Anyone ever hear of a "Royal Lion" bicycle?
In 1969, our neighbor across the street was moving and didn't want to take his old bicycle with him. He said he had owned it for 13 years, although I'm not sure if he bought it new or not. He offered the bicycle to me for free.
It was an English-style 3 speed, with lugged frame, 3 piece cottered crank, oil cups on the hubs and bottom bracket. The frame had cracked on the downtube, and been brazed about four inches below the head tube. The paint might have been a metallic red at one time, but was badly faded and oxidized to a faint silvery pink color.
26 inch wheels rode on 1 3/8 wide tires, the front one of which blew out and spit chunks of rubber in my face while riding.
The fork had a chromed "cap" which covered the fork crown.
The front brake shoes had anchor hooks which reached back to the fork, which apparently prevented the steel caliper from flexing/pivoting forward when braking, thus keeping the brake shoe on the rim and preventing the brake shoe from contacting the front tire.
The steel brake levers were interesting, having a pivoting "bail" to which the cable attached, ensuring that the cable was only pulled in a straight line, and not also rotated by the motion of the lever.
The 3 speed hub didn't work, as the threaded portion inside, into which the shifting chain attached, was stripped out. So, it was only ridden in its "high" gear. Apparently, the shift "trigger" had failed at some point, and been replaced with a shifter from a Schwinn.
I rode it a lot, and actually liked it better than my "banana bike". After a year or so, the repaired downtube broke again, with catastrophic frame failure. The entire head tube broke off from the rest of the frame, and dumped me onto the shoulder of the road.
I kept the parts for a while, but everything on the bike was too worn out to use on another bike, and anyway, I never saw another bike like this one.
It may have been a good bicycle when new, but it had been neglected and abused...and showed it.
BUT...it sparked an interest in "lightweight" bicycles which has continued to this day.
The thing is, I never knew for sure what brand of bicycle it was. The frame badge was so oxidized, I could not clearly read the name, or make out the image. Chain guard and fenders had long disappeared.
I THINK the frame badge may have said "Royal Lion", and had a lion's face showing, but even in direct sunlight, it was impossible to say for sure.
Was there ever such a bicycle? Or would it more likely be something else?