Saturday, March 4, 2017

1970s Royce Union Single speed conversion




We had that old Royce Union 12 speed bike in the corner of the Fab Lab at school:


It was really dirty, and everything had to be taken apart, cleaned and lubricated:


I de-rusted and shined the chromes:


I remounted the original rim on a cool high flange alloy hub with a quick release lever, changed the 6 cogs freewheel for a single speed 20 t. bmx freewheel, re-centered the hub with custom parts, and added a recycled chrome chain guard from another bike, just for looks:


And rebuilt the wheel:


I cut off the small chain wheel and filed it smooth to make it into a single speed crank. It's a 52 t., hence the large freewheel on the back...


And the expanded chain:


Remounted the brakes:


Put some old school levers.


Later, I painted this one yellow in honor of the Syracuse made Yellow fellow: