# orange krate



## Claysgarage (Oct 31, 2014)

Thinking on purchasing a Orange Krate. Owner claims its a 70's. Any idea of serial number range on 70's krates?
It doesn't have chain guard. How much will this decrease value?


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## PCHiggin (Nov 1, 2014)

*Krate*

Serial numbers began with the letter F in '70 and went up the alphabet to the letter J for '73.The letter I was skipped so not to be confused with the number 1.The chainguards are expensive but the original rear disk brake makes the bike worth collecting.I have no idea  the price or condition so no telling if you're buying right. Ten or so years ago I had an original Feb.'68 O/K with original orange line knobby tire. My Son liked the looks of it but didn't like riding it much as his '67 Fastback, so away it went.


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## Butch (Nov 1, 2014)

Actually the first letter in the serial number represented the month of manufacture and the second letter represented the year. For instance I have an orange krate with an "AD" prefix  which is January 1968. As stated the letter "I" was not used to avoid confusion. 1973 would have been the last year the original krates were manufactured. In the late 1990's, Schwinn reproduced some again, but I am unfamiliar with those serial numbers.


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## PCHiggin (Nov 1, 2014)

Butch said:


> Actually the first letter in the serial number represented the month of manufacture and the second letter represented the year. For instance I have an orange krate with an "AD" prefix  which is January 1968. As stated the letter "I" was not used to avoid confusion. 1973 would have been the last year the original krates were manufactured. In the late 1990's, Schwinn reproduced some again, but I am unfamiliar with those serial numbers.




Correct,I forgot about the month.I usually only pay attention to the month if the bike was made late in the year and  has features that should be on the following years bikes.


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## krateman (Nov 6, 2014)

The date coding for Schwinn bikes changed in '65. That year, it began with A and didn't change. I think the last year that Schwinn actually made their own bikes was '82? I think after that, Giant finished their bikes in '83? Anyways, yes, they did skip "I" and "O". The months were identified as A-M (1-12)(Jan.-Dec.) I think "T" (1982) was the last year code for Schwinn bikes. That makes 18 model years, from 1965-1982.


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