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.

1974 Colnago Super

1974 Colnago Super

1974 Colnago Super

Bravo Ernesto!

This bike is a 1974 Colnago Super, one of the finest road bikes available in the 1970’s.

We’ll admit that the frame isn’t as ornate as some (like Hetchins). We’ll also admit that the limited tubing and component options found in racing bikes of the 1970’s made it pretty hard to quantify the differences between brands. Just trust us. This Colnago is awesome.

Certain builders were known for refined details. Some brands like Bianchi boasted storied racing heritage that spanned decades. Some racing bikes felt fast and looked even faster. Ernesto Colnago brought all of these elements together with bikes like the Super.

Notable design details have to include the trademark Colnago club cut-out of the bottom bracket shell and the chromed semi-sloping fork crown. Other elements like fork rake, tubing wall thickness, frame and fork angles are hiding under the surface of the black paint. While difficult to point out (and sell to customers on the sales floor), they are details that could be felt with just a test ride and they made all the difference.

Colnago decal

Bottom bracket cut out

Fork crown detail

Nuovo Record rear derailleur

Ofmega? Ambrosio? Galli?

Colnago racing heritage was fairly recent history in 1974, but there was a lot of it. With the most prolific race winner in history (Eddy Merckx) doing his thing aboard Colnagos, the bikes had a race pedigree that was growing by the week. Design elements that felt and looked fast? Colnago had them in spades (or in this case, clubs).

This particular Super included the Campagnolo’s popular Nuovo Record component group, Cinelli handlebars and stem, and a cool mystery crankset (an Ambrosio?) with drilled-out chainrings.

By paul|2024-10-07T04:12:42+00:00June 14th, 2015|Museum bikes 1966 to 1985|Comments Off