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.

1941 Columbia Superb Replica

1941 Columbia Superb Replica

1941 Columbia Superb replica

Not to be outdone by Schwinn or Monark, the 1941 Columbia Superb (a.k.a. the model F9T) was one of the most deluxe cruiser bicycles ever built.

A dashboard fitted with an odometer, speedometer, and a clock were standard. A luggage rack with an integrated tail light was considered super high-tech. The girls’ model had beautiful wire skirt guards covering the rear wheel, and the striping and other details were just magnificent.

The lineage of Columbia bicycles can be traced directly back to Pope Manufacturing, founded by Albert Pope in Hartford, Connecticut in 1877. Bicycles are the lasting heritage of the Columbia brand, but motorcycles were produced until 1918, and automobiles (some of them electric) rolled out of the Hartford factory until 1914.

Swoopy front end with headlight

Columbia Dashboard

Pedals with jewel reflectors

Horn tank

Hey, nice rack.

This particular bike is a reproduction that was made in 1997, and Columbia brought every detail of the original to life. Original specifications dictated every dimension and material used. While the headlight, chain guard, tank and rack were all made overseas, much of the bike was made in the U.S., and the completed bike rolled out of the original Westfield factory.

By paul|2024-10-05T15:41:14+00:00August 28th, 2017|Museum Bikes Pre WWII|0 Comments