Here is an email I got from an actual employee of GT:
My bike is finally a GAZELLE SOLIDE, with serial nº 4036128, which means it has been built AFTER 1981, which is the date since when Gazelle use a 7 numbers serial code. The BikeRegister Visible Marking kit permanently marks the frame of your bike with your unique BikeRegister ID. This do-it-yourself kit chemically etches the coating of your bike frame with a visible and permanent blue mark, leaving a neat unique mark which does not affect the frame's integrity. The BikeRegister Visible Marking kit permanently marks the frame of your bike with your unique BikeRegister ID. This do-it-yourself kit chemically etches the coating of your bike frame with a visible and permanent blue mark, leaving a neat unique mark which does not affect the frame's integrity.
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.
Traditional chinese fonts for mac. 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. House of payne firestorm.
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
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.
bought in October 2010, the second hunting
Bicycle Serial Number Lookup
This bicycle is my first old bicycle, as a gift from my husband. He already bought Wearwell, a British made. So, he promised me, if i visit him to the city, where he was relocated for work, then he will buy an old ladies bicycle in that city.So, during the school holiday, i went to that city. This was our second old bicycle hunting. And at the second day, he took me to several places. At the last place, it was raining, and he picked for me the cheapest old bicycle there. Hem, i was sad at that time. I wish for the branded bicycle, in good condition. Due to the rain, i had no other choice, but to agree with him. He took me and that bicycle to the mechanic to repair the break and check the wheel.
Bicycle Serial Number Chart
The next morning my husband awoke me, just to show that he found the Gazelle words marked on the frame. It is barely seen by bare eyes. I had to use small lamp to discover the marked Gazelle words. Since then, i searched on internet about any details of my old rusty gazelle. I am happy that I found you, my old rusty Gazelle.
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
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.
bought in October 2010, the second hunting
Bicycle Serial Number Lookup
This bicycle is my first old bicycle, as a gift from my husband. He already bought Wearwell, a British made. So, he promised me, if i visit him to the city, where he was relocated for work, then he will buy an old ladies bicycle in that city.So, during the school holiday, i went to that city. This was our second old bicycle hunting. And at the second day, he took me to several places. At the last place, it was raining, and he picked for me the cheapest old bicycle there. Hem, i was sad at that time. I wish for the branded bicycle, in good condition. Due to the rain, i had no other choice, but to agree with him. He took me and that bicycle to the mechanic to repair the break and check the wheel.
At the mechanic, a young man came and asked how much is this bicycle. I answered him, that this is a cheap price. For me, it doesn't matter, weather it is branded or not. As long it is good for ride, that's o.k. for me. He stood on my bicycle for a while. I was confused, what things that he admired from my ugly old bicycle.
Bicycle Serial Number Chart
The next morning my husband awoke me, just to show that he found the Gazelle words marked on the frame. It is barely seen by bare eyes. I had to use small lamp to discover the marked Gazelle words. Since then, i searched on internet about any details of my old rusty gazelle. I am happy that I found you, my old rusty Gazelle.Details
Reference : https://picasaweb.google.com/asterducGazelleTypisch#5548056944762101714
The early production of Gazelle, they didn't attach any emblem on it. It was only the words Gazelle, as looked at the attached picture. Starting on the 4th series, Gazelle finally attached their emblem on it.
Serial Number 23329
Based on http://www.sepedaonthel.com/rangka_sepeda.php, if you enter the brand 'Gazelle' and the frame serial number 23329, then it shows that this bicycle was produced in 1905.
From the serial number and the written brand 'Gazelle', it is known that this bicycle was the 2nd Generation of Gazelle, in which in 1905.During this period, Gazelle still imported some bicycle from Great Britain, which caused the serial number is on the left side of the saddle, and searching on the trade mark that can be used in the market. After the third series, finally they could have their own factory in Netherlands and created their emblem and assigned permanently their serial number on the right side of frame under the saddle.
Welded saddle bracket for sportive Gazelle
The joined bracket for the saddle on the frame is the mark for the sport type of Gazelle. It is welded during the production type.
Reference: https://picasaweb.google.com/asterduc/GazelleTypisch#5548057384359749410
Lepper branded Saddle
An old leather at this saddle and the type of it, quite describing that this saddle is old. The shape of this saddle is in accordance with saddle produced by Royal Enfield bicycles in 1900s.
Royal Enfield bicycle had issued six types of saddle. The smallest one for women are very similiar with the saddle on the left picture.
Fork at the side view
The forks for the early gazelle were simple forks, not far different from emblem case.
Reference: https://picasaweb.google.com/asterducGazelleTypisch# 5548056824794342434
Bracket for pedals
The bracket and the pedals were simple also.
Reference:
https://picasaweb.google.com/asterduc/GazelleTypisch#
5548056444651528354
