Racycle Bicycle Project

In a trade, I acquired a 1910's or 1920's Racycle frame yesterday. This was made by the same company that made the Flying Merkel motorcycle.

Here are a few pictures I took of it:

Some research shows me that they had a HUGE skiptooth chainring on them, but it was 1/8" width, in stead of the standard 3/16". In fact, everything about Racycles seems to be unique, so that I doubt I'll be able to restore it. Still, I'm going to be on the lookout for parts, such as hubs, cranks, chainrings, etc. In the meantime, I want to use this wonderful frame to make a boardtracker.

Just to see what I'm working with, I used some parts that I've got to mock it up. It's all mismatched. It's a 28" rear three speed Sturmey Archer hub, a 700mm front wheel and fork that I got from alocal bike builder, an old dogleg crank from the 40's or 50's that I've had for some time, and a Schwinn Exerciser chainring from the 60's, to imitate that look of the oversized Racycle chainring.

Here is a picture I found on-line, to compare:

This will be a slow process, I'm sure, but I thought I'd document it anyway. Still, I think it's pretty awesome to have a bicycle that's 100 years old!

And hey, if anyone happens to have some Racycle parts, or knows where to get some, let me know!

Tags: Racycle, bicycle

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Permalink Reply by Deven Science on July 13, 2012 at 7:24pm

Painted the frame, as well as a triple crown fork that I picked up for $3. I thought the triple crown looked better on this than the more modern tubular fork that was on it.

I also had a prewar New Departure skip tooth hub that I got laced onto a 700c rim to match my 700c in the front. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication with the guy at the shop, a black anodized rim was used, instead of a silver rim, so now they're mismatched. It's annoying, but I'll figure out a way to make them match, eventually. I might have to just paint them both.

Once the frame and fork were painted, I threw on the parts that I have here to get it a little more formed up, and here's where stood:

The seat post seemed to be an odd unique size (like many things on this bike), as it seemed to be 11/16", so I just bought some 11/16" solid stock, heated it up and bent it, and then used my bench grinder to slim one end down to the 5/8" needed for a Schwinn style seat post rig.

Also added the skip tooth chain and some old cool pedals, and here's how the bike sits today:

I've still got some cool parts coming, such as cream colored tires. The majority of the parts I've used are older, even if they're not from the same brand. The dogleg crank, sprocket, fork, chain, rear hub, handlebars, and stem are all from WWII era, give or take a decade. I plan to keep working on it, and make it better and better. It's the first bike I've had that might actually be considered dieselpunk.

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Permalink Reply by Cap'n Tony on July 16, 2012 at 12:22pm

Quite a transformation! Great work!

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Permalink Reply by Deven Science on July 19, 2012 at 11:07pm

I fabricated my own version of the Kelly Adjustable Handlebars that would have been on the high-end Racycles, and brought together some other parts, and I've got the bike to a point where I'm really happy with it.