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.

1992 Trek 5500 OCLV

1992 Trek 5500 OCLV

1992 was the year that Trek introduced their OCLV carbon fiber bikes to the cycling world.

1992 Trek 5500, the start of a winning streak

OCLV stood for Optimum Compaction, Low Void. The label was more than marketing hype. Trek used high grade carbon material and well engineered tooling to mold each lug and tube individually. By using this method instead of trying to create an entire bike frame in a single shot, Trek’s engineers were able to reduce the amount of epoxy and fillers left over in the completed frame. The carbon molds squeezed the tubes extremely tight, reducing the size and number of “voids”, and leaving them with “optimum compaction” of the material. This patented “OCLV” method is still used today by Trek and the aerospace companies that license their process.

Optimum Compaction, Low Void carbon fiber

Campagnolo's Record group and Look pedals

It's not one piece, those are tubes and lugs

Delta brakes, Treks emblem from the '90's

This bike probably looks like any other that you would see in the shop today, but remember that carbon fiber pioneers like Trek, Kestrel, Look, and Colnago were flying by the seat of their pants thirty years ago. Some of the bikes they came up with were radically different at the time, and some have stood the test of time.

This wonderful piece of cycling history was originally owned by our friend Michael Powers of Summit, New Jersey. This baby is not stock. Michael spared no expense while building this bike, opting for Campagnolo’s swoopy and aerodynamic looking Record component group, Look “Carbon Arc” pedals, and Modolo’s anatomic handlebar.

By paul|2022-01-11T21:27:09+00:00December 22nd, 2011|Museum Bikes 1986 to 2000|Comments Off