The 10-speed with a 27" frame cost $100 - a good sum in 1974 for a 14 year old. Schwinn, Fuji and Raliegh were a little more upscale but it was built very well and a great value in its day. Riding it home from the ole Hunter's Western Auto store in Allegan, Michigan was an extremely happy afternoon! Pearl white replete with gold pinstripes, a pre-index era Shimano shifter, a cool looking but uncomfortable saddle seat, and the classic large, round with no-real brand speedometer that was mostly valued for its' odometer. Putting almost 1300 hard miles on it each year was a pride point for me and my best friend who had a similar bike. Until I got a driver's license, I rode that white Royce Union everywhere. With pride. Gumwall tires didn't last as long as bike tires today and I recall countless flat tires in the pre-kevlar era, but the chain was always well oiled. You dealt with flats like riding in the rain to a football game, beach or a drivers ed class - a pain, but that's the deal. At college in northern Michigan, it sat outside locked up in winter and summer and I didn't even give it a thought. You knew it would hold its own.
Fast forward 13 years to 1987 and a move to Colorado as a zone mgr. for Ford Motor. When the movers delivered it from Michigan I realized how shabby of shape it had gotten in through the years. Greg LeMond had just made cycling cool again in the US and, well, one morning I lifted it over my shoulders and threw my Royce Union in the dumpster, planning to get a new `sport- tour' bike. But, I glanced back at it in the large green dumpster, had flashbacks of so many good times, and ended up hauling it back to my apartment, rusty wheels and all.
So, that Winter I stripped it down to the bare frame, hired my dealer in Colorado Springs to repaint it the most beautiful pearl white w/ gold stripes and put on the latest components. Gel saddle, and alloy wheels, handle bars, pedals and a digital speedometer. Gone were the faithful, but rusty steel wheels, and other steel parts. Afterward, it weighed a fraction of its original weight, but it was and still is my faithful Royce Union with many hours/miles since logged on it, including while dating my, now, wife.
My two kids, now teenagers, spent a lot of time in a child seat on the back of it, so now its part of our family.
What a well built bike.
David Voglewede
trout345@hotmail.com