Age of Dawes Fox and Hercules Commuter

[HerculesDawes]

Trying to verify age of these:
Dawes Fox frame number RA 4556
Hercules Commuter NN0015225
Assume Dawes number is under Raleigh/TI owner ship era
Any ideas how to decode or confirm date of manufacture ?

 

[midlife]

Hercules is Nottingham October 1980. I'm sure Raleigh never owned Dawes. Any pics?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Is the Dawes Fox a rigid MTB? Not a bike I'm familiar with.

Assuming the Hercules still has it's original back wheel and Sturmey Archer 3 speed, the date code for the gear hub should be stamped on it. The Commuter looks like a badge-engineered Raleigh with a generic 3-speed roadster frame. Nothing wrong with them at all, but they won't be much different to any other Raleigh "family" 3-speed.

 

[Low Gear Guy]

I had a Dawes Fox in the 1980's/1990's. Probably best described as a light tourer. Ten gears, drop handlebars with suicide levers, Weimann caliper brakes with steel rack and steel wheels. Mine was a Gold color.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Dawes Fox probably dates to somewhere between 1985 and 1989, going on what models were shown in the 1980s catalogues. Someone I work with owned one around that period and bought it new.