bikerosity57

I just picked this up today. I’d heard of the name before but this is the first one I’ve actually ridden. It’s obviously a Raleigh clone, but it’s better made than a Hercules, or Robinhood: it has really nice cable clips, and real forged brazed in fork drop-outs. Decent brazing in the lugs etc etc. It rides nice and smooth, but the old Wrights saddle is horrible! It’s a metal plate with vinyl covering and it hard as a rock.

bikerosity57

Also has the much better metal fulcrum, and nicely chromed holder.

Salamandrine 

Nice. Looks like a solid bike. I wonder what the story is on these. Seems like one of those paper companies where the products were all made by contractor. I remember when they sold these at Macy's, the later crappy version. A few years later, not sure when, they moved production to Japan and the quality took a serious nosedive. My brother had one that looked outwardly almost exactly like that in the 70s, but it was pretty much junk.

Huffy was a good bike once too...

Found this old thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...n-brand-2.html

juvela

-----

very nice, even comes with alloy brake calipers

wonder why women's pedals were fitted

perhaps they ran out o' gents on the production line...

being in Joysey puts you right close to the R. U. hq in Brooklyn

-----

bikerosity57

The left pedal is a replacement. The right pedal I’m pretty sure is original. I just sold my old Hercules that was similar, and it had the same pedals as the right hand one.

juvela

-----

Thank you so much!

It was the left pedal which appeared to be a women's to my eye.

Back in the early nineties I used to communicate with a vintage bicycle enthusiast in Vineland who had a wholesale fish business. He did smoked fish.

Do you have any idea of who that might have been?

-----

bikerosity57

Off hand no, but I will find out assuming he’s still live etc. I could use a local ally for classic bike parts, info, etc. I live in Millville and work in Vineland.

vintagebicycle

A few things I see that differ from the common Raleigh clones.
Your fenders have a wider center bead area, where as every Raleigh, Robin Hood, Hercules, etc. has a very narrow 8mm raised bead on the fenders. The fender pattern on your bike is more like that of an American bike like a Columbia or Rollfast.
The second detail is the non-chrome front hub. I've seen that hub before laced to Dunlop Endrick rims but not on a Raleigh clone.
around that same time Rollfast had a three speed they were selling that was made in England, it used that same hub, same wheels, and same fender profile. I had one that looked very much like your Royce Union. It had the same fork crown and dropout combo, and the same color. The fenders were also wide center bead style. The difference was that it had chrome steel calipers. Rumor had it that the Rollfast models were Royal Enfield bikes rebadged for DP Harris.

Fork dropouts on the sub brand bikes were stamped steel, as were many on some Raleigh bikes as the years went on.
The dropouts on your bike appear to be the same as earlier Raleigh branded bikes and not a sub brand, but your fork crown is the same as Robin Hood and Hercules. (Raleigh used a tubular fork crown).

My guess would be that Royce Union, from NY, put out for bids and Raleigh answered with a bike that was kind of a mixed bag of parts.
It was also just after Tube Investements buyout of Raleigh, so the mix of parts could include that many more brands, which could explain the different fender pattern from most Raleigh family bikes.

The aluminum calipers are odd, I've never seen any of the English three speeds with those, but I suppose those could very well have been changed over the years. I have seen a few Holland and Maylasia built Raleigh bikes with alloy calipers, but those were all 1970's models.

Does the seat tube 'coat of arms' tell where in England it was made?


Here's a pic of the fork dropouts on a '61 Raleigh Sports:
(This is the style that used the shoulder type axle nuts, each dropout has a recess which engages the shoulder of the nut centering the axle in a fixed location.).

T-Mar

It looks like a Raleigh rear dropout. The serial number number should at tell us if it is Raleigh manufacture.

bikerosity57

The coat of arms says: Je Maintaindrai which is the motto of Holland “ I will Maintain”. The bikes head sheild says Made in England. As also does the decal/painted Made in England on the top tube. The front hub is identical to ones I’ve had on Robinhoods and Phillips in the past. I have looked up Royce Unions on line and found many that are similar or identical to mine including identical alloy brake calipers. It’s a much better bike than the cheaper but solid Robinhoods and Phillips etc, but not as nice as my Raleigh Sports. They ride about the same though.
And, yes the mudguards are different than on any other Raleigh clone I’ve had, but if you look online you’ll find other RU’s with identical mudguards.

1989Pre 

My dad bought me a Royce Union bike like this around 1961-62 for my first bike. It was kid's bike, with 24" wheels. I remember going to Western Auto to pick it up. It was green and white, and had a coaster brake. I don't have a photo, but I was always under the impression that it was american-made. I learnt to ride on that bike, so it was a very special bike, and still is, in my memory. We used to turn the bike upside down, turn the crank real hard a few times, and pour dry dirt into the rear fender to watch it fly!

Corto 2

I realize this is picking up a thread from a three and a half years ago, but for the sake of (hopefully) clarifying the origins of some Royce Union-badged three speeds, I have one that is similar to the OP's, but is a drop (step-through) frame, in blue with white head tube, the caliper brakes are flat steel and unmarked, and the front hub has an oil port covered with a clip). It has the same graphics (the word obscured by wear on the OP's lower head tube would be "SAFETY").

I think mine's a '62, based on the Sturmey serial number AW-62-7 (oddly, the thumb shifter is a SunTour, but it looks like a later replacement). The frame serial number (stamped at the top of the seat tube) is 34569 (with N under it, and an S just below and to the left of the N). Is that not Raleigh? Bike has the same Raleigh style dropouts and chain ring (marked with Raleigh logo), cottered cranks lack Raleigh logo but are stamped "N". No marks on brake levers or stem. Front wheel is stamped Dunlop 26 x 1 3/8 Made in England", and rear wheel is stamped 1 3/8 R N F (what is that?) Came with the same brutal Wrights saddle.

macstuff 

This was most likely spec'd by RU and built by Ti in the old Norman factory where they were making export bikes with stock from all the companies consolidated. That is where the American style bikes that came into the US via dept. Stores were built.
In the early 60s before they stopped, around 1963 when most went to Nottingham, they were even using JCC parts from Japan on those bikes. I have a curvey framed 62' Hercules that was built in that factory and came with JCC alum caliper brakes.
RU spec'd bikes and had them built all over the world. I've seen Denmark and Austria, Japan and England. Probably more.

Velo Mule

I have also seen Royce Union from Holland.

Corto 2

Thanks, Macstuff --

I've read elsewhere that the Norman factory closed in '61 and that Raleigh's mysterious 'N' serial numbers of 1962 might refer to Nottingham, but I don't know (I get the impression that nobody is super confident they understand Raleigh's system that year...). Anyway, it certainly does seem that the Royce Union brand was put on bikes sourced from several makers over the years, including Raleigh in the early '60s.

staehpj1

I don't remember what year it was, but I remember that my dad had a very pretty Royce Union 3 speed in black. My best recollection is that it was similar to the one in the first post of the thread, but imo much nicer looking in black.

Rick_D

Takes me back.

My one and only "Christmas bike" was a Royce Union. This was in the '60s and the bike was a Japanese 3-speed with twist-grip shift. Similar metallic red.
Had forgotten the brand but now it all comes back. Eventually ditched the fenders (even in Seattle), kickstand, extra mass. Kept the rack though, for my tackle box.