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.

1960’s Flying Scot

1960’s Flying Scot

Mid 1960’s Flying Scot

This Flying Scot was built (where else?) in Glasgow sometime in the 1960’s. If you look closely you’ll see that it’s a great example of Scottish craftsmanship. The frame is built from Reynolds 531 steel, and the tubes are joined with Nervex Pro “fancy” lugs. There are oil ports built right into the frame for servicing the headset and the bottom bracket bearings. The handlebar, an unknown brand, features ornate engraving that adds a classy finishing touch.

A fine all-around road bike, the Scot could be employed for touring, club rides or racing.

Besides the fancy lugs and the engraved handlebar, a few fun details include the badged Cinelli handlebar stem, the striped seat tube panel, a minimalist front rack (which was probably used just to keep a sagging handlebar bag off of the front tire), and the socks-and-hat treatment of the brake levers (what’s wrong with brake lever hoods that wrap all the way around the grip?).

Flying Scot head badge

drivetrain detail

Nervex Pro lugs with oil port

Engraved handlebars

Record derailleurs

We’re not sure who originally owned this bike, but Jeff’s friend Graham White found it in 1975. Graham purchased it from a north London second-hand shop for 20 pounds, intending to start a haggis delivery service with the bike’s great cargo racks. Jeff subsequently stole the bike from Graham on one of his European trips.

By paul|2024-10-13T04:37:54+00:00November 28th, 2014|Museum bikes 1966 to 1985|Comments Off