vintage Royce Union made in W. Germany
 

Hi,

I recently picked an old folding bike out of the trash. It's a Royce Union that was made in West Germany. It came with a single-speed coaster hub (Sachs Torpedo Jet) and typical 20" wheels. Other features:
2 piece crank
front Weinmann hand brake
white wall Vredestein tires from Holland
Brevettato "quick-release" for stem and seat

It looks like it's out of the 1970s, at least before German unification. Does anyone have any experience working on these or historical background?

I'll try to post a picture later. Thanks.

Royce Union An American company bought these most likely from a COmpany called Kalkhoff in norther Germany .. during that time we had a bike boom over here and almost everything with 2 wheels got imported from unlikely sources ... ( Taiwan or China was not a player at that time )

Thorsten

Thanks, Thor, for the information. Sind Sie Deutsch, ja?

Anyway, I put together a website showing what happened to that little Royce Union folder and the other information I found.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeeainh/klapprad/index.html

That looks nearly identical to my Sprick Escort. I think mine was built around 1987/88, based on the SA hub date. Visually the only differences between the two bikes are the chainguard and the saddle (on mine the former being plastic, the latter being a replacement). Clearly a heavily copied design.

Flea, if you have a picture or two, I'd be happy to include it on my website. My e-mail is on the website. Thanks.

Some may think I have an illness, but I found one of these newly posted on craigslist today and nabbed it because it was only 10 minutes from me. The labels say "Grecos" and it is of the same design - folds the same, quick releases on the steering stem and seat stem, same rack, chain guard, and fenders, front wheel generator light system, single speed. I couldn't resist at $15. It's in decent shape - the tires are real good, and it rides fine. I have another one that I've had for a couple of years that is branded as a Cinzia, which has a very similar design except the rear rack is integral with the frame.

Hey Thorsten - It's a small world, or a small world of cycling I suppose. I bought a Lepper saddle from you a few years ago. After a couple of months the weld broke and you were most gracious in accepting a return. Well the saga continued with my having a minor crash and afterwards I realized the replacement saddle was damaged - two more cracks in the welds appeared, the metal parts of the frame that extend to the sides in the rear were bent, and the leather developed creases. At that point I thought I was snakebit when it came to Lepper saddles, so I bit the bullet and got a Brooks. Could I email you a couple of pictures and have you tell me if you think it should remain a decoration in my basement or if it could somehow be repaired?