1919 Royal Triumph Roadster

1919 Royal Triumph Roadster

Frame number 705045

(Now sold)

 

 

 

 

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‘APPRECIATION:

Looking forward to the time when he can place an order for his new Triumph’

After the end of the first World War – 11th November, 1918 – cycle production resumed, with companies introducing their postwar models in 1919. As you can see from this Triumph Roadster, the design remained essentially the same as pre-war. Roller Levers were already an option (see the 1914 catalogue below). The main difference is mudguards: the pre-war Triumph mudguards had a central ridge unique to Triumph, whereas the mudguards on this post-war model have a rounded profile.

 

To compare it with the 1914 Triumph Gents Roadster PLEASE CLICK HERE

 

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Compare the chaincase with the illustration of the 1914 Special Triumph, below.

 

‘A bicycle bearing a trade mark of such a firm as the Triumph will always fetch more second-hand than one which has only a local trade transfer on it’ – EVENING STANDARD

 

 

The frame number is stamped in two locations: on the headstock at the top of the Triumph logo, and also on the near side top of the bottom bracket.

The Triumph transfer on the seat tube has almost completely faded.

Here’s a Triumph logo for comparison.

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The gear trigger is a Model K. The rear hub gear is a Sturmey Archer Model A, which is essentially a Tricoaster without the back-pedal brake. This is likely to be a correct combination of trigger and hub for a model of this year:

In The Sturmey-Archer Story, Tony Halland explains that although the ‘K’ hub had been introduced in 1918, the ‘A’ hub was still being advertised in 1921. ‘The launch date of the Type K is often given as 1918; it may have been designed then, but it seems unlikely that this hub reached the market in any numbers until 1922.’

Sturmey-Archer were having trouble coping with demand for the new ‘K’ hub due to a post-war shortage of materials. Outside firms were employed to help meet demand and, for a time, all Tricoasters were made in America. However, these hubs turned out to be unsatisfactory, and it was not until December 1919 that Raleigh gave approval for domestic production to resume.

 

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