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.

1983 SE Racing Quadangle

1983 SE Racing Quadangle

1983 SE Racing Quadangle

In 1978, a young entrepreneur named Scot Breithaupt started promoting “Pedal-Cross” races in southern California.

That same year, Breithaupt launched Scot Enterprises (SE) to supply the bikes to those same southern California kids that wanted to race. The Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) bike had arrived, and an entire sport was born.

BMX had some memorable bikes and riders throughout the years. The aluminum PK Ripper raced by Perry Kramer was lighter than anything available, and had cool oval tubing. CW Racing had “Pistol” Pete Loncarevich winning on their bikes and a lightning bolt welded into their frames. Redline had understated and classy designs, and had stars like Dennis Dain and Greg Hill to race on them.

Nothing was quite as rad as the SE Racing Quadangle.

The bike originated in 1979 as the STR-1 for star BMX’er Stu Thompson. Stu and his SE were on countless magazine covers and at the front of many races.

Stu Thompson and the Original Quadangle, the STR-1

Tuff wheels made the coolest mags

This couldn’t have been easy to weld…

Wow, this bike looks mean.

Actually made from Reynolds tubing

This particular bike is from 1983, featuring all of the best components from the day. Profile cranks, Tuff Wheel mags, Kashimax saddle, and a Dia-Compe brake. It was actually made out of Reynolds 531 tubing, and the TIG welds look great.

By paul|2024-10-04T03:08:36+00:00October 26th, 2016|Museum bikes 1966 to 1985|0 Comments