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 Bobcat Trail series

Marin Bobcat Trail series

Bobcat Trail 4

Bobcat Trail 4

Marin makes a bunch of premium-level bikes that seem to be missing the premium price.

Take the Bobcat Trail 4 for example: It’s a great looking hardtail with awesome parts.
The bikes come with short stems and wide bars for maximum handling and obstacle jumping fun, with 100 t0 120mm travel forks and slackened front end geometry. They are created to be more versatile and playful than your average mountain bike.
There’s a Suntour XCM fork with the hydraulic lockout switch on the top. There’s a Shimano Altus drivetrain. Regardless of the size bike that you get (with 27.5″ or 29″ size wheels) you’ll roll around on premium Schwalbe tires. The disc brakes are Tektro hydraulics which you’ll find on bikes in the $1600 range. The cables are fully shielded, with housing running from the levers all the way to the derailleurs (a nice touch that keeps your shifters running smoothly). The cockpit components are all robust, feather light and colored to match the bike.
The Bobcat Trail 4 looks and rides like an excellent $900 mountain bike. The surprising thing is that it’s about $700.

Bobcat Trail 3

Bobcat Trail 5

Bobcat Trail 4 in maroon

Bobcat Trail 4 in maroon

The Bobcat 3 will get you out of the house and onto the trails for around $600. The Bobcat 5 will get you into to a simple (and tough) Shimano Deore 1 x 10 drivetrain, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and an adjustable Rockshox fork for under a grand.

By the way, the folks at Marin named these bikes after the Bobcat trail system near Sausalito, California. If you feel like riding your Bobcat Trail on the Bobcat Trail (in Marin County, essentially the birthplace of mountain biking), let us know and we’ll give you directions to get there.

By paul|2020-01-11T04:00:24+00:00January 5th, 2019|Marin, mountain|Comments Off