schmarrick

Just got this old "ROYAL SCOT" off a friend. Decided to make a project of it.

It has a license to the city of Los Angeles that expired in 1967, so its definitely older than that. it has the most awkward lugs I have ever seen.

Only a sentence about the brand on Sheldon Brown, and nothing else. I did some research for a few hours and couldn't find a thing about it.

It would really help if you guys could tell me what this is--brand identity, time period,

Thanks a lot!

Mos6502

I think Royal Scot was a low end Raleigh brand for the U.S. market. I do remember reading a review of one in a Consumer Reports (from either 68 or 69).

Edit: the lug design and drop outs seem un-raleigh to me though.

schmarrick

Thanks. Yeah i've come across that information before, but I really wasn't sure about how accurate that was. The bike also comes with a WRIGHT's saddle, which is like a lower-end BROOKS, so i see how that set works together.

But what i really want to know is about the brand identity. What kind of bike was it during its time? What kind of people used it and why? Did people like it? That sort of thing. I guess it's kind of a long shot being that only a few kinds of people who actually lived during that time would be able to talk about it.

Anybody else know anything?

Mos6502

It would have been comparable to a Raleigh. Since it is a ten speed made during the early to mid sixties, it must've been a special bike to somebody during its day.

Can you get a photo of the brakes, and see if they may have a makers mark on them? Also get a shot of the chainwheel.

schmarrick

Wow, it seems like you can tell me a lot, so i will get pics of brakes and chain rings up tomorrow. Thanks!

rhm

The lever-operated front derailleur suggests early 60's at the very latest; more likely earlier than that.

The "Genuine English Lightweight" decal looks familiar, but I don't think it's a Raleigh Industries decal. The rear dropouts are not the usual Raleigh dropouts either; Raleigh decals have the fender eyelet on the bottom. My Norman three speed has this style dropout, with the eyelet at the top. I'd hazard a guess that this bike was made before TI bought Raleigh, or at least before Raleigh completed consolidating the whole industry. In other words, it's not a Raleigh, but rather a member of the BCC family.

Crank, from what I can see of it, doesn't look like a Williams; but what do I know. If it is a Williams crank, you should be able to find a date code on it.

Look at photos of pre-1961 Hercules, Phillips, Norman, Sun, etc. bikes, and see if you can spot any of the same components-- especially crank, stem, maybe brakes, maybe lugs.