Gran Royale

Sometimes readers write to us about bikes that might interest us. Daniel recently emailed to let us know that "Gran Royale has added two new and refreshingly basic-looking bicycles, the Union Flyer and Cogsville, to complement the Aristocrat they introduced last year I believe."

Gran Royale is an affiliate of Eastern Bikes, the BMX brand. Gran Royale has indeed been making the kind of bikes we're interested in: simple, inexpensive, and eye-catching. They remind me of the old Schwinn 3-speeds.

The Aristocrat is a 3-speed with a Shimano Nexus hub, coaster brakes, rack and bottle mounts, chainguards and fenders. It's currently offered on amazon.com for $550. Here's a look:




Click for big. Credit: Gran Royale website.

As Daniel mentioned, Gran Royale is now offering another 3-speed, the Cogsville.

Gran Royale Cogsville. Credit: Gran Royale website.

The Cogsville is all steel, and like the Aristocrat, it comes with a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub and coaster brake, rack and bottle mounts, chainguard and fenders.  According to the Gran Royale website, it comes in black, yellow, red, blue or green, and in "medium" or "large" sizes.

Then there's the one-speed Union Flyer:

Gran Royale Union Flyer. Credit: Gran Royale website

The Union Flyer has the same features as the Cogsville, except it's a single speed. Gran Royale aptly refers to the Union Flyer as their "working class hero" bike.

In addition to these models, Gran Royale also has two fixed gear (or freewheel, your choice) models: the Lurker and the Creeper.

The Gran Royale Lurker and Creeper. Credit: Gran Royale website.

I think Gran Royale has done its marketing research. People love colorful bikes.