence in the dating, you'll have to explore the codes on some other components.
Originally Posted by
Flying Merkel
Had to post a picture of my Centurion. at 56 cm, it's a little small for me, but rides .
OK, now this looks like one of the boom era Centurion LeMans. It appears to have the North Star headbadge and those Raleighesque decals. I'd put this one around the early to mid-1970s and would appreciate the serial number and any component date codes.