All bikes1all have unique serial numbers.
Finding a bicycle serial number
Most bicycles have their serial number engraved beneath their bottom bracket, but sometimes serial numbers are found in other places. Here are some examples of where and what to look for:
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The bottom bracket (where serial numbers are typically located) is circled.
A serial number on the underside of a bottom bracket.
Another serial number beneath the bottom bracket, aligned parallel to the frame.
Rad Power bikes have their serial number on the head tube. This is on the front of the bike.
Some Schwinn bicycles also have the unique identifying number (their serial number) on the head tube.
A serial number located on a rear dropout. Some BMX bikes and a few Schwinn bicycles place the serial on the rear dropout. On older Schwinns there are numbers stamped on both the drive side and non-drive side rear dropouts; the one on the non-drive side dropout is the serial number.
Some bikes have multiple serial numbers.2When adding a bike to the Index, it's best to enter all the groups of numbers and letters separated by spaces.
Hopefully you can find the serial number on the bicycle you're looking at - email contact@bikeindex.org if you're having trouble.
Searching serials on Bike Index
Finding bicycles by serial number on Bike Index is a critical part of our functionality. When searching for a serial number, use our serial search bar - it's the second bar on our search form.
We've done a few things to make it more likely that you'll find the bike you're looking for.
- Certain numbers and letters are difficult or impossible to distinguish between (e.g. 0 and O, S and 5). We treat all these numbers the same way - a search for
005LLL
will match a bike with the serialOOS111
. - We split bike serials up by spaces and store each separately. If you see multiple numbers on a bicycle - such as in the photo of the Look bike above - try searching for just one of the numbers at a time. Searching for either
M4106I9CA1
or200910427-2A
will find the bike. - We do close serial matching - bikes with serial numbers that are close to the serial you entered are shown below the matching results under the heading 'Serial Numbers Close to...' - given a search of a serial number with a couple numbers/letters that are different or missing.
- We do not currently do partial serial searches. If you search for
1234
, you will only find bikes with serial numbers of1234
and serials close to that - not a bike with serial number of12345689
.
- Okay, fine, so maybe there are a few bikes without serial numbers, but this is rare and typical only on hand made bikes or really old bicycles.↩
- In this picture 200910427-2A is a manufacturer number and not a serial number. However, to make bikes as easy as possible to find, feel free to enter all numbers you encounter.↩
Here is an email I got from an actual employee of GT:
If the bike frame was manufactured at the Santa Ana CA facility, the first three or four digits of the serial number should be letters abbreviating the model or size of the frame such as 'XL', 'XXL', CR24, or something like that.
The next part of the serial number is eight numeric digits. The first four numbers should be a two digit month followed by a two digit year.
The last four digits are the serialization digits 0000 to 9999 depending on what number the frame was of the years production.
If the frame was made overseas in Taiwan, it gets more complicated. If the number starts with a K, the frame was made by Kinesis.
That's the only one I remember off the top of my head.
There were at least four companies in Taiwan that made the GT lines :
Robinson, Dyno, Powerlite and Auburn included)
The first digit would be a letter designating the factory that made the frame. There might also be a second letter digit specifying the factory that assembled the bike, if applicable. The model and year of production was also coded by a letter, so you won't be able to spot a two digit month and two digit year.
Before I left, I was writing a specification to standardize all of the serial numbers because GT was starting to send most of its US production to other US fabrication shops.
The information might also come in handy for deciphering other makes because the factories in Taiwan make bikes for a lot of different companies.
I am tinkering around with the idea of starting to make my own frames, kind of on a 'one-off' basis. I am also teaching welding at a local community college.
By the way, did I tell you that the guy ran GT's in house fabrication for the last ten years (he recently retired) was none other than Gilbert Axt. Who? Do you remember Race, Inc.? That was Gilbert.
He also did the original PK Ripper for SE Racing. History, man.
It might be a really cool thing if I can track down Gilbert now and interview him for you.
THAT is the kind of stuff that belongs in the BMX Museum!
Later. I'll write you when I get a chance. Dan Garcia
Gazelle Bicycle Serial Number Search
Bicycle Serial Number Lookup
and here is the updates, thanks to love thegoose! (Michael S)
well we get a good bit of gt serials that could be identified by the owner, if they only had the tips that some of us have learned, so i will post what i know, and anyone with more knowledge can add to it..so here we go.
here is an example to go by. on the dropout you have 'M1' followed by '08922198'..this one is simple.
M1 stands for 'mach one' that is your model gt.
it can also be a 'I' for interceptor and so on.
next on the serial is '0892' this is easy to decode too,
08 means 8th month, which would be august.
then you have '92' next in the lineup, this would be 1992
the last 4 digits, are your build number, this one would be the 2,198th one built.
Here is another example. if your serial is KGCG2297 this one gets a little complicated. but still easy once you learn the code to it.
the first letter is who made the frame itself, in this case it would be 'Kenisis', an overseas company.this could be replaced by another letter but at least we know what that one is there for.
next is the letter 'G'..this isnt always there, but if so, this is where it was assembled, (ever notice the built in usa sticker on your gt or dyno?) this is what that letter is there for. it wasnt made here, but was built here.
next is the letter 'C'..C is the 3rd letter in the alphabet, and march is the 3rd month, so march is the build month.
next is the letter 'G' this is the year. G is the 7th letter in the alphabet,
so this would be a 1987.
here is one more..your serial resembles this:f6030578.
to start, if you have a 'baseball' looking stamp behind your serial, this frame was made overseas...no its not a pacific, so dont cry, or get mad...and lets continue.
on this serial, the first number is the last digit of the year, so 6 stands for 1986
next is '03'....this is the third month..which is march.
so you have a gt built in march of 1986.
but still use the museum as a guide to id the frame, cause sometimes you can find the year, but getting a posotive id on the model isnt possible without knowing which style frame you have.
this doesnt apply to new gt's, but hopefully some people with info on those will chime in. this isnt always going to match your serial, you may have a 'fake'..its not likely but it happens. also on earlier models this can differ. this is for the 2 most popular style serial's i see on here. also, common sense tells you that if you have a suspected 'gt' frame, look it up and compare it in the musuem, knowing which style frame you have will help with the process of id'ing your bike with the serial, especially if the serial has some damage that prevents you from getting the full number.
hopefully this bit of info can be used for everyone, and this will save you from those late nights sitting around waiting for a response to your post looking for an answer to the idendity to your gt...although i do feel smart and proud when i can answer these posts. well, thats it for me, if anyone else has info on serials or if you see a mistake in this guide, tell me so i can edit it. happy holidays people.