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.

Marin Bayview Trail 24

Marin Bayview Trail 24

Bayview Trail in blue

Bayview Trail in blue

If you are looking for a real mountain bike for your 8 to 12 year-old, look no further.

Marin’s Bayview Trail 24 puts all of the off-road technology that you would find on a good adult hardtail into this small package.

These bikes come with 80mm-travel Suntour suspension forks that are appropriately sprung for small riders, and they even have adjustable pre-load springs. The lightweight double-wall wheels come with quick release levers for easy maintenance and travel. Overall weight is reduced with high quality aluminum construction all around. The handlebars, stem, seatpost, crankset, derailleurs, brakes, and even spoke nipples utilize better materials to make the bike light and trouble free. The stem is the threadless style (not the old-fashioned quill style), which is more easily adjusted and about a half-pound lighter.

Bayview Trail in grey

Bayview Trail in grey

There’s space for a water bottle cage. The seat height is adjustable with a quick-release lever. The cables that control the brakes and shifters run housing uninterrupted from the controls down, so if the bike is left out in the rain, the cables won’t get rusty. Even the cheap steel freewheels typically found on the back wheel of most kids bikes have been replaced by lighter and more durable 7-speed cassette-style gears.

Shifting and braking effort is nice and easy for small hands with quality Shimano Altus derailleurs and smooth Tektro V-brakes.

Okay, the bike is clearly higher quality than what you get from Specialized, Diamondback, Giant or Trek. How much more does it set you back? It runs about $30 more than most of those brands, which is about what it would cost you to replace the stock bolt-on front wheel axle from one of those bikes with a quick-release version.

By paul|2020-01-03T05:19:31+00:00November 30th, 2019|bmx/kids, Marin|Comments Off