# 20' Royce Union garage sale find



## Monark52 (Apr 27, 2013)

I picked up this cool little 20' Royce Union bike today and would like to know more about it. I did the usual Google search but came up with nothing. I always thought they were English bikes because of the style. And from what ive read, thats the look they were going for. It kind of reminds me of a Hopalong Cassidy bike.


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## 1959firearrow (Apr 28, 2013)

I don't have any info for you but man that sure is the coolest 20 inch bike I think I've ever seen that wasn't a muscle bike.


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## OldRider (Apr 28, 2013)

That thing is super cool! It looks very different from standard tank bikes that had smooth flowing lines, this one looks sort of boxy......I like


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## Mojo80 (Apr 29, 2013)

*girls version*

Saved this 20 inch girls rusty crusty version without tank or rack. 2 years of on & off digging yielded a whopping 1 photo of a girls bike with tank and rack, no others and zero information.
Love my lugged frame kiddie bike, 3 piece crank etc. Yours is amazing. Hope u have better luck researching than i did. I absolutely love your bike!
Sorry about pic quality, only ones i have


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## Monark52 (May 4, 2013)

I can't find any info on mine either Mojo. I plan on cleaning it up this week and I'll post pics as soon as its done.


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## MPNGUARI (Aug 28, 2015)

Hello,

Sorry for bringing up such an old topic but we recently purchased a vintage Royce Union 20" bicycle that looks to be the same model (or very similar)...




I've searched high and low and have found pretty much nothing about this bike (aside from this topic) so I wanted to post our find here as well. I swear, at some point, I came across an old advertisement that featured this bike but forgot to bookmark it and cannot find it again (didn't look to hard though). Anyway, after a quick comparison quick I notice our chain guards are different. That, and I know we're missing the tray, ours looks to have had one mounted at some point, and I would love to find one. I'll take some more detailed pictures over the next few days and post them here,  just because...


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## oskisan (Aug 29, 2015)

I also have one of these and would like to know what they are worth. I am interested in selling mine

Thanks,
Ken


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## T-Mar (Aug 31, 2015)

There's some conflicting information as to whether the Union Cycle Company is of American or Dutch origin. What is certain is that it goes back to 1904 and there was lots of contract manufacturing going on as Holland, England, Germany and Germany have been noted on Royce Union head badges. Most of the bicycle boom models came from Japan while later models were sourced from Taiwan. Apparently, the brand is currently owned by an American company and is part of the Huffy group. I imagine the current source is China or some other far east country.

Both the mini motorbikes have the same black and white mattress saddle, so I assume it is OEM. These started appearing in the very late 1950s and were popular into the 1970s. However, based on the frame style, I'd be leaning towards the early end of the range and given the timeframe I'd say they were probably Japanese sourced. The S/N may provide some additional clues.


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## MPNGUARI (Aug 31, 2015)

Thanks T-Mar, the number I pulled from the bike is "S7 4A738", not sure where to reference it though. We're not too concerned with how much the bike is worth because my son loves it. He's really into old stuff these days and we would really like to learn a bit more, find some parts, and see some other examples that have survived the years.


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## T-Mar (Sep 1, 2015)

MPNGUARI said:


> Thanks T-Mar, the number I pulled from the bike is "S7 4A738", not sure where to reference it though. We're not too concerned with how much the bike is worth because my son loves it. He's really into old stuff these days and we would really like to learn a bit more, find some parts, and see some other examples that have survived the years.




That's a new serial number format to me, though it does like like a Japanese format, with an extra numeric character between the two alpha characters. It's tempting to say it's a open format and the bicycle is a 1974 model, though that may not be the case. By 1974, most manufacturers had implemented pedal reflectors in anticipation of the pending CPSC regulations. Since both samples appear to have the same pedals, they should be OEM.


Does the head badge state "Made in Japan"? It sure looks like it has a lot of Japanese parts. If so, and you're determined to discover the age, there may be some date codes on the parts. I'd be checking the components for markings, particularly the cranks, hubs and stem (below the insertion mark). Most manufacturers use a double character for a date code. Some are open format but many are coded using letters. Prior to the early 1970's bicycle boom, many Japanese manufacturers were still using codes based on the Imperial Japanese Calendar which causes a lot of misinterpretation by North American owners. If you have questions, just post pics of what you find and I'll try to help.


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## AnthonyL (Nov 10, 2016)

This was my 1st bike 1967 had training wheels, chrome head light, and fringes off  the handle bars. after the training wheels came off the bike was super fast. as i got older i did modifications, removed tank, fenders. extended the forks, pipe handlebar, banana seat. It was the 70"s. wish i still had it.


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## BananaSeatGalwayGirl (Jun 9, 2017)

I've been riding banana seat bikes since I was a little girl, so when I heard from my grandfather that he found an old vintage 20s Royce union banana seat bike in his brothers garage never used I was very excited! I got my Royce serviced and she's working great may need a few adjustments but like you all I could not find any info on this bike. I did however find a brand name NANKAI imprinted on the bike makes me think Japanese hope this helps


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## Brooklyn 17 th (Jan 17, 2020)

Monark52 said:


> View attachment 93985View attachment 93984
> 
> I picked up this cool little 20' Royce Union bike today and would like to know more about it. I did the usual Google search but came up with nothing. I always thought they were English bikes because of the style. And from what ive read, thats the look they were going for. It kind of reminds me of a Hopalong Cassidy bike.


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## Brooklyn 17 th (Jan 17, 2020)

I know all about this bike 
I had one 
It was my first bike in the early 1960’s 
Was bought at time square stores 
On Coney Island ave Brooklyn 
By my aunt 
Learned how to ride a bike on it 
Had it for ever until 1970’s


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## Royce Union tiger kid (Apr 19, 2021)

Monark52 said:


> View attachment 93985View attachment 93984
> 
> I picked up this cool little 20' Royce Union bike today and would like to know more about it. I did the usual Google search but came up with nothing. I always thought they were English bikes because of the style. And from what ive read, thats the look they were going for. It kind of reminds me of a Hopalong Cassidy bike.



Hey, I just stumbled upon this post. It is certainly cool. I have some interesting news for you. OMG, that bike, the one in the picture, the one with the tiger handlebar grips, That was MY bike in the mid 1960s. Specifically that one. It was given to me by my Uncle Charles. I personally put those tiger grips on it  (traded them from a friend who had gotten them with his paper route money (from Brian Kovach). Can't be another one with those rare novelty grips.  I learned to ride on it. I rode it all over my town (Hartland, Wisconsin, then later Woodstock, IL) for many years until I was older and got a Schwinn "Heavy Duty" for paper route purpose. That original white wall rear tire is bald to the cord, I'm sure, from me and my buddies practicing brake-lock "skids" all the time. Bike does wheelies really well too. The back of that fender is scraped from popping wheelies and hopping off holding the bars. Quite moving to stumble upon my old bike from childhood. I'm Robert Payton. I was born in 1959.  Delighted.


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## cr250mark (Apr 19, 2021)

Royce Union tiger kid said:


> Hey, I just stumbled upon this post. It is certainly cool. I have some interesting news for you. OMG, that bike, the one in the picture, the one with the tiger handlebar grips, That was MY bike in the mid 1960s. Specifically that one. It was given to me by my Uncle Charles. I personally put those tiger grips on it  (traded them from a friend who had gotten them with his paper route money (from Brian Kovach). Can't be another one with those rare novelty grips.  I learned to ride on it. I rode it all over my town (Hartland, Wisconsin, then later Woodstock, IL) for many years until I was older and got a Schwinn "Heavy Duty" for paper route purpose. That original white wall rear tire is bald to the cord, I'm sure, from me and my buddies practicing brake-lock "skids" all the time. Bike does wheelies really well too. The back of that fender is scraped from popping wheelies and hopping off holding the bars. Quite moving to stumble upon my old bike from childhood. I'm Robert Payton. I was born in 1959.  Delighted.




Something you don’t run across to often 
Great story ,great bike and a small world !

mark


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