Serial Numbers Decoded

[DeRosa562]

Pick up a very nice very clean Serotta CTI. It’s got to be a 1997 but maybe seeing the serial number some one just give me some more info

CT 54 31

Thanks

[oliver1850]

I am not sure what the first year for a CTi was, as I have never seen a 1997 catalog. There is a geometry chart and description in the 1998 catalog.

[jadmt]

my 1993 AT is AT44L-007 kind of cool it is british racing green with 007 serial number. I bought it new. funny thing it is says it is an AT but the bike decals say ATX from the factory..

[aliensporebomb]

Greetings everyone. I ended up purchasing a Legend Ti used at a local bike shop but the serial number doesn't seem to correspond to how models of that type are shown in the list at the beginning of the thread here for the model I have which is in a very clean condition. No idea as to how old but it could pass for new in some respects.

The serial would seem to indicate it was a Concours but isn't painted that way.
It's painted as a Legend TI.

Serial: CTI 49 5077.

So does the C notate custom? Any idea as to the year this was made?

I don't know who the former owner was (they discussed the former owner not getting along with drop bars so had the bar replaced with a Ritchey carbon flat bar and Tiagra shifters/braker levers) but my middle aged guy body mirrors their dimensions it seems in terms of height and arm and leg length.

[dave thompson]

Yours is a custom Legend Ti, 5077th made of this model. You’ll have to read through this thread to find other Legend Ti with serial numbers and years attached to extrapolate the year of your bike.

[aliensporebomb]

Thank you Dave. Enjoying it quite a bit. I never thought I'd be able to get/afford one of these and was in the right place at the right time with the right price and am thrilled to bits.

[oliver1850]

There is a thread in General Discussion about Legend serial numbers and years. One of the first posts says that Legend serial numbers were in the low 5000s in the summer of 2004.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...+serial+number

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by jadmt

my 1993 AT is AT44L-007 kind of cool it is british racing green with 007 serial number. I bought it new. funny thing it is says it is an AT but the bike decals say ATX from the factory..

That is odd.
I would have guessed it was made as they transitioned from 1993 model names (AT) to 1994 names (ATX) but surely not the case with serial number 007. Perhaps they decided early in 1993 that naming every bike in the line Colorado Legend XXX wasn't such a great idea. I have seen Colorado Legend CRs and CRLs, but don't recall every seeing a mountain bike with Colorado Legend decals, except in the catalog.

[stefthehat]

Thanks in advance for any help in approximating year and apologies if i’am wasting folks time ,I’ve trawled through this thread for answers in advance and might of missed info ,I’ve a lovely Serotta Colorado [it’s on top tube] serial number is CR57L with 504 below ,it’s a 130 rear spacing with the curved chainstays and the tapered tubing and fastback stays with a yellow> red ‘sunset’ fade ,i’am hoping the photo of the bottom bracket shell attaches with this but i’am techno numpty

[oliver1850]

Does it appear to have original paint? CR was only made for two years, 1993 and 1994. 1993 frames had top tube decals "Colorado Legend CR". 1994 models read "Colorado CR". Factory repaints are not uncommon but they were not always done to original specs.

I'm just wishing it was a bigger frame so I could do you out of it. I've been buying Serottas since 1995 but still have not landed a CR or CRL. I think of the yellow/red fade as the iconic Serotta paint scheme.

[stefthehat]

It does seem original paintwork,but fork and two thirds of stays are sprayed black with a fine fake carbon weave effect,also the rear drop-outs are very short virtually vertical but with tiny adjusters ,since posting I’ve found the images of the dark green Colarado another P liner sold mine is similar other than the ‘modern’ dropouts,iam in the UK and shop I bought off had /has a v successful vintage section,it’s years ago now and iam sure they said it was picked up in Belgium with some others ,it has a Mavic chainstay sticker which of course means nothing in itself but the guy who did they’re Euro hunting trips said he felt Serottas had a bit of history and traction in Belgium with the 7-11>Motorola rider/staff connections there,as an aside over the years they’ve often gone through periods of buying up NOS stock on various brands,I remember them having a whole row of random Pegoretti’s approx 2012+ they’d picked up in Europe where shops couldn’t move them as everyone had gone carbon mad and more recently pre-Covid they picked up loads of NOS Rossins from different shops in Italy and gave the story repeated by a number of the shops ,the youngsters looked on the steel frames as something alien and the veterans/masters who you thought would of been in the market only wanted that years top of the range Pinarello ha ha ,another aside this frames sprayjob was on my internal/eternal fanboys wish list from the early 90’s,relatively local to me was one of those shops that sold on old magazines in the various categories and in the cycling section as well old mags they regularly got bicycling and Cyclist editions only a month or two after publication and one had a review of a sunset Colarado with Campag c-record I’ve still got it somewhere those mags plus Winning which could be bought fairly easily had a lot to answer for,that review bike in Cyclist with c-record iam assuming would of been a 126mm rear width ,many thanks for answering

[stefthehat]

I’am assuming the serial number puts this as an early/ish Colarado,been pawing over the frame and might well be a respray ,it’s clear coated all over but more noticeable at decals and black/yellow border on stays when I move frame to catch the light ,I can live with a respray as if so it’s excellent and done with a sympathetic eye to Serotta’s past ,hoping I can attach some v poor photos to this message ,of dropouts/fork crown and top tube decal

[oliver1850]

I have never seen red/yellow/black on a Serotta, so my guess is that it was repainted. I'm pretty sure that it's a 1993 or 1994 CR. The progression was Colorado (1986 -1989), Colorado II (1989 -1992), CR/CRL (1993 -1994), CSI (1995 on). The way to be sure of a CR/CRL is to check the rear brake cable routing. Most Colorado IIs had internal routing with the ports on the top side of the tube but some early ones (and team bikes) had loop guides with full length casing. CR/CRL had internal routing with the ports on the side. CSI had split casing stops.

[stefthehat]

Again many thanks for answers,the rear brake routing is internal and the two ports on the top tube [if sitting on the bike]are on the left hand side and all your ‘periods’ make sense when crossed over with it being a respray,when I originally went to look at the frame when I could see just the ‘Colorado’ on the top tube I was expecting it to measure out at 126mm at the rear plus my memories of the magazine review in that colour way,and later on the pretty modern semi vertical dropouts pointed to it being later along with the 130mm dropout width and the black spray job with its ‘faux’ carbon weave hinted at a later respray [maybe much later],it really smacks of trying to hint at a carbon fork and bonded in rear stays ,ha ha bless !

[oliver1850]

That all checks out, it is surely a CR. My guess is that they didn't build 500 of them in a single year, so likely built in 1994. Dave Kirk might have an idea how many CRs were built in 1993.