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.

Ritchey Breakaway Road

Ritchey Breakaway Road

Ritchey travel bike

Take the legendary design, great handling and super comfort of a hand-built Ritchey bicycle. Add a revolutionary coupling system that allows you to pack it and travel around the world with ease. The result is the ultimate travel bike: The Ritchey Break-Away. A full size bike in a case that measures a scant 9″ x 26″ x 29″!

The Break-Away bike disassembles and assembles in minutes and comes complete with a travel bag. Ritchey custom steel and carbon fiber tubesets and the patented compression coupling system are the keys to this design. The frame is securely joined at the seatpost in two places and on the downtube. The coupler clamps unobtrusively around small flanges on the downtube. While this system is as secure as systems much larger it adds less than 100 grams.

Have a tired old road bike gathering dust in the garage? The Ritchey Breakaway is one of the few framesets available these day ready to utilize standard rim brakes and/or quick-release wheels! You can use the parts off of your old bike if you like!

All packed up and ready to roll

It’s a bit of a puzzle, but it all fits.

Simple seat clamps hold the frame together

Ritchey Break-Away frames are available in custom heat treated cromoly tubing and carbon fiber. Frame sets are available in road or gravel/touring frame styles in a broad range of sizes. Purchase as a complete bike or as a frameset with carbon fork, headset, cable couplers & deluxe travel case.

By admin|2025-02-13T17:03:51+00:00April 18th, 2016|Ritchey, road, specialty bikes, travel/folding|0 Comments