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 Hidden Canyon 20

Marin Hidden Canyon 20″

Hidden Canyon in silver

Hidden Canyon in silver

This Marin is a real mountain bike for your 6 to 8 year old.

The Hidden Canyon moves your child past the training wheels and coaster-brake starter bikes and into a geared bike with hand brakes. If your neighborhood is hilly, it means junior can ride instead of walking up hills. You can go further together than if the little guy or gal were struggling to keep up on a single-speed.

These Marins come with hand brakes (discs even!), a lightweight aluminum fork, chain guards, and 7 gears with a twist-grip style shifter. They are built to the same quality standards as our adult bikes. Most of the parts are made out of aluminum instead of steel, so the bike is rust-resistant and the overall weight is a whole lot less than a typical kids bike.

Hidden Canyon in blue

Hidden Canyon in blue

There’s a quick-release seat post clamp for height adjustments and sealed cartridge bearing headsets and bottom brackets for extra durability (and a lighter weight bike).
By the way, you get quick-release hubs on the wheels so you can easily remove a wheel to fit the bike in the car.

These bikes aren’t disposable junk. When your kid outgrows his or her Marin, these bikes will still be viable, ride-able bikes that can be traded in or passed on to the next child (and the next after that one).

By paul|2020-04-14T01:54:40+00:00January 23rd, 2019|bmx/kids, Marin|Comments Off