BIKE ID HELP AND TIPS

[Stinky_Sullivan]

I forgot to mention that Huffy's SN's starting with HC then followed by 7 digits started in the early 70's as far as I can tell.

 

[Nagant]

The Huffy serial number info in the oldroads.com site is not entirely accurate. I haven't seen an awful lit of Huffy numbers but I haven't seen any that I could positively identify using the method described there. There are serial numbers I CAN decode. I got this from Huffy customer service.

If the bike has a number that starts with HC, that's the number that will tell you the date. I've seen bikes with numbers on the head tube and on the rear dropout. The HC number has always been on the head tube. Here's how the number breaks down.

Using HC1121827 as an example.

HC stands for Huffy Corporation, duh.

112 refers to the month and year it was made. This one was made in Nov 1972. It could have been Nov 1982 but the style was wrong. Huffy used this system even though it was a bit ambiguous when the numbers rolled past a decade. There is a bit of variety in how the numbers were used. For months represented by a single digit, Jan thru Sept, two systems were use. 092 and 982 could both be used for Sept 1982. I was told it's not known exactly why the two systems were used at the same time. It could be that different factories used different systems. If you have a bike with the number 092, that could also be Sept 1972. It's unlikely Huffy had the exact same model for a 10 year span so it wouldn't be too hard to determine which decade it is from.

In the example serial number, 1827 means it was the 1827th frame from that factory that calendar year. I suspect that actually refers to the number of frames OF THAT STYLE unless that particular factory produced less than 10,000 total bikes each year. That could be.

It's obvious Huffy didn't stick to a set numbering system during this period. At least there was SOME kind of system and, with a little reasoning, we can determine the age of the bike.

As I first mentioned, this ONLY applies to bikes with a serial number beginning with HC.

I have a Huffy manufactured Coast to Coast Marquis with a HC prefix serial number on the head tube of HC3470706. It doesn't fit the dating format you supplied. DO the HC serials need to be on the bottom bracket to fit this system? The serial on the bottom bracket of mentioned bike is just a C prefix. So far all the Huffy serial info I've found online has been disappointing to say the least.

 

[whitefiretiger]

who made pre war western flyers

My 1941 western flyer was Huffman built

 

[Wildcat]

Some more serial number info to add to the list:

List for Monark serial numbers

Monark #s prior to 1941 #s deeply punched under crank housing.

3600 or under....1934
3601 to 8100.....35
8101 to 9126.....36
9127 to 11019....37
11020 to 30000....?
30001 to 46001....38
46001 to 62000...39
62001 to 79000....40
79001 to 100761....41
100762 to 112911...42
112911 to 118000....?



#s on aluminum tag : starting in 1946

118106 to 286500....1946
286521 to 429919.....47
429920 to 539000.....48
539001 to 737063..... 49
737064 to 827982.....50
827983 to 950701.....51
950702 to 1387335.....52
1387524 to 1762369....53
1762370 to 1911106...54

1946 -47: horn button is on left side of tank
1948-49-50: button on right side
1951- 52-53-54- small button on top right of tank

1946-49 pedestal light
1950 .....train light

beginning 1953 single horizontal springer.


Monark was bought by Huffy around 58. They stopped using the aluminum tag for serial numbers at the end of 1954. Between 1955 and when the frames were made by Huffy in 58-60 the serial numbers aren't listed anywhere that I can find. Huffy bikes had the H at the beginning but the early Huffy made Monarks before 1960 may not have. Maybe not until the Huffy chain rings replaced the Monark style chain ring.

I'm still on the hunt for more info on Monarks.

 

[deorman]

https://web.archive.org/web/20180806211645/http://vintagecolumbiabikes.com/

 

[Captain Awesome]

If you have a bike you are still having difficulty identifying using any of the info previously posted, please create a thread so the community can contribute

Create a new thread here > CREATE THREADS HERE

Make sure you include as much relevant details as possible
Locating the serial number in advance and posting it in your thread is typically crucial to decoding
Also important are CLEAR photos

• Complete bike photo
• Closeup of the dropouts
• Closeup of any stampings or markings - including SN

If the bike has a backstory, please include it. You'd be surprised at how deep the cycling community runs

Soliciting values is fine but this is not the location to attempt to sell your acquisitions. Please see the classifieds for any transactions




Thank you

RRB