# Racycle finds- they are still out there!



## vw00794 (Dec 17, 2013)

No question that I'm dedicated to finding Racycles and building them, but this trip even surprised me.

When I heard that there were not one, or two but 4 Racycles at an estate sale up in San Francisco, I dropped what I was doing and headed up to see and hopefully bid on them in person. My car broke down only 100 miles from my home here in LA, and I ended up creeping it back to Los Angeles on small roads then rented a car. No biggie, except that now it was 1pm and registration closed at 5pm- in San Francisco. 360 miles in 3 hours 55 minutes- not advisable, especially across the Oakland bridge.  I arrived at  the estate sale house at 4:55p, ran inside, registered, then hustled upstairs to view the Racycles. What I saw I did not expect.

There were 3 of the coveted Racycle Pacemakers and one Roadster- those I knew would be there, what was unexpected was that ALL of the bikes were equally interesting and authentic. The auction was the next morning and I simply could not decide which one to focus my bidding on.  One had a rare original Racycle stamped chain, one had an original perfect Racycle stamped seat, one had original lettering/paint and correct fenders, one was a pre-1900 Narrow Tread... I would have been thrilled to win any of them, in fact I was just excited to be able to take photos for reference of all 4 even if I didn't stick around for financial pain the following morning.

I sat with a small dedicated group of @13 mostly white haired, antique collectors/ dealers/ pickers/ storage warriors or whatever the latest Reality Show terminology is, while making friends with my neighbor- an 80+ year old man who snuck out to be able to bid on a tiny antique Indian basket. I was amazed when his basket- bidding went past $2000. "Wampum bucks", he shrieked! He left empty handed but we had fun in the back row while I lost 3 years of my life waiting through 145 auctions for the Racycle roundup. The first one, a very nice pre-1900 Narrow Tread blew past my budget and sold online. The second one I won, thank you, but paid  d e a r l y. It was the one with the original Racycle paint and saddle. The third went up, up and up; then the roadster was last. I bid on that until I noticed a cool, dredlocked  girl behind me who was bidding against me. I turned and asked if she really wanted the roadster and she said that she did but could never afford one, so I told her I would stop bidding and wished her good luck. IT turned out that nobody was bidding online for it, only she and I;  so happily, she won it!  We all skipped our way upstairs to tally our treasures, and I spent a good half and hour explaining what a lovely bike she won, and offered to help with a couple tiny non-original details with the bike, if it mattered to her. She always wanted one to ride right there in SF, so I suggested she get a set of reproduction wood wheels instead of the ones that were on it. They were unusually nice to be riding regularly and she could still have the bragging rights that come with wood wheels, just not a set of near mint, 105 year old ones. The saddle was the same, a little too nice and fragile to ride any real distance, so we agreed on a repro Brooks saddle or even a recovered original Troxel, etc. I took some photos her with her minty Racycle prize, then dis-assembled mine to load it into the speedy rental. It was red.

This is when the game shifted.

I had made friends with all the estate sale staff so I was helping load someones artwork when I decided to ask the auctioneer a simple question.


"I am very happy I won the Racycle today, I gushed, " but I have a question for you..." It has taken me years to amass the collection of Racycles I currently own, so I know that whoever owned these probably had other parts or literature or perhaps more bikes, yes???"  " OH yes, quite a bit more, THERE -JUST- WASNT- ANY- MORE- ROOM- HERE- AT- THE- ESTATE- SALE- HERE- TODAY" he seemingly  shared in slow motion.

As the world stopped rotating for the moment, I barely  muttered these ( later-to-find-out) expensive words, "Well then, is it all still available, is it nearby, can I see it, is it all Racycle stuff, did I just wet my pants?"

Later that evening:

The auctioneer's son led me many hours away to the secret, steel bar clad, storage building, aka the "Racycle Vortex", creaked open the door, turned on a handful of bare bulbs and I tripped in afterwords. Good thing my pants were still wet, ( caution: graphic content ahead ) because I now simply poop my pants. There were bicycle parts, no Racycle parts, strewn about, mostly  disassembled, all crying out to me for adoption. "I'm here, daddy's here" I proclaimed.

A deal was worked out, but not before having to return twice to complete the booty plunder ( and pay for it ). Once home, I set about building the most thorough Racycles I could using some of the parts I brought back and some I had already been collecting for just such a second coming. 

After 2 weeks of dis-assembling, assembling, switching parts to their correct frames, using my secret stash of goodies, sanding and staining wood rims, and of course, cleaning my drawers, I ended up with 9 Racycles, 4 of which are Pacemakers in original paint, and one very rare Racycle Tourist. Oh yes, the sun has shined brightly on my luck.

First 10 photos below:


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## vw00794 (Dec 17, 2013)

*Racycle finds- they are still out there! 2nd photos*

photos part 2


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## Nickinator (Dec 17, 2013)

I have no words to describe how far down my jaw is.....

Nick.


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (Dec 17, 2013)

Good score Blue!
Thanks for sharing this.


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## Iverider (Dec 17, 2013)

Time to start a dealership!!!!

how many complete or near complete racycles are you up to now ?


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## willswares1220 (Dec 17, 2013)

QUITE IMPRESSIVE !!!!!!!!!


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## bud poe (Dec 17, 2013)

One or two of the bikes that sold online ended up in Oregon, I hope to visit them sometime soon...

Great pics and stories, thanks for sharing!


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 17, 2013)

willswares1220 said:


> QUITE IMPRESSIVE !!!!!!!!!




Holy mother of fudge.... And I just hope to find one! Lol I really hope that girl takes your advice and doesn't destroy that....


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (Dec 17, 2013)

I'm hoping to buy a Pacemaker before I need one for my heart and also before they are as scarce as a Vincent Black Shadow!
Frank Zappa would be writing a song about Racycles if he were still living. :^)


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## fordsnake (Dec 18, 2013)

Wow! What an unbelievable find…do I detect a Merkel? If so perhaps you can share some close-up pics of it and that blue Racycle?  Also, if you have an extra Racycle badge in your booty chest…can you offer it to Ward (Wcben) he’s been patiently looking for one. Again, what an amazing treasure and story!

Carlton


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## dfa242 (Dec 18, 2013)

Good for you man, and thanks a lot for sharing this great story.


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## filmonger (Dec 18, 2013)

Score of the decade I think! Ooooohhhhhh Mmmmyyyyyyyy - Woooow! If any of us need parts for ours - can we ask you?


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## chitown (Dec 18, 2013)

bud poe said:


> One or two of the bikes that sold online ended up in Oregon, I hope to visit them sometime *soon...*




Sounds like insider info from the very state mentioned as the lucky winner of the *one or two* bikes sold online...



Thanks for sharing Blue. Great finds.

Chris


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## 66TigerCat (Dec 18, 2013)

*Wow !*

Awesome story. Like stumbling into Aladdin's cave. Love those early machines.


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## Coaster Brake (Dec 18, 2013)

Wow, just wow.
Words cannot describe how awesome that is.
I know I've asked you before, but when you die, can I have one?


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## hoofhearted (Dec 18, 2013)

Now THAT is a great story ... Well Told !!!  Thank you !!

And those bicycles are still, very mysterious and beautiful to me ..........

............  patric


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## catfish (Dec 18, 2013)

That's got to be one of the best scores anyone has made in a long time.


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## Crazybikelady (Dec 18, 2013)

Love the story and all the details that go along! That's something I can only dream about I'm sure! Good things happen to good people, though... I'm thinkin' karma came around after you let that girl win the other bicycle! Congrats, what a treasure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Nickinator said:


> I have no words to describe how far down my jaw is.....
> 
> Nick.




Yeah Nick mine is still on the ground. Thats now how I  clean up my leaves.


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## catfish (Dec 18, 2013)

How many badges did you score in this load?


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 18, 2013)

Now you can start a kick ass top tier craft beer bar and have all the bikes encircle the room high in the rafters!.. Id be there drroooling...


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Krautwaggen said:


> Time to start a dealership!!!!
> 
> how many complete or near complete racycles are you up to now ?




I have been collecting literature to make large framed posters to build a type of showroom eventually.

16 complete Pacemakers nearly all with correct components, this was the hard part- seats, suspension forks, chains, original tires, pedals- f **ing pedals.

6 Roadsters.

2 Factory Racers


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

bud poe said:


> One or two of the bikes that sold online ended up in Oregon, I hope to visit them sometime soon...
> 
> Great pics and stories, thanks for sharing!




Thanks Bud, since you may know where they are, tell the new owner(s) that anyone who owns a Racycle can have one of those 1904 shirts I made. 

Hmm, Oregon... you are in Portland...


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## bricycle (Dec 18, 2013)

*dang*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## bricycle (Dec 18, 2013)

Ok, who got the Shaw?


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> Holy mother of fudge.... And I just hope to find one! Lol I really hope that girl takes your advice and doesn't destroy that....




Yeah I think/hope she was going to change out the seat the next day!


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

GiovanniLiCalsi said:


> I'm hoping to buy a Pacemaker before I need one for my heart and also before they are as scarce as a Vincent Black Shadow!
> Frank Zappa would be writing a song about Racycles if he were still living. :^)




Hi Giovanni, Thats very funny. But you can still get a Black Shadow! Frank's daughter Moon picked me up for our prom on one.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Hi Giovanni, Thats very funny. But you can still get a Black Shadow! Frank's daughter Moon picked me up for our prom on one.




Kidding right??... My email is freak-outzappa


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

fordsnake said:


> Wow! What an unbelievable find…do I detect a Merkel? If so perhaps you can share some close-up pics of it and that blue Racycle?  Also, if you have an extra Racycle badge in your booty chest…can you offer it to Ward (Wcben) he’s been patiently looking for one. Again, what an amazing treasure and story!
> 
> Carlton




Hi Carlton,

Your going to love this.... there was an orange frame which I thought of course would be a Flying Merkel but it did not share the same bottom bracket as the Miamis so I LEFT IT BEHIND! Hmmm, maybe that was  a bad idea?  

I know Ward is looking for a badge. At the moment,  I need to find 5 badges for myself. However; the next one I find,  he knows he will get a call from me. Cool that others are looking out for him, he has one SERIOUSLY BITCHIN RACYCLE!


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## filmonger (Dec 18, 2013)

Interested in the back story on the guy who had all these bikes......Did the estate people give you any background?


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

filmonger said:


> Score of the decade I think! Ooooohhhhhh Mmmmyyyyyyyy - Woooow! If any of us need parts for ours - can we ask you?




Thanks! I am still missing head badges and chains though, I do dig stuff up though, so I can usually help.


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

chitown said:


> Sounds like insider info from the very state mentioned as the lucky winner of the *one or two* bikes sold online...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Yeah Bud might be "on" to something, like a large chainring bike maybe...
Thanks Chris.

More cool stuff I think I need but really don't.


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Coaster Brake said:


> Wow, just wow.
> Words cannot describe how awesome that is.
> I know I've asked you before, but when you die, can I have one?




Thanks and yes, Lawrence and I have discussed how I cant take the Racycles with me, but the grave can be dug bigger!


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

hoofhearted said:


> Now THAT is a great story ... Well Told !!!  Thank you !!
> 
> And those bicycles are still, very mysterious and beautiful to me ..........
> 
> ............  patric




Thanks for the compliment Patric!  Less prose and more bikes I was told...

Actually, your thumbnail photo is very mysterious and beautiful to me.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Thanks and yes, Lawrence and I have discussed how I cant take the Racycles with me, but the grave can be dug bigger!




Damn I want a pacemaker now!!!!.. Schwinn who?? Lol id love to take one of those big sprocket rays to the local velodrome and open her up...


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

catfish said:


> That's got to be one of the best scores anyone has made in a long time.




Thanks. I am still trying to catch up with it all.... and I still need to find head baaaaddggess!


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## frankster41 (Dec 18, 2013)

WOW!!!! Amazing story!!!!  I think I just wrecked my shorts!!!!!


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## catfish (Dec 18, 2013)

So, no badges.....


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Crazybikelady said:


> Love the story and all the details that go along! That's something I can only dream about I'm sure! Good things happen to good people, though... I'm thinkin' karma came around after you let that girl win the other bicycle! Congrats, what a treasure!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Hi Marie, Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear you got some help on your black bike too!


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

catfish said:


> How many badges did you score in this load?




Sadly, I am 4 head badges short for the bikes I got up there.  

Any "laying" around??


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## catfish (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Sadly, I am 4 head badges short for the bikes I got up there.
> 
> Any "laying" around??




I have a couple.


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## Crazybikelady (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Hi Marie, Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear you got some help on your black bike too!




Thanks, VW... That find was like scoring last nights Mega millions Lotto! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> Now you can start a kick ass top tier craft beer bar and have all the bikes encircle the room high in the rafters!.. Id be there drroooling...




Funny you should say that because I just sold one to the Oldfield Bar here in Los Angeles dedicated to Barney Oldfield. He and Fred Titus founded the Racycle race team in 1898 so my original paint 1899 Narrow Tread Racycle is going to be hung behind the bar with a B&W enlarged photo of Barney on a Narrow Tread bicycle, how cool is that?! I could suggest the craft beer to him, he has made other beer for his other themed bars. 

Oh sheeeettt that would be cool!


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Funny you should say that because I just sold one to the Oldfield Bar here in Los Angeles dedicated to Barney Oldfield. He and Fred Titus founded the Racycle race team in 1898 so my original paint 1899 Narrow Tread Racycle is going to be hung behind the bar with a B&W enlarged photo of Barney on a Narrow Tread bicycle, how cool is that?! I could suggest the craft beer to him, he has made other beer for his other themed bars.
> 
> Oh sheeeettt that would be cool!




Pacemaker smoked porter.. Racycle red or  touring triple...hmm roadster Russian imperial stout


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## vw00794 (Dec 18, 2013)

catfish said:


> I have a couple.




Is this where I pm you?


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## catfish (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Is this where I pm you?




Not quite..........


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## thehugheseum (Dec 18, 2013)

oh blue you special sob.......nice detective work,even though i claim to not care about raycycles i have to admit they are really cool,especially those big sprocket ones.......pacemakers?


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Dec 18, 2013)

vw00794 said:


> Thanks Bud, since you may know where they are, tell the new owner(s) that anyone who owns a Racycle can have one of those 1904 shirts I made.
> 
> Hmm, Oregon... you are in Portland...




I want a shirt!


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## Wcben (Dec 18, 2013)

I'm glad you forewarned me of this Blue!  As with all of your previous stories, well told and interesting!  The fact that you keep finding them is amazing!! I'll be calling you soon....

Thanks for the mention on my head badge search Carlton!  Blue knows my bike well, he's helped me with the nickle on my forks and, is currently taking care of my cushion parts.

By the way Blue, everyone has been asking about badges.... I know how that is.... We'll talk....


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## omwmike (Dec 18, 2013)

*recycles and more*

Nice score Blue, I bought the 2 pacemakers, a girls bike w/ a shaw motor, the evans clip on motor bike, the dayton motorwheel, and a smith motorwheel. I wouldn't have bought any of it if I hadn't met and saw your collection last July,  so thanks, Mike


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## 1898Columbia (Dec 19, 2013)

*Great story*

Thanks for posting this great story and the photos.  I am totally envious of your good luck but glad all of this came to someone who really appreciates and knows these bikes, and is willing to share it with those of us just learning.


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## vw00794 (Jan 2, 2014)

omwmike said:


> Nice score Blue, I bought the 2 pacemakers, a girls bike w/ a shaw motor, the evans clip on motor bike, the dayton motorwheel, and a smith motorwheel. I wouldn't have bought any of it if I hadn't met and saw your collection last July,  so thanks, Mike




Hi Mike,

That was a very nice pair of Racycles you got for sure. You wanted a rare(er) Racycle and you certainly got both of them, congratulations! That narrow tread is a very nice bike!  ... especially the chain.

Cool that seeing my stuff inspired you. Sometimes I feel its all too consuming then someone else comes along and gets excited to help pump up the enthusiasm! Yay Oregon!


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## Bug (Jan 30, 2014)

*It was me*

Yes... It was I that amassed the racycle collection auctioned off.. Glad they went to good people...I've collected Grand Prix Bugattis. Ferraris ,50cc Grand Prix motorcycles,3 pre-war Indy cars( mostly millers) and now am deep into pre 16th century japanese swords... Would be glad to answer any questions..... Dave


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## DonChristie (Jan 31, 2014)

All hail Blue-the King of Racycles! Great story! Thanks for making my nite! I still kick my self for passing on a $750 Racycle! This is what makes this hobby so cool! Nice score!


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## wspeid (Jan 31, 2014)

Awesome haul and story.  I have to agree, that was extremely cool of you letting the gal win that bike.  There's no shortage of people out for themselves at auctions; good on you for doing a good deed!


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## tailhole (Feb 2, 2014)

that's just unbelievable.


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## invesions (Feb 9, 2014)

Loved reading the story & seeing the pics. Well done & thanks for sharing the adventure!!!


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