Visit to Royce

I'm in the process of getting together parts for my Mercian frame, due to arrive next month. I decided on Royce hubs, and took the opportunity to pick them up in person. I took some pictures and thought you all might be interested.

Royce is a tiny place, cluttered with pedal cars and the remnants of metalworking. But its obvious that they do some very fine work there, and Cliff (owner) is an amenable chap and very happy to receive visitors, and talk at length about Boardman, pedal car racing and the history of his firm. Apparently business is up 60% in the past 2 years, so it's good to know he is doing well in these troubled times.

There are pedal cars everywhere.

And a Royce Duck

http://i.imgur.com/cUDXi.jpg

Cliff poses with a Titanium disc hub. It's milled from solid titanium billet and they retail for £1100 a pair.

http://i.imgur.com/KiPPQ.jpg

This is where most parts are started, in a CNC machine.

http://i.imgur.com/9GTOp.jpg

Though many things are still finished off by hand.

http://i.imgur.com/M2DKi.jpg

Titanium axels ready for fitting.

http://i.imgur.com/mift1.jpg

These hubs are half finished.

http://i.imgur.com/hu9Jb.jpg

And here are mine, track hubs with sealed bearings and weather guards. They are a thing of beauty.

Awesome. Cheers Tiddy. Those pedal cars look great.

agreed

Apparently Cliff has seen 33 mph in the black pedal car. They have mountain bike rear derailer gears and shifters, rear Royce hubs, and front sturmey archer drum brake hubs.

They're beautiful. Almost seems a shame to use them!

Whilst there, did you have a word with them about those silly cranks they've been making?

I like pictorials like this.

And it is nice to hear their business is up.

I really don't understand why he wasn't visited by the Handmade Bicycle film bloke I'll never know.

Yeah, bit odd. He had royce hubs, right?

cinelli, campag factory...now one trip left...Oregon or New Milton, Hampshire, errrrr....

Whilst there, did you have a word with them about those silly cranks they've been making?

I did, and they had several prototypes lying around. Cliff says he has been so busy that he hasn't had time to work on them. I understand a lot of a negativity here about the design of them, and agree that they could be better looking. I'm sure they will perform well, and the design has been fully tested virtually and IRL to maximise stiffness and reduce any potential stress areas. So, from an engineering POV, they have been well thought out, but if it was me, I'd have a rethink and design in some prettiness.

The thing is, CNC means that you can produce things in very small numbers, so even if Royce don't sell too many of them, it wont be a huge loss to them.

I got a picture of one of the prototype crank sets.

can you tell us more about the duck?

You've got a great hubset there. Even nicer knowing their provenance. Good stuff.

What're you lacing them to? Morgasm has his laced to open pro's. He'll be dead before they stop spinning.

Yeah, bit odd. He had royce hubs, right?

cinelli, campag factory...now one trip left...Oregon or New Milton, Hampshire, errrrr....

The CK factory was hardly picturesque!

(I'm working off memory here...)

He wasn't allowed in the CK factory. The mocked something up for him, but he was just in the sales bit!

Yes, but he still went. And (again, memory) it was a shitty industrial estate.

Picked my hubs up in person too a couple of years ago. I like Cliff. Nice bloke.

^^Yeah was agreeing, and yes a horrid backwater industrial estate, why bother when you could visit a place of equal specialism right on your doorstep!

He wasn't allowed in the CK factory. The mocked something up for him, but he was just in the sales bit!

Yes, they were able to keep the secret safe of how Taiwan used to make headsets years ago.

Ah, sorry. Misunderstood.

And to be honest, the Cinelli and Campag factories weren't much on the eyes either (what you did see).

"It's all about the bike."

Yeah, at least the Antonio Colombo (Cinelli) was a bit of a character, and they went on a ride. Campag was just an office and a showroom, and the guy dishing out bare euro!

And why not? They know they're miles (or kilometres!) behind the Japanese as far as development goes, so why not try to protect something?

can you tell us more about the duck?

It's the only one that survived from a batch of eggs that were incubated. It's being looked after until it's old enough to go and live in Cliff's pond.

It's the only one that survived from a batch of eggs that were incubated. It's being looked after until it's old enough to go and live in Cliff's pond.

awesome

What're you lacing them to? Morgasm has his laced to open pro's. He'll be dead before they stop spinning.

Open Pro CDs, Sapim laser spokes.