Harry Nettleton’s 1907 RaCycle Pace Maker

1907 RaCycle

There are a lot of names here so lets see… This is the Pace Maker model RaCycle, and RaCycles were made by the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing company of Middleton, Ohio.

Bikes like this one followed high-wheelers onto the cobbled streets of early 1900’s America. With newly invented roller chain and pneumatic tires, this would have been a luxuriously smooth ride compared to a Penny-Farthing.

One of the selling points of the Pace Maker was the massive front chainring (equivalent to a modern 84-tooth ring) that was meant to attract attention and suggest higher speed (but the big ring was actually offset by a big back cog that ended up producing a comfortable gear ratio).

The new air-filled tires were mounted (using shellac as glue) to wooden rims (maple, I think).

Head badge

Adjustable handlebar

Oversized drivetrain

Fork pegs

42 skip-tooth chainring

A RaSaddle?

The handlebars on the Pace Maker are really cool. They pivot at the stem, and can be adjusted in width and height, depending on a rider’s desire.

Foot pegs on the front fork allowed the rider to enjoy speeding downhill on his fixed-gear bike. Sure, without your feet on the pedals to control the speed there would be no brakes, but brakes are overrated.

Racycle advertisement

Check out the old ad that we found for RaCycle bikes. The copy in old advertising and press releases like this one was so earnest. According to the manufacturer, a 1904 Worlds Fair jury “consisting of the ablest consulting and manufacturing engineers in Europe and America, were unanimous in their decision that the Racycle was the most perfectly constructed, easiest running bicycle in the world.”

However they were judged, early “safety” bicycles like this one really brought inexpensive personal transportation to the masses. They connected people with jobs and schools, connected rural areas of the country with cities, connected extended families (and liberated family members from one another).

This bike was originally owned by Harry Nettleton of Red Wing, Minnesota. Harry raised the original $16.50 purchase price by collecting clam shells from the Minnesota river and selling them to a local button factory.

By the way, if you take a look at the Iver Johnson Truss-bridge bike from the same era, you’ll note that the RaCycle was about a third of the price of the Iver Johnson.

1900’s Iver Johnson Truss Bridge Racer

1900’s Iver Johnson Truss Bridge Racer

Iver Johnson Truss Bridge Racer

Trust the truss.

That’s what the Iver Johnson bicycle company wanted you to do in 1904.

Their bridge truss style frame, claimed to be “structurally and mechanically correct in every detail” rode smoothly and had great handling characteristics. The early 1900’s were a time when roads were primarily made of cobblestones, bricks pavers or dirt. A sales pitch that touted reliability and structural strength was probably quite effective.

Research and development in this era may have actually been trial and error. The advertised sales pitch continues talking about the Iver Johnson fork crown with this reassuring line: “We have not known one to break in the five years that we have used it.”

This top-of-the-line-model, the Truss Bridge Racer, sold for a reasonable $50 in 1904 (which is about $1600 in today’s dollars). That’s complete with carbon fiber wheels (well, wooden rims really were the first carbon fiber, right?)!

Head badge and chrome head tube

Strong and pretty

Nice lines

Wood fibers, carbon fibers, what’s the difference?

Skip-link drivetrain

There were some star athlete endorsements as well. Marshall “Major” Taylor, a multiple world record holder and the World Sprint Champion in 1899 and 1900, rode an Iver Johnson.

By paul|2024-10-24T01:26:45+00:00April 17th, 2014|Museum Bikes Pre WWII|0 Comments