Serial Numbers
Most carbon-steel framed models were numbered sequentially, sometimes with a prefix letter. Here, we give a listing of the serial numbers used for bikes built from the mid-1960s and onwards at the Carlton/Worksop facility, which built the high-end derailleur models.
- 1966: Annnn
- 1967: Bnnnn
- 1968: CF6682
- 1969: Dnnnn
- 1970: Ennnn
- 1971: Fnnnn
- 1972: Gnnnn
- 1973: Hnnnn
In 1973-74 it appears Carlton was about to start repeating the sequence and several instances of the USA Raleigh/Carlton Competition, RRA, and Professional models have been seen with Annnn serial numbers. Then, a new sequence began in 1974.
Factory
- Canada - R
- Enid (USA) - E
- Gazelle (Netherlands) - G
- Handsworth - H
- Ilkeston - SB
- Ireland - D
- Malaysia - M
- Nottingham - N
- Worksop(Carlton, Sun, BSA, Triumph) - W
Month
- A - January
- B - February
- D - March
- E - April
- G - May
- H - June
- K - July
- L - August
- M - September
- N - October
- P - November
- S - December
Third Symbol is the year of manufacture, e.g. 4-9 would be 1974-1979, 0-3 would be 1980-83, and then the sequence repeats. Thus, 'WH4003203' would be the 3203rd frame built at Worksop in June 1974. In 1982, when Worksop production was moved to Nottingham, the division continued to produce frames with the 'W' designation.
The Special Build (SB) division used a serial number SBnnnn, assigned sequentially, starting in 1974. See the TI Raleigh Team Pros yahoo group for more details.
Read more about this topic: Raleigh Bicycle Company
Famous quotes containing the words serial and/or numbers:
“The serial number of a human specimen is the face, that accidental and unrepeatable combination of features. It reflects neither character nor soul, nor what we call the self. The face is only the serial number of a specimen.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“I had but three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship; three for society. When visitors came in larger and unexpected numbers there was but the third chair for them all, but they generally economized the room by standing up.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)