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Old 09-13-2024, 01:09 PM
Flinch Flinch is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2023
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Early Serotta bikes: Cough 'em up !

Since I'm easily fascinated by puzzles, I see a need to more fully document early Serotta bikes. For this thread, only bikes from 1980 or EARLIER please! This means that most/many bikes will have a serial # with "BS" or maybe "80" prefix/starting digits.

Show/tell about what you have and we can get a better idea of these early beasties. Info from former Serotta employees, or 'experts', is also appreciated.

Also, I've been trolling the 'Net collecting all the serial number info I can, and have added to/modified the master list that has been floating around for a while. Post any additional info/corrections for any year Serotta. Here is the list:
"--------- Serotta Date Codes --------
We hopefully can now say that 1982 - 1984 Serotta serial numbers started with a two digit year code. [OP Note: I've seen serial #s starting with '80', so maybe numbering scheme started in 1980? Also, saw 1979 (?) with ser# BS594, so maybe 'boundary' was 1979-80? ] .I believe that 1985 to early 1990 started with a single digit for the year. A Nova Special recently surfaced on the forum with a serial number that begins with zero. I still believe the switch to the two letter model codes happened in 1990, because my Nova Special is coded SL58xxxx, and 1990 was the last year for the Nova.

The modern system started with the 1990 models, I believe. Mid to late 1980s bikes used all numbers, with production year the first digit in the code. I'm not sure how far back that system was used. The very early bikes had Ben's initials included. The modern serial number system is:

aa bb xxx - aa=model / bb=frame size / xxx= production number
Note: Date code changed to Roman numeral prefix in 2010, ie: X = 2010, XI = 2011, etc.
aa codes:

AK - Attack, The Attack uses the TC3 tube set (carbon)
AS - Atlanta
AT - Colorado Legend AT (1993 AT is AT44L-007 )
AX - ATX
BR - Colorado Legend Ti ???? Also have seen BS BR #### serial number. One BR listed was actually TST made (TST based in Kennewik Washington, titanium fabricators)
BS - Ben Serotta Special? Several examples from 1970's
CC - Custom Colorado II through CRL through early CSi (I think), Legend series?
CD - Coeur d'Acier CS (with carbon stay)
CH - See Hors Categorie
CL - Legend series - Saw a CRL advertised with CL prefix, so not sure if CRL prefix exists
CL - Later also used for Calssique Ti, circa 2009+?
CR (?) Legend series???
CRL Lightweight CC version, Colorado Legend CRL was the precursor to the CSI, and was made in the early '90's - '93 and '94 (?), the CRL being the last model before the CSI
CO – CIII
CR - Colorado Legend, only made in 1993
CS - CSI
CT - Concours Ti
CT-S - Colorado Soft Tail MTB
CU - Concours cross bike
FC - Fierte Carbon
FE - Fierte IT
FG - Fondo Ti
FI - Fierte (steel)
FT - Fierte Ti
FX - Fierte Cross
GD - Hors GP Suisse cross.
GT - CX Cross bikes
GX - Heritage GP Suisse cross bike ( GX 58 006 fall of 2008 )
HB - HSG in carbon
HC - Hors Categorie (Hors is normally HC, but there was one posted recently that was stamped CH.)
HG - HSG IT (Carbon + Titanium)
HI - early Ottrott DKS (Hors Integrated)
LE - Legend Ti GS tubing
LG - Legend ( LG 58 003 = 2009 )
LI - at least some Ottrotts
LI - early Ottrott (Legend Integrated)
LS - Titanium Legend with carbon seat stays, ST model, "Rider-specific ST carbon stay and pivot system (ST model only)" (C = Custom, L = Legend, S = ST Carbon seat stays) Example serial#s: CLS 55 0972 = 2008 model, LS XI 548 = 2011 (Fork serial number: C LS X100548 see note above re date change coding as of 2010), CLS 52 339 = 2012???
NV - Nove
MG - Meivici SG, circa 2013
MV - Meivici
OS - Ottrott ST
RD = Research & Development
RI - Rapid Tour (ti)
SC - Colorado II, most likely other Colorados as well. SC54 2691 and is a confirmed 1991.
SD - Davis Phinney Model
SE -Legend, confusion between ST and SE, not sure if SE prefix exists.
SL - Nova Special
SN - Nova Special X and NHX (Nova Special morphed into the NHX (the 'H' standing for Hallanan - a guy who worked with us who first put the second bend in the c-stays to make the S bend and give much needed cassette clearance).
)
SP - HSG in Ti
SS - Serotta Classique 853 Steel
ST - Classique Ti.
TB - Colorado TTR (time trial), circa 1994
TC - Colorado LT
TI - Legend Ti as mentioned but also earlier Colorado Ti
TL - Colorado Legend TG
TM - Ti Max MTN bike frame
TS - Colorado Soft Tail MTB....or
TX - Colorado TG
AI - Ti titanium bike noted on Facebook

Any of these codes preceded by a C means it's a custom frame. The exception to this seems to be early Colorados, which if stock were CC. So SC evidently means Standard or Stock Colorado
---
The "Legend" series of Serottas began in 93 and had the Legend Ti (titanium), Legend CRL (a lightweight CR), Legend CR, Legend TG (tig-welded instead of lugged) and about 5 other ''Legend' models including mountain bikes and Tri bikes. It was basically a re-naming of their bikes to capitalize on Serottas fame as builders of Tour de France and the Coors Lite Race Team bikes. The differences in the CRL and the CR are the triple butting on the top tube only.
---
There was no TT length option starting in 1995. Serotta began sizing all stock road frames the same that year, and decided on the L top tube length for frames above 52 cm. So while L appears in the serial number, there were no shorter TT stock frames after 1994 (at least for a few years), but by 1998 not all models had exactly the same geometry."
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