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).

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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.

1947 Paris Galibier bicycle

1947 Paris Galibier

1947 Paris Galibier

Imagine seeing this bike in 1947.

You think disc brakes and suspension looks cutting edge these days? Consider the impact this crazy looking bike would have had in 1947.

From the original catalogue: “The object of this superior design, which incorporates larger dimesion tubes, is to produce a higher resistance in the transverse direction, thereby resulting in a more efficient drive which uses to advantage every ounce of the cyclists effort.

Larger-diameter tubing really stands out amoung a sea of similar bikes, and the frame looks really sturdy (just ask Cannondale).

And while connecting the rider touch points with a straight line may make the most sense design-wise, taking detours with the frame elements makes for a more interesting and buzz-worthy bike to sell.

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Paris frame decal

Paris drivetrain

Paris main “triangle”

Simplex shift lever

From the old advertisement: “The Paris Galibier model has a certain elasticity which allows it to flex in such a manner that the shocks received by the wheels are efficiently damped, and this noticeably improves the holding of the road at racing speeds”.

Simplex derailleur managed a 4 tooth gear difference

Triathlon bike bottles use an old design…

Paris Galibier ad copy

Adjustable stem, early waterbottle

Just connecting the wheels to the pedals to the handlebars to the seat is what creates a bicycle, but that kind of straight forward design lacks pizazz.

For decades the ad copy has been nearly the same and every bike company claims that “Our bike is laterally stiff and vertically compliant.”

By paul|2025-02-13T19:10:46+00:00February 13th, 2023|museum bikes|Comments Off