Trek Frame Serial Numbers Serial Number Location Trek frame serial numbers (SNs) are typically stamped into the bottom of the bottom bracket shell. In the case of some early 80s Treks, the number is under the plastic cable guide on the bottom of the shell. Just remove the plastic cable guide to see the number. The other place Trek (or their subcontractors) stamped the SN is at the lower end of the seat tube.

Note: The SN on your original sales receipt may not match the one on your bike. Sales persons sometimes had difficulty reading the numbers. Many early Trek bottom bracket shells have a one or two letter code stamped separately from the serial number. This was made by the individual framebuilder to mark his/her work. On some bottom brackets there are two codes: one indicating the maker of the main triangle and the other for the maker of the rear triangle or perhaps the person who cut and shaped the tubing, if not done by the framebuilder.

If you know which mark was used by a particular craftsman, please let me know. Serialization Date The dates coded in the serial numbers, or the dates inferred from the numbers, are dates on which the new frames were stamped with serial numbers (serialized).

Nov 24, 2016  Vintage Trek Bicycle Frame Serial Numbers, bike. Trek bicycle are all made by overseas manufacturers in larger and larger percentages starting in the early 90’s. To the extent that Trek today is basically a marketing & distribution company. They still have a craft center to make their flagship professional frames.

These dates are not necessarily the same as the model year of the frame. At some time late in each year (beginning generally September or October) the frames produced were created from designs, and painted with colors, for the next year. Hard to read? Trek serial numbers can be hard to read. Clean the area well, and use lots of light at various angles. A suggestion by J. Hansen can help you read a serial number.

Serial Number highlighted with red wax. Click on image to see an enlarged version. Hansen) 'Rub the area with candle wax of a color that contrasts with your paint.

Lightly wipe it off with a rag. The wax stays in the indented area of the S/N. Now you can easily read the number. I have included a photo of the results from my bike.

In this case I used a red candle to make the serial number stand out. Note that even with the serial number filled with wax, the leading '0' is almost imperceptible.' Serial Number Descriptions The serial number descriptions are divided into five categories. Click on the link below to go to the appropriate category. PRIOR TO LATE 1980 Before late 1980, Trek used an alphanumeric serial number scheme. Each seven-character number consists of three letters mixed with numerals. The serial number list and the code for the list are not available from Trek (but hope springs eternal). In the meantime, we have the results of the serial number decoding project: Serial Number Decoding Project Nearly two hundred Trek owners submitted their frame's specifics to help decode Trek's first serial number system.