#Univega serial number series#
Sometimes the numbers will be hard to read, with either the top or bottom edges cut off by a weak stamp for example in a particular series the number 8 will look like an X.
#Univega serial number serial numbers#
Sekine serial numbers are stamped underneath the bottom bracket, and will follow one of two codes: Code 1 is a letter/number followed by numbers, like Y6 22222, and Code 2 is numbers followed by a letter/number, like 22222 B6. I don't post or share the numbers without permission, and the serial is something every owner should have written down anyway. Eventually I hope to find out why a certain decal was used one year and not the next- likewise with lugs, paint, and even models.įor the database to be successful, I need a little bit of help from every Sekine owner.
As part of the process, I track other things about the bicycles- like decaling and components- because these help inform the bigger picture. Why do this? Because the more numbers collected, the more accurate the underlying pattern becomes. The range included a disc-wheeled TT bicycle and a Bador (Vitus) aluminum model.In an effort to better decode the Sekine serial numbers, I set about collecting as many numbers as I could and organizing them into a database. The line itself was fairly large, comprising nine bicycles in 1988. The line emphasized function over flash (except for the "flash" of the 'cromovelato' - thin paint over chrome - paint jobs) and received favorable press regarding overall functionality and quality, as well as the ride/handling of the steel-frame models. Dropouts were forged Columbus on the lower/mid range and Campagnolo for the upscale models. Other braze-ons were also Gipiemme, including the two styles of brake stay bridges used, depending on the model, and the induction-cast "box arch" chainstay bridge which was common to all steel Bertonis, with the exception of the TSX model - the frame of which was obviously the Daccordi Griffe, but with Bertoni inscriptions and decals. Seat stay lugs were Gipiemme, brazed into the contour of the rear quarters of the seat tube lug. These "second series" frames all utilized Columbus tubesets of Matrix, SL or SLX type tubing and featured Columbus "short point" lugs and Cinelli-type Columbus bottom brackets & semi-sloping fork crowns. The 1984 and later steel frames do not bear the typical Torresini details. Earlier Bertonis have frame details that are similar to the Torresini-made Italvegas. The frames were manufactured in Italy by Daccordi, sometimes mistakenly assigned to Bianchi, which had no connection to the Bertoni brand other than Ben Lawee's Bianchi imports during the 1960s. In 1996, the parent company of Raleigh Bicycle Company, Derby Cycle, absorbed Univega along with the Nishiki brand of bicycles.īertoni was a brand created by Ben Lawee circa-1980. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, which led companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.
Bikes manufactured in Japan succeeded in the U.S. with domestic and European bicycle manufacturers including Schwinn, Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane - as well as other Japanese manufacturers including Miyata, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Nishiki, Lotus and Centurion. Univega now had a competitive look that would last another 11 years of success.
In 1985 Lawee moved Univega Headquarters to Signal Hill California in his new building designed by Randy Morris and Brian Corntassel of Phelps Morris Architects, Long Beach, CA. Lawee marketed the Univega brand using the taglines "Discover the difference" and "Ride it your way" and began marketing their Alpina series of mountain bikes in the early 1980s. His Bertoni brand appeared after the creation of Univega. Prior to creating the Univega brand, Lawee had been the importer of Motobécane bicycles in the U.S. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata. Univega is a brand of bicycles, created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee (1926–2002), who founded Lawee Inc.
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