Originally Posted by
concordino
Thank you for your info. I was hoping you would respond since you have references on lots of bike brands.
I also share your opinion on the frame being chromoly, at least that was my expectation when I bought it.
Would providing the serial number help to more accurately date the year ? I am thinking 91-92 based on the components.
The serial number may allow us to determine the exact manufacturing date but I have yet to see any from Research Dynamics, so I can't say for sure. However, we can safely eliminate 1991 from the mix, based on the front derailleur which is the top pull FD-M651 that first appears in the 1992 Shimano catalogue. Furthermore, the shift levers appear to be Rapidife, as opposed to Rapidfire Plus. The latter, were introduced for the 1993 model year but Rapidfire was still catalogued. Still, I'd think there's a higher probability of them going with the new Rapidfire Plus for 1993, so I'm leaning towards it being a 1992, though I wouldn't rule out 1993.
Edit: I just went back to double check the 1993 price list and all the models except the Coyote Pro-4 say RP (Rapidfire Plus). Given that it's an upper mid-range model, this seems strange and I suspect it's a typographical error. This has me leaning even more towards a 1992 model.