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.

Viking Tour Poulsbo

Viking Tour Poulsbo May 24th

Riding south out of Poulsbo

Riding south out of Poulsbo

The Viking Tour is a fun ride put on by the Poulsbo Rotary club. This year it will take place on Saturday, May 24th.

The tour starts and finishes in historic Poulsbo, “Little Norway” at 9 a.m., and no longer conflicts with the iconic VikingFest carnival and festival, so traffic isn’t such a problem. If you’re an out of towner, Poulsbo is awesome and you might want to plan on coming out Saturday and stay the night to experience Poulsbo hospitality and avoid a brutally early ferry ride!

The ride has three different lengths for all riding levels: the “Odin”: a 57-mile journey featuring over 4,000ft of climbs. the “Thor”: a 29-mile ride which is fairly flat and just for those looking to have a bit of fun with a little less challenge and the “Freyja”: a 17-mile relaxing ride where you can enjoy yourself without breaking too much of a sweat

The Viking Tour is meant to be whatever you make of it. Do it for fun, do it to challenge your personal best or do it to win! Whatever your intent, you’ll be glad you came! Bike racers, tourists, recreational riders, commuters, first-timers and serious cyclists will all have a good time with this one.

Questions? Get more information here: http://www.poulsbovikingtour.com/

By paul|2025-01-30T16:13:57+00:00October 2nd, 2024|rides|Comments Off