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 Schwinn Sting-Ray BMX

1974 Schwinn Sting-Ray BMX

1974 Schwinn Sting-Ray

1974 Schwinn Sting-Ray

How about another early BMX bike?

In the beginning, young Bicycle Motocross racers rode like maniacs aboard the everyday machines that took them back and forth from home to school.

In the early ’70’s, dedicated BMX bikes were a rarity.

The Schwinn Sting-Ray was the most popular kids bike around, and these little Schwinns were the natural choice for early BMX.
Like the brown 1970 Sting-Ray that we have elsewhere in this museum section, this BMX bike started out as just another Schwinn but was heavily modified to handle the rigors of bicycle motocross action.
Here’s how the design process probably went down (either verbally or in somebody’s head):
“For the green machine, the banana seat stays, but the chrome fenders are out. Plastic mud guards look more “moto” and will hold up better.”

Hold the lever for starting gear, let it go for race speed

Hold the lever for starting gear, let it go for race speed

A couple gears (in the hub) for fast starts

A couple gears (in the hub) for fast starts

“We’re gonna need some heavy-duty wheels. Let’s go look for some at the motorcycle shop.”
“While we’re at it, how about mocking up a fake fuel tank?”
“The ape-hanger bars have to go. They’re too high. We’ll go with 6″ risers and a brace. Don’t forget the number plate.”
“Drill some holes in the plate. There’ll be less wind drag.”
“I have an idea. We’ll hook up a three-speed hub to a brake lever instead of a shifter. If you hold the lever down at the start, you can get up to speed in a lower gear before letting the lever go and kicking into high gear”

Tough wheels...

Tough wheels…

Fake fuel tank

“Man, that’s awesome.”

Rick Gaytan, the owner of this rocket cycle, was part of the early southern California BMX scene. He raced on a wide array of bikes in the 70’s, and was crazy enough to be the monkey on a sidehack.

By paul|2015-03-04T03:38:08+00:00November 2nd, 2014|Museum bikes 1966 to 1985, schwinn|Comments Off