Cannondale and history and serial number

So I'm guess the W is for Women's and 53 might be the frame size??? But one of the other numbers on the bike included a So, I'm not sure. Anyway, can anyone tell me how to read this? I would like to know specifically what my frame size is and what year my bike is. The last four digits are the serialization digits to depending on what number the frame was of the years production.

If the frame was made overseas in Taiwan, it gets more complicated. If the number starts with a K, the frame was made by Kinesis. The first digit would be a letter designating the factory that made the frame. There might also be a second letter digit specifying the factory that assembled the bike, if applicable. The model and year of production was also coded by a letter, so you won't be able to spot a two digit month and two digit year.

Before I left, I was writing a specification to standardize all of the serial numbers because GT was starting to send most of its US production to other US fabrication shops. The information might also come in handy for deciphering other makes because the factories in Taiwan make bikes for a lot of different companies.

I am tinkering around with the idea of starting to make my own frames, kind of on a 'one-off' basis. It operates throughout North America and has numerous subsidiaries in countries around the world including, Holland, Japan and Australia according to Cannondale. Cannondale bicycles are popular for mountain riding as well as for road bikers, and have been around for many years. If you have a Cannondale bike, or are interested in purchasing one, you may want to know which year it was manufactured.

To do this you'll need the bicycle serial number codes. Locate the bicycle serial number. This can be found either behind the seat, on the seat adjustment bar bracket, on the bottom of the bike frame, or on the upper rear frame fork, depending on the year. Behind the seat is indicative of all raven models manufactured between and , and all models from to current. Identify the letters at the beginning of the serial number for the to series.