1903 The Royal Triumph Lady’s ‘No 7B’

The differences between The Royal Triumph Lady’s and The Special Triumph Ladys’ epitomises the problems faced by Triumph in trying to capture both the top end and lower end of the market. The point is that the differences are minimal. They are essentially an ‘improved’ back rim brake, the quality of the leather chaincase and grips …plus the difference of 1lb in weight and two guineas in price. The equivalent of two guineas inflated to 2014 values would be £233, so that’s a considerable difference. The 12 guinea price tag of the Royal would be £1337 in 2014, so you can see why Triumph wanted to try and bring out a cheaper model.

The 1903 prospectus also reveals that the ‘Special’ had white inserts on the celluloid grips, so this model would appear to be the Royal. Also, it has a New Departure coaster brake, which would be a considerably more expensive option; I assume that a customer who ordered this extra would not need to save money by purchasing the cheaper ‘Special.’