# can anyone help date my Gazelle



## dap1957 (Apr 21, 2014)

Hello All, Brand new to this forum. Hope I ask the right questions. I would like to know the date of manufacture of my Gazelle three speed women's bicycle. Looks like the only item missing is the tire pump. Not sure if the lights and generator are original to the bike but they all still work. The bike has been hanging upside down in my garage for 25+ years and riders exceptionally well. I can provide other pictures if that would help.

Thanks for any info you can provide.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 21, 2014)

Check the rear hub shell for a date. You'll see a 1 or 2 digit month and a 2 digit year. That usually is the best way to tell. Serial numbers don't help much with these. 

Based on the decals and appearance, I'd say 1950s, but Gazelles are a little harder to date than Raleighs sometimes.


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## dap1957 (Apr 21, 2014)

Thanks, I will look on the hub. Would this bike be of any value to a collector or bike enthusiast? I'm not interested in keeping it.


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 21, 2014)

dap1957 said:


> Thanks, I will look on the hub. Would this bike be of any value to a collector or bike enthusiast? I'm not interested in keeping it.




Yes, it's an item you would want to sell and not give away or drop in a $10 tag sale. It's something you might put on Craigslist or ebay and sell as a complete and nice condition vintage bike.


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## dap1957 (Apr 22, 2014)

How do I place a value on it? There's a local bike shop in town that made me an offer but couldn't or wouldn't give me any details on the bike, hence my signing up to this forum. The shop owner said he wanted it for himself and probably would not resell. That tells me he's not being truthful about something. Are we talking $50, $100 or $500?


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## Euphman06 (Apr 22, 2014)

Not an expert... BUT if I were trying to sell that locally in eastern PA I would put a $150 tag on it and take $100 if someone had the money. Just my 2 cents....


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## tbone (Apr 22, 2014)

Try bikesforums.com ... Lots of experts on gazelles. Given the condition I am thinking $200-250.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## Andrew Gorman (Apr 22, 2014)

It all depends on where you are- in Darkest Redneckistan you probably couldn't give it away, in a city or college town probably 150.00 AFTER fresh grease and a tune up.  It is not a rare or valuable bike, but a nice solid one.


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## dap1957 (Apr 22, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice. I don't see myself doing any cleaning or maintenance. Maybe I'll just put it on Ebay with a decent reserve and see how it plays out.


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## tbone (Apr 22, 2014)

try bikeforums ... there is a whole chain on dutch bikes


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## Andrew Gorman (Apr 22, 2014)

This one is a Raleigh built Gazelle.  Raleigh had a line of cheaper bikes in the 1930's and 40's called Gazelle, and then stopped.  Why I cannot say-maybe the Dutch Gazelle company objected, or Raleigh just decided to use one of the brand names they acquired in their post-war feeding frenzy.  Then another line of Raleigh built Gazelles came out in the late 50s or early 60s.  Raleigh had so many nameplates and levels of quality it makes my head spin.  The Dutch Gazelles are pretty distinctive "omafiets" and "opafiets"-
http://www.mydutchbike.com/bicycles/gazelle-omafiets-and-opafiets/


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 22, 2014)

Andrew Gorman said:


> This one is a Raleigh built Gazelle.  Raleigh had a line of cheaper bikes in the 1930's and 40's called Gazelle, and then stopped.  Why I cannot say-maybe the Dutch Gazelle company objected, or Raleigh just decided to use one of the brand names they acquired in their post-war feeding frenzy.  Then another line of Raleigh built Gazelles came out in the late 50s or early 60s.  Raleigh had so many nameplates and levels of quality it makes my head spin.  The Dutch Gazelles are pretty distinctive "omafiets" and "opafiets"-
> http://www.mydutchbike.com/bicycles/gazelle-omafiets-and-opafiets/




Yes, this is a Raleigh-built Gazelle. Raleigh used some different hallmarks on these as opposed to its own branding. The fork crown and other details will be different, but the basic rules of Raleigh to date them apply. Decals would indicate a 1950s bike probably. The rear hub probably has the date code. This is more a rider than a collector bike, but still worth a tune up and sale.


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