Hey all - got lucky at goodwill and picked up a polished steel framed road bike but all the decals had long since worn off - I cleaned it up and built my bike around it but I haven't been able to figure out the builder. It does have a serial
Number but it doesn't provide me any insights. So I'm turning to the experts here - and will post pics that hopefully answer the riddle. Thanks all!

Frame

Frame 2

Frame 3

Frame 4

Your bike doesn't appear to be Classic or Vintage, but lets see if we can help you. What is the serial number?

Also, your pics are too small to be much help. Better to post larger ones, or post your pics to a free site like Flickr or Photobucket and then post a link.

Serial number is F5042193 - it also has 31 stamped on the bottom as well.

It doesn't look to be steel either. Maybe Titanium or Aluminum judging by those welds. Does a magnet stick to it?

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Magnets stick - it's def steel - I thought maybe a late 80's steel frame but I'm not the most knowledgeable on this stuff.

That serial number can be reverse engineered in a few different ways but it is also consistent with a standard Taiwanese format, in which case it could be from the April 1995. That would fit will with the finish and apparent age of the components (i.e. dual pivot brakes).

Tmar - thanks for the info - where did you get the insights on the serial number being Taiwenese? Jon

If it helps the bike did come with Shimano 600 components - which look to be from the late 80's or early 90's (unless it was replaced)

T-Mar knows far more about bicycle serial numbers than ALL the rest of us combined, you can rely on his analysis.

I've been studying serial numbers for a long time, especially Asian built brands. I've collected literally thousands of data sets and compared them against my literature collection to decrypt the serial number formats. The forum has a number of Serial Number Database threads that I created to collect and identify serial numbers for brands such as Centurion, Fuji, Nishiki, etc. You may want to take a look at some of them to get an idea of the scope of my studies.

In your particular case, the presence of dual pivot Shimano 600 Ultegra brakes, if OEM, indicates no older than 1991. This is reasonable based on the presence of TIG welding, which started to appear on road bicycles, circa 1990. By this time, most manufacturers had moved production to Taiwan to lower costs. Taking this into consideration with the serial number points to 1995. This format with the F-code prefix has been seen on a number Taiwanese manufactured Centurion and Diamondback models and may represent Fairly, a known supplier of these brands.

Of course, the similarity to the Fairly serial number format could be coincidence, but based on the other evidence, this is the most likely candidate. Before you ask, it is probably not a Diamond Back. In 1990, the company owning Diamondback was bought by China Bicycle Company who moved production into their own factory. The Diamondback use a similar serial number format but with a U-prefix, probably representing CBC.

Thanks for the info - I'll search some more to see if I can get an exact match. Besides those two brands, any other possibilities? Again thanks.

My daughter's friend came over on her vintage bike which was similar brushed unpainted tig welded Cro Mo steel and full Shimano 600 tri color 8 speed. It was a Novara Trionfo. I'm guessing early - mid '90's


kind of like this one.

https://re-cycle.com/ImageFetch.ashx?...2&ImageID=6330

Yes, it could be a Novara Trionfo. In 1995 they did offer it in the metallized, faux-titanium finish with 600 Ultegra and it was manufactured in Taiwan. However, that can also be said for a lot of other similar models. Still, if an F-code can be verified for the Trionfo, that would increase the probability, though you'll never be able to say for sure.

Guys - thanks all for your help. I believe we have a winner with the Novara - after looking at close up pictures and then examining my frame it shares every nuance between them. Thanks for helping me.

My serial number is f4084699 can u please give me a little info about my bike

There's no need to continue posting the same question in multiple threads, especially after you've already rec'd an answer.