1904 ‘Special Triumph’ Ladies Bicycle

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. However, 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 reveals that the ‘Special’ had white inserts on the celluloid grips. But the main difference is that it has normal curved mudguards rather than the ridged mudguards common to the more expensive Triumph range.