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.

Jeanne (Robinson) Omelenchuk’s 1956 track bike

Jeanne (Robinson) Omelenchuk’s 1956 Track Bike

Omelenchuk track bike

This bike was made by George Omelenchuk for his wife Jeanne, who was a champion cyclist and speedskater. Among the notable achievements in her athletic career Jeanne won 16 national speed skating titles and five cycling national champion titles. She became the first women to be the national championship in two major sports, doing it concurrently a couple of times.

She competed on three Olympic teams.

In order to be competitive in cycling you need good equipment.

Jeanne had the best. Her husband George, along with brothers Walter and Tony, operated one of the most outrageously capable bike and sporting goods shops in the country. Needed a part? They’d make it. Something broken? They’d fix it. George, a skilled gunsmith and clockmaker, had legendary machining ability which is proudly on display here.

Dual-plate fork crown

Custom machined stem

The front hub is as wide as the back one.

Two holes between the spokes for the track rims

Campagnolo model Brooks saddle

The wheels are really hand made. From forging the hub shells to fabricating axles and rims, these wheels were made from scratch. The rims are real beauties. George lightened up the already svelte extrusion with some precise drill work (by the way, the wheels are still true). The laced wheels were then tied & soldered at the spoke crosses. The front hub has the same super-wide stance as the rear wheel (130mm front and back, which is outrageous for a track bike).

The dual-plate fork crown looks great as does the gracefully curved handlebars and stem.

Hey, check out the Campagnolo model Brooks saddle! No kidding. This is one of the rarest saddle models you can find.

By paul|2024-10-07T16:47:13+00:00January 24th, 2015|museum bikes|Comments Off