Originally Posted by
SoSmellyAir
The R-series switched from 1" threaded to threadless in 2000. If I had to guess it's a 1999 that's been repainted and had modern decals added. The shape of the fork is mostly what I'm going on for a 1999 - it's a little more bladed and flares ever so slightly behind the headtube/headset than the 1998 models. I don't see an R1000 in the 1997 catalog, and in 1996 was the last year they had those ugly extended rear dropouts. The 1997 R900 maybe has a similar fork, but the only other way to see is if this person kept the original 8-speed, because the 1999 is a 9-speed.
FYI, in 1999 the Slice carbon fork was used all the way down the line to the R500, so without the original paint scheme, we're just taking this guy at his word.