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.

1920 Iver Johnson

1920 Iver Johnson

1920 Iver Johnson Special Racer

“Iver Johnson engineers are not — and have never been — content to build a “just as good” cycle, or to copy the features of other makes. They have pioneered.” — 1917 Iver Johnson Arms & Cycleworks catalogue

Famous for their firearms (unfortunately known for being extremely reliable, as President McKinley and Senator Robert Kennedy were both killed by assasins using Iver Johnson revolvers), Iver johnson also made some great bicycles for over fifty years.

Iver Johnson head badge

Beautiful nickel-plated stem and bars

Persons leather saddle from Worcester, Mass.

When the Iver Johnson Arms company diversified into bicycles they had some truly novel and pioneering ideas. They developed a truss-bridge style frameset. They sponsored Marshall “Major” Taylor, one of the first superstars of the sport (a black professional cyclist and World Champion in 1899 and 1900). They delivered a well-designed product like this special racer at affordable prices (only $55 in 1920).

Chater-Lea crankset

Iver Johnson rear dropout

Nice finish for a 90 year old bike

This particular bike was owned by a fellow named Barney Winters, and it came with all the goodies. Thick enamel paint, bright nickel plating, and a full complement of Chater-Lea components.

The Iver Johnson company closed down their bicycle production as they ramped up arms production for World War II, but the bikes that survive today are real gems.

By paul|2020-09-07T17:27:34+00:00January 16th, 2013|Museum Bikes Pre WWII|0 Comments