I picked up a Fuji America recently. The serial number fits the code as defined for Fuji by T-Mar in the first post.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...da41a338eb.png

First two numbers = 1975
G = Production facility
50048 Serialized count?

Anyway, we know it was a 1975 model from the original owner, crossing it to the Fuji catalog page and from date codes on some of the components. This information matches up. Does the 5 represent a model in Fuji's serial number code? Or a frame size? It is a 25" frame. I would think they use metric. Or perhaps the Export market?

Chubei was a brand name of the Japanese trading company C Itoh. C Itoh distributed bicycles with several different brand names.

C Itoh contracted several different manufacturers to make bicycles. Many C Itoh bicycles were made by Bridgestone in Japan.

The serial number is similar to many Bridgestone bicycle serial numbers. Bridgestone had two main factories each with its own serial number format. Your bicycles serial number is similar to the Asahi factory.

If this frame is from the Asahi factory then the letter "K" is for the month of November and the first digit "9" is for the year. My guess is 1969.

Here is a serial number from a Top Rider, which was another brand name of C Itoh.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...10e41d3a0c.jpg

Hello B Realsteel and welcome to the forum.

The serial number that you have quoted is not unique to one particular manufacturer of bicycle frames. To aid in dating your bicycle more information is required. The serial number location, photographs of the whole bicycle and the serial number would be a useful start.

Hi all, I have a very confusing bike here, a Centurion, original owner is adamant that he bought in small town New Zealand(bikes that weren’t selling in the US got sent here among other countries) in 1972, meaning it’s possibly an earlier build than when he bought it in ‘72.
Serial number is on the non drive side of the seat post tube down near the bottom bracket and reads N600214.
Any ideas? I believe the owner as he showed me photos of the tour of the North Island that he did in 72-3.

It would be unusual for a component to have the same month and year as the frame. Component date codes are usually older than the frame date code.

I would suggest that the visible part of the serial number is F7062. The 06 would be month June.

Here is a Centurion Sport DLX serial number:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f8b3f4607.jpg

I have an interesting Centurion here, bought new here in New Zealand by the original owner who toured our North Island here in 72-3.
Here in NZ we got a lot of bikes from the US and it was generally when those bikes needed to make way for the next years model, so this bike is potentially a 70-71.
Serial number is N600214, and it is situated above the bottom bracket on the non drive side of the seat post tube.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2d02616ad.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ec488fa03.png
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...478d01bbc7.png
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ecdaa6ca2e.png

The crankset looks original and probably has a manufacturers date code stamped on the arms. The deraileurs should also have date codes.

Front derailleur is SF date which apparently dates to 76, but I feel that’s been changed, he said parts were replaced after commuting on it for a few years after the touring

Hi everyone. In the past several months, some Univegas ranging from 1993 to 1996 have come to my hands, Alpinas and Rovers, no longer manufactured by Miyata. These were all made in Taiwan but no concrete info on who built them. After long online searches and taking note of many more serial numbers I have found and my own ones, all 90s non Miyata Univegas follow either one of these:
* KHS (Taiwan): ymmxxxxx. See also U(1).
* U(1) (?): Uymmxxxxx Manufacturer unknown. These codes start appearing on Centurion and Diamond back models in the very late 1980s. It is known that China Bicycle Company started supplying entry level models to Western State Imports at this time, just before acquiring WSI in late 1989 and this would appear to be the logical manufacturer but bicycles with this S/N format have been reported with Made in Taiwan labels and CBC was located in China

The serial number "year" part, does match the year model of all Univegas I've found, except by 3 that potentially were manufactured in the stamped year but sold the year after, something pretty common.
Hope this helps to anyone interested.
Best regards,

Your America is the 48th built in the month of July (G), but I think you are on to something with the first digit of the serial portion. I have a 77 Fuji Pro (77C50005) with a 5 in the same place. Also the 77 Pro (77B50004, IIRC) featured in the book "Japanese Steel" similarly has a 5 in the same place. I had presumed the 5 might indicate a Pro model, but now seeing the s/n of your America is similar, perhaps it indicates something else. Maybe the plant that fabricated the frames? I also have an early 80s Fuji America but the format is different, so no help there. Good luck.

Miyata TripleCross TX
 

Miyata TripleCross TX

Well toured modifed hybrid. Very unusual bars added long ago. Owner reports she did several multi state tours on it some 30 years ago. Purchased new in Macomb Illinois.
Serial on the lower seat tube is difficult to read. Looks like DS91 207879 (Dodson mfd?)
Front Shimano derailleur date code is 1989, September.

Found in the 1990 catalog, page 18 and the 1991 catalog. The color matches the 1991 catalog photo.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3203c7ee68.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eab060aef6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb48535bb3.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c3a31671be.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...32e15abcd6.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e8ae3b1b3a.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...71eedaf357.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9772efb398.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d20eda1589.jpg

As has been noted in an earlier post by member @Insidious C. ,you have made an interesting observation about the fourth character in this Fuji serial number format.

Fuji began to use this format of serial number in 1975 and continued the format into 1979. This format uses two digits for the Gregorian calendar year and a letter for the month. I have looked through my catalogue of Fuji serial numbers and found that the fourth character is always 0, 1, 5, or 9.

Prior to 1975 Fuji used another format with a first character letter, a second character digit for the Showa year, and a third character letter for the month.
In this Fuji serial number format the first character letter is always "D", "F", "K", or "M".


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d85136e769.jpg
Fuji serial number from Showa year 48.


It is interesting that both formats of serial numbers can be segmented into different groups. It is tempting to try and align the four letters in the Showa year serial numbers with the four numbers in the Gregorian year serial numbers. Unfortunately my sample size of the serial number data is not large enough to draw any conclusions of this type.

Hello Valdillo and welcome to the forum.

I am interested to know which country in the world you are located. I am also interested in seeing the serial numbers of your Univegas.

I have never seen 1990s Univegas with this format of serial number. I see mostly Univega models for the North American market.

Univega was a brand name of Lawee Inc.. Lawee Inc. may have licensed the brand name outside of North America.

Ben Lawee retired in 1996 and sold some or all of his bicycle intrests to Derby Cycle. I assume that Derby Cycle in Europe had the rights to theUnivega name after 1996, but possibly earlier.

New addition
 

Aloha! I just bought a track frame that was stickered as a Benotto, but turned into something unexpected. First clue was the OHTSUYA bottom bracket with <EO> and kanji characters stamped on it. He apparently made a lot of bottom brackets for 3Rensho. The rear dropouts are stamped Shimano SFP. The seat-stay lug was the clincher in identifying it, and thanks to this forum, it appears to be a 1975 Centurion track bike, serial number M5D5271. More unusual is the tubing was sourced from Columbus, not Tange.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1c4de14423.jpg
Bottom bracket
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...547365506f.jpg
Rear dropout
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...43dff528a9.jpg
Seatpost cluster
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d77b20c48b.jpg
Mocking up the frame for my build into a 2-speed

I'm building it into a 2-speed using mostly Campagnolo parts, since I was under the impression it was a Benotto, but it will be fun to ride, no matter what it is. Mahalo! Robert

Complete newbie here, just bought this Fuji Ace over the weekend.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...99f42b6f26.jpg

It looks much like this one on classicjapanesebicycles.com (sorry, as a newbie, I can't link) 1988 Fuji Ace feature page other than having an Avocet saddle (the one on the page of course isn't the original saddle/post) and different pedals.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b9f97b0479.png


My saddle looks like the one pictured below from the 1989 Fuji catalog found on posthaven. But unlike this image, the coloring behind "ACE" on the top bar is gray/silver like the image above from the 1988 feature...not blue like the '89 catalog, though perhaps they were both originally supposed to be blue but faded to gray in the last few decades? I doubt that though, as the blue in the other decals are still blue.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1405a08f3e.jpg

I was interested in confirming the year, and also trying to figure out if it was made in Japan. When I was buying it, I figured that the bike wasn't newer than 1989. I couldn't find a 1988 Fuji catalog that showed the ACE, but mine looks similar to both those '88 & '89 and in the 1990 Fuji catalog (pictured below), the ACE has different decals compared to the one listed on classicjapanesebicycles.com page for the 1988 or in the 1989 Fuji catalog linked above.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad28ac1bf1.jpg

I didn't get the serial # prior to buying, but it is F9033524, which seems to be in line with the "Fairly" numbering system, rather than anything that's listed for Fuji. So...that would mean it was made in Taiwan? But in 1988 or '89? Or it is a later ACE model converted to earlier decals? Or maybe sometime after 1991 (1991 is the last catalog I found, and it didn't have the ACE shown) they did the silver/gray decal...and perhaps the bike pictured on classicjapanesebicycles.com also isn't an '88?

OR is there a chance of some overlap in the numbering where it was still a Fuji/Japan manufactured bike but with the later "Fairly" numbering? Can anyone confirm/deny/shed more light?

Thanks & sorry for the long post.

Bought a second Apollo MK V locally - the first was built by Kuwahara from what I understand but the second might be from another builder. Looks to be 1976 as well.


This one has a rear brake bridge reinforcement whereas the Kuwahara frame does not.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...75876ece1.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c53aec51c.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce99159eb.jpeg

I was researching my 1999 Schwinn Peloton today, and GOOGLE asked me for the make, model, material and serial number.
This is from the holding company between the bankruptcy/Scott and final purchase by Pacific:

"Your 1999 Schwinn Peloton 853 with serial number TJ90201393 was manufactured by a contract factory in Taiwan (most likely by Maxway or a similar high-end boutique builder).

Decoding Your Serial Number: TJ90201393
During the late-1990s "Scott USA era" of Schwinn, imported frames followed a standardized factory coding system rather than the traditional Chicago or Japanese Schwinn formats:
T: Indicates the manufacturing partner or specific facility location in Taiwan.
J: Represents the month of production (October, the 10th letter of the alphabet, skipping "I").
[I think it would be September if you skip 'I']
9: Stands for the production year (1999).
0201393: This is the sequential frame build number unique to your bike's production run.

Clear up on the Builder
While Match Cycles in Seattle built the very limited, high-end 853 Paramount frames for Schwinn during this era, the late '90s 853 Peloton frames were outsourced to Taiwan to keep costs competitive. Taiwan's premium builders at the time were among the few globally with the specialized technical expertise to TIG-weld ultra-thin, air-hardened Reynolds 853 steel tubes without damaging their structural integrity."

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...74fae1c038.jpg

Hello bryan kitsune, welcome to the forum.

Based upon the serial number you have correctly identified the format as Fairly of Taiwan. the first three digits of the serial number, "903", are the year and month of frame manufacture: 1989 March. Most probably a 1989 model year.

For the 1987 model year Fuji began to transition frame manufacturing to Taiwan due to the high exchange rate for the Japanese Yen.