jweber76

Hi, I'm still kinda a newbie here and have done a bit of searching but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I'll attempt to keep a long story short and tell you that I got a brand new Schwinn Sprint for my birthday sometime between '84 and '86. I remember all the details of the purchase and distinctly remember riding it to school in the 6th grade which places us firmly in 1985. After years of collecting dust in my parents garage I dug it out a couple weeks ago and have been tearing it down and restoring/cleaning up or replacing it piece by piece. I would really like to know where (if at all) I can find a serial number or date of manufacture stamped on the bike. If I knew what year it was I think it would be alot easier identifying the correct replacement parts and original specs. Thanks alot.

By the way, here is a shot right out of the garage. the Firemist Grey has held up remarkably well!
[IMG][/IMG]

Scooper

There should be four small, lightly stamped digits in the head badge. This represents the assembly date of the bike. The first three digits are the day of the year (001-366), and the last digit is the last digit of the year.

Grey Firemist was a 1986 model year color for the Sprint.

https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...986Ltwt26.html

https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...986Ltwt27.html

jweber76

I would have gotten the bike in October, possible that I got an '86 model in late '85? Just checked my head badge but can only make out the first three numbers 060, wouldn't you know it...the fourth number has a rivet through it! if I had to guess I would say it looks like a 5 but I know the color was called Firemist so I guess that makes it a 6. Thanks alot Stan!

Scooper

Back then, Schwinn usually changed production to the new model year in September or October, so it's possible you got a 1986 model in October, 1985.

If the bike was made by Giant - and many mid-eighties Schwinns were - it should have a GXXXX number on the right rear dropout. The "G" means it was made by Giant, and the "XXXX" is the month and year the frame was manufactured. For example, G0685 would mean the frame was made by Giant (Taiwan) in June, 1985.

No_Dice

If I can piggyback on this question, I have a mid-late 80s Schwinn Sprint whose serial number doesn't follow the [letter][four digits] convention I've been reading about. The serial number is GA724565. Could anyone help identify the year this was built?

Scooper

The best way to tell when the bike was built is by the four small digits stamped into the head badge. Those four digits are the assembly date of the bike. The first three digits are the day of the year (001-366), and the fourth digit is the last digit of the year. The decade is determined by the decals and paint.

These are examples of the numbers I'm referring to.