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.

Al Sellinger’s Brennan

Al Sellinger’s Brennan

Al Sellinger's Brennan

Al Sellinger’s Brennan

We’re the first to admit that there are a lot of plain-looking old track bikes in the collection. If you look carefully, however, you’ll see some real history rolling around on wooden rims.
This is Al Sellinger’s Brennan track bike. Al was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1936 Berlin Games.
The bike itself looks like a lot of pre-war racing machines. There are a few details in common with other Brennan bikes in the collection, but there are also details that make this one stand out.
The seat stays and chain stays are much larger in diameter and thicker-walled than any of our other bikes. It’s a sprinter’s rig. Al must have had quite a bit of horsepower to require such stiff construction for the back end of his bike.

Skip-link block chain

Skip-link block chain

Constructed for a powerful sprinter

Constructed for a powerful sprinter

Brennan front end

Brennan front end

Al was the U.S. Amateur sprint champion in 1935, a distinction that nearly guaranteed his inclusion on the ’36 Olympic roster.
Al raced with distinction at the “Nazi Games”, finishing in 9th place in the men’s sprint competition (won by Germany’s Toni Merkins) and 10th in the 1000 meter individual time trial (which was won by the Netherland’s Arie Van Vliet).
In the tandem sprint event Al and his partner William Logan made it into the quarter finals but were beaten to the line by the Italian team of Carlo Legutti and Bruno Loatti.

By paul|2017-01-02T22:52:02+00:00January 2nd, 2017|Museum Bikes Pre WWII|Comments Off