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.

1951 Hercules King

1951 Hercules King

1951 Hercules King

1951 Hercules King

Apparently, the brand name “Hercules” didn’t sound grand enough.

This is the King model Hercules bicycle, built to be as strong as it’s namesake out of seamless high carbon steel tubing. The equipment choices made this a bike for someone with regal tastes.

Typical for a British touring bike from the early ’50’s, the frame angles are extremely relaxed. The saddle is positioned well behind the crankset, which made it a little easier to leverage the pedals when pushing a hard gear. The fork sweeps way out front, a design meant to flex up and down as the bike rolled over rough surfaces.

Vintage Hercules Synchro trigger shifter

The Synchro trigger shifter

Hercules front end

Hercules front end

Relax with these laid back angles

Relax with these laid back angles

Today we take fingertip controls for granted. In 1951 it was pretty awesome to have the brake lever, the 3-speed trigger and a bell all within a few inches of the handlebar grip.

The finest bicycle built to day

The finest bicycle built to day

Who needs panniers with a seat bag this big?

Who needs panniers with a seat bag this big?

The 3-speed hub was a good one, it sported a Hercules labeled shell made under license from Sturmey-Archer. To manage the shifting duties, the King used a Hercules branded synchro switch.

This bike was really the find of the 2013 Bainbridge Island rotary auction. We would be really happy to hear from anyone who knows whose bike this was.

By paul|2013-12-25T03:28:34+00:00December 25th, 2013|museum bikes|0 Comments

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