Puch-er up!
 

(Please pardon the pun in the title :innocent:)

A momentous occasion! This week, I acquired my first non-gas pipe 10-speed bike! I feel like a true C&Ver now :).

My friend picks up a Puch for one of his friends, but soon realizes that his friend wouldn't really appreciate a vintage bike like this - it's a Puch Royal X, apparently one of the higher end models.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_Y...0/IMG_2464.JPG

Giveaways of a sweet ride: Reynolds 531 DB throughout, 1st generation Dura-Ace crankset/headset/cable guides, TTT cockpit, sweet long Shimano dropouts.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_Y...0/IMG_2465.JPG

Things that I think are high quality but can't tell: Normandy High-Flange 36h hubs to Weinmann 27 inch rims, old Suntour Cyclone stuff, Suntour ratcheting Power Shifters (thanks Bianchigirll) and Weinmann Carerra brakes (old style QR).

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_Y...0/IMG_2468.JPG

Anyways, just wanted to drop a few pics here. I'm contemplating having it become my first single speed conversion (fret not! no drewing involved), and wanted to know if I should keep the components on it (were they original to the Royal X model?).

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_Y...0/IMG_2463.JPG

very nice looking. you didn't mention those fabulous Power Ratchet shifters. I like the chromed dropouts very nice touch

very nice...seems like it might be about on a par with its sister bike the A-D Inter 10... The 1st gen Cyclone is some of the best, especially bang-for-buck, and the early DA parts are stylish too, I'm guessing the ST derailleurs are later upgrades. Carrera brakes? meh...those I'd lose. Personally, this would not be one I'd convert to SS, since it seems pretty complete and correct...but you do whatever you want. Well, based on that I'd keep the Weinmann brakes, too. If the Normandy hubs have a foil label (red or gold) they are Luxe or Luxe Pro and better than the garden variety Normandys.

That's a neat bike. It doesn't look like it saw much use, either, which is great.

black bodied 1st gen Cyclone Derailleurs. Very nice. Lightweight, Looks great and can't beat em for function.

Very nice ride, I've got its sister bike...an Austro Daimler...I Love these germanic bikes :)

Nice snag dashuaigeh!

Personally I really like Normandy High Flange hubs and Weinmann rims. Nothing says C&V more, and I think they were a superb combination of strength, weight and durability. Put some 27" Paselas on it, and you'll never look back.

More often I see 1st gen DA cranks with Shimano Crane DRs.

For example, this one on Velospace.
- The Cyclones were likely an upgrade by a PO ( I tend to agree that they are ).
The DB 531 is sure to make that a nice ride.

(I would take advantage of that and keep it as a geared bike).

That's a great looking bike, I wouldn't change a thing.

They're definitely Normandy Luxes (red dust cap as well, right?). They are really, really nice hubs :)

Thanks! I saw that other Royal X on Velospace as well; I think it might be hard to find a Crane derailleur like that though. If I do keep it geared, the Cyclone stuff seems more than solid enough :).

Agreed! I sold another AD Puch for way too little before (531 and 600 arabesque) :cry:, so this is sort of making up for that for me :). Which one is yours?

It looks like most everyone's in favor of keeping it geared. I suppose the search for a solid SS conversion frame continues :P

Out of curiosity - unworthy1, Auchen, and FORDSVTPARTS, would you personally not SS this bike b/c it's complete as-is, or because it's a nice frame?

It's yours, and you can do what you want, but it looks like it ain't broke, so why fix it?

Looks like a very nice build, Puch-ing sweet in fact. Welcome to the dysfunction.

For me, it's because the frame is so nice. I would want that geared.

^ what he said

^me three^ and the bike's practically complete and stock. I SS'd one of mine that came as a frame alone and would have been challenging to assemble parts for (but it may go fully geared later in life).

FWIW, I think Puch rhymes with "book," not "luck."

I rhyme it with "spook". But the ch is actually more like that gargly sound at the end of Loch [Ness].

I'm so glad you posted this bike. I restored a Puch for a friend who purchased a Puch a few decades ago. She put many miles on it and said she removed the decals long ago as to deter theft. I posted it here but no one could help in identifying it. Did they produce a Royal XV? Hers had a Sugino Mighty Tour. I had to replace the Cyclone GT RD with a Raleigh branded Vx GT.

http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/1...12814098960001

http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/1...12814098330001

It would make a fine single speed, but I think it's very cool as it is. Ride it like that for a while.

Isn't Austin relatively flat? Consider a flip flop hub. I have one and have never even put a freewheel on it. I found out quickly that for a bike I would consider for a single speed, I prefer riding it with a fixed drivetrain. There are vintage bikes built with nice tubing that have few braze ons and no derailleur hangers.

This Jeunet is DB 531 with nice Simplex dropouts and no derailleur hanger.

http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/1...12953985880001

Nice pun, but I also thought it was pronounced like mcgreivey.

It is.

I've been looking for a good European frame (DB, forged drops) to turn into a "path racer"-ish fixed build, and this seems ideal. I've also got a very solid "fast geared bike" already, so I wasn't sure I needed another one. Plus, I tend to be very dangerous to ride around when on friction downtubes...:(

Unworthy1, Auchen, and FORDSVTPARTS, I can see what you mean. Even though I've been waiting for a frame like this, it seems like an awfully big shame to strip it down - the fact that the bike is complete as is makes me hesitate. I've less problem with doing a conversion if I have a nice frame (and just the frame).

I've got a flip-flop wheelset for it already. Since I've never really ridden fixed seriously, I might end up building a beater SS-Fixed to get my bearings on it first, so I don't wipe out on this beauty of a frame and ruin it (it wouldn't be the first time I've almost destroyed a nice bike because of inexperience...). Austin is actually fairly hilly in some parts, I think.

I really dig the look of that Sugino Mighty Tour btw.

This is a fine bike to try it. Removing the components will you give you a chance to thoroughly clean and inspect the bike. Build it up as a SS/FG with gearing around ~72 inches. You know how to ride a bike. You don't need a beater to flirt with a fixed drive train. You're not going to crash just because you can't coast. You'll get the hang of it within five miles.

I know this is an old thread, but the bike picture above is BOX STOCK except for the saddle. I had one of these in white that I got new in 1978. Stock parts included SunTour Cyclone derailleurs, Dura Ace crankset, Weinmann Carrera sidepull brakes with brown hooded levers, SR bars and stem and (I think!) pedals, Weinmann 27-in alloy rims on Normandy hubs, Regina Oro freewheel was 14-22, Regina Oro chain, SR seatpost, 531 db throughout. The 1977 model like this one and my old one came in either white or the "salmon" color above. The shifters give me pause - I honestly don't remember if the SunTour power ratchet shifters were stock or a routine upgrade on these bikes.

Even back then as a teenaged kid who knew nothing, I thought the Royal X was an interesting bike. Same frameset as the deluxe Royal Force, itself a less costly version of the Austro Daimler Vent Noir, but with a mix of cheaper parts which in some ways did not make sense.

I think Austrian bicycles are great, but I am obviously biased. :)

I do not understand the single speed freewheel thing at all and see it as a worst-of-both-worlds cross between geared and fixed.

I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this way. To be fair, I do see it serving a certain niche of cyclists. I live in the flat part of Manhattan. People want simple and light bikes, and they may not want to make the extra effort of riding fixed. So SS bikes are fine for them. But to me, it seems boring. And I will eventually encounter a hill and wish I had gearing.

Even then I want to be able to run up through the gears as I accelerate from a stop, and I want to be able to gear down for a headwind or a crosswind, or just at the end of a long ride, when my legs are starting to give out. For me, selecting the best ensemble of gears when I build a bike and using the right gear at the right time while riding is an important part of the bicycling experience.

I wonder if OP ended up dismantling this amazing drivetrain.