# Dating bikes with a Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub



## Deejay

I recently picked up an old CCM Imperial 3-speed women's bike. When I first looked for a serial number, I couldn't find one. A piece of advice I've heard several times is to look for a date on the rear hub to help date the bike. The number 61 is stamped on it, so the bike was made about 1961? Wrong! I later found a serial number near the base of the seat tube - the letter C followed by 5 digits. This letter was used in 1970. So it seems that some hubs could have sat on the shelf for quite a while before being installed on a bike. Any comments?


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## rhenning

Pretty normal for that to happen and even more so if the rear wheel has been replaced.  I usually add one to two years to the hubs date but could be more.  Roger


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## SirMike1983

rhenning said:


> Pretty normal for that to happen and even more so if the rear wheel has been replaced.  I usually add one to two years to the hubs date but could be more.  Roger




Yes- happens frequently enough. I would guess a wheel swap on that one. My Raleigh Sports serial has a June 1974 code, but May 1974 hubs. They could sit longer, but a decade is pushing it. I think a hub swap probably in that case. The suggestion with Raleigh has been to date based on overall mixtures factors- hub dates, serial number, decals, frame and fork styles, etc. Hub date is "quick and dirty" only, as they say.


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## silvercreek

My '54 Jag has a SA rear hub with a '54 date stamp.


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## SirMike1983

silvercreek said:


> My '54 Jag has a SA rear hub with a '54 date stamp.




You probably can date it then both using Schwinn's serial and the hub, which is doubly nice because it helps confirm the wheel as original. For such a big, experienced outfit, Raleigh's serial number systems are poorly organized and very hard to follow. You end up having to look at the other factors (decals, color, components, etc) for them.


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## jackomeano

*The dating Game.*

You know you cannt date a bicycle frame by the parts that are bolted to it!


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