I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was "Made in Japan for Schwinn
Bicycle company, Chicago" (or words to that effect). I got it in 83 or 84 from someone else, so
have no receipt or paperwork for it. I have checked all the websites I can find which discuss
the serial numbers of Schwinn bikes, and they only list the ones which were made in the Chicago
plant; none seem to mention the ones made by Panasonic in Japan, which apparently this one was.

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Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Sun, 29 Jun 2003 20:33:56 -0400, <MPG.19694f7dcd9e613a9896e6@news.ids.net>, David Kerber
<ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:

>I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
>is.

While not Schwinn specific, this site has good information on dating a bike by its components.
http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm
--
zk

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.19694f7dcd9e613a9896e6@news.ids.net...
> I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
> is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was "Made in Japan for Schwinn
> Bicycle company, Chicago" (or words to that effect). I got it in 83 or 84 from someone else,
> so have no receipt or paperwork for it. I have checked all the websites I can find which
> discuss the serial numbers of Schwinn bikes, and they only list the ones which were made in
> the Chicago plant; none seem to mention the ones made by Panasonic in Japan, which apparently
> this one was.
>
>
> --
> Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!
>
> REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Just saw the top-tube in half and count the rings!

Your Panasonic/Schwinn was made in the third week of the third month of 1979.

>"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
>news:MPG.19694f7dcd9e613a9896e6@news.ids.net...
>> I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
>> is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was "Made in Japan for Schwinn
>> Bicycle company, Chicago" (or words to that effect). I got it in 83 or 84 from someone else,
>> so have no receipt or paperwork for it. I have checked all the websites I can find which
>> discuss the serial numbers of Schwinn bikes, and they only list the ones which were made in
>> the Chicago plant; none seem to mention the ones made by Panasonic in Japan, which
>> apparently this one was.

In article <3f024ddb@news.victoria.tc.ca>, garrison@efn.org says...
>
>
> Your Panasonic/Schwinn was made in the third week of the third month of 1979.

Thanks for the info; where did you find the reference for the date?

>
>
> >"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
> >news:MPG.19694f7dcd9e613a9896e6@news.ids.net...
> >> I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
> >> is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was

....

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

You'll find Schwinn (and other) serial number charts in the "General Resources" section of our site.

Menotomy Vintage Bicycles, Inc. http://OldRoads.com

>I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
>is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was "Made in Japan for Schwinn
> Bicycle company, Chicago" (or words to that effect). I got it in 83 or 84 from someone else,
> so have no receipt or paperwork for it. I have checked all the websites I can find which
> discuss the serial numbers of Schwinn bikes, and they only list the ones which were made in
> the Chicago plant; none seem to mention the ones made by Panasonic in Japan, which apparently
> this one was.
>
>
>--
>Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

In article <20030702090006.02026.00000002@mb-m07.aol.com>, menotomy@aol.com says...
> You'll find Schwinn (and other) serial number charts in the "General Resources" section of
> our site.

I only see the S/N's for the bikes built by Schwinn itself (which mine was not), and nothing for
Panasonic. Thanks for the link, though; lots of interesting stuff there.

> Menotomy Vintage Bicycles, Inc. http://OldRoads.com
>
> >I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
> >is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was "Made in Japan for Schwinn
> > Bicycle company, Chicago" (or words to that effect). I got it in 83 or 84 from someone else,
> > so have no receipt or paperwork for it. I have checked all the websites I can find which
> > discuss the serial numbers of Schwinn bikes, and they only list the ones which were made in
> > the Chicago plant; none seem to mention the ones made by Panasonic in Japan, which
> > apparently this one was.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

archer <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote:
>In article <3f024ddb@news.victoria.tc.ca>, garrison@efn.org says...
>>
>> Your Panasonic/Schwinn was made in the third week of the third month of 1979.
>
>Thanks for the info; where did you find the reference for the date?

As a longtime fan of the Asian (Panasonic/National/Matsu****a & Giant) "Schwinns", I'm familiar with
the numbering of those bicyclws.

p.s. I believe the numbering system is also mentioned in the fascinating book "No Hands: The
Rise and Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, an American Institution" by Judith Crown &
Glenn Coleman.

>> >"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
>> >news:MPG.19694f7dcd9e613a9896e6@news.ids.net...
>> >> I am trying to figure out just how old my 10-speed Schwinn LeTour III
>> >> is. The S/N on the left rear dropout is 8E03379, and it says it was
>
>.....
>
>--
>David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord, it's
>morning".
>
>Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

Dave,

Check the Schwinn badge on the head tube just under the handlebar. If you clean it and look real close you should find another number. I have a Le Tour III and it was made in 1978. You can find the info you want by looking at the Schwinn Web site. You're right it does not give information on the number that is on the left rear dropout. I have a number on mine too but did not use it because no one mentioned it. Someone did reply to you that they knew the date to be Third day of third month of 1979 the 3379 of your number 8E03379 might be the right way to know. The number on the Schwinn badge is the day of the year. You just need to calculate what day and month that would be.

Good luck.
pbiker

P.S. I'm looking for a crank/sprocket set for my Le Tour. If you know of one email me at psml@cnonline.net

In article <3f8527d7$1_4@news.chariot.net.au>, usenet- forum@cyclingforums.com says...
> Dave,
>
> Check the Schwinn badge on the head tube just under the handlebar. If you clean it and look real
> close you should find another number. I have a Le Tour III and it was made in 1978. You can find
> the info you want by looking at the Schwinn Web site. You're right it does not give information
> on the number that is on the left rear dropout. I have a number on mine too but did not use it
> because no one mentioned it. Someone did reply to you that they knew the date to be Third day of
> third month of 1979 the 3379 of your number 8E03379 might be the right way to know. The number on
> the Schwinn badge is the day of the year. You just need to calculate what day and month that
> would be.

Thanks for the response; I never made the connection on the dropout number.

>
> Good luck. pbiker
>
> P.S. I'm looking for a crank/sprocket set for my Le Tour. If you know of one email me at
> psml@cnonline.net

I posted a responsed last night...

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.