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.

World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief is dedicated to providing access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles.

Founded by SRAM Corporation in 2005 and supported by leaders in the bicycle industry, World Bicycle Relief specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle programs by providing supply chain management, technical knowledge and logistics expertise to poverty relief and disaster recovery initiatives.

Compared to walking, bicycles represent an enormous leap in productivity and access to healthcare, education and economic development opportunities. The simple, sustainable nature of bicycles empowers individuals, their families and their communities.

They accomplish their mission by:

Working with suppliers to improve bicycle design while ensuring all changes are culturally appropriate

Enhancing distribution with local sourcing, manufacturing or assembly as much as possible

Partnering with existing NGO, government and community based organizations

Training mechanics in maintenance and repair while strengthening the existing supply of spare parts

Measuring and evaluating the impact of bicycles and communicating the results to improve programs and increase awareness

Since founding in 2005, World Bicycle Relief has distributed over 75,000 bicycles and trained over 700 field mechanics.

Learn more or support the cause:

http://worldbicyclerelief.org/

By paul|2011-08-20T16:31:47+00:00August 20th, 2011|links|0 Comments

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