# Self-Oiling Racycle!



## dempsey (Jan 3, 2015)

I just purchased my first Racycle! I am very, very excited about it! Just had to let someone know. I might need a little help with putting an exact date on it and figuring out what I will need to accurately replace all the mismatched parts, so I will post a few photographs to this thread later.

(P.S. Nothing on it is for sale currently, so please , please refrain from sending me messages about parts.)


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## theyankeedoodler (Jan 3, 2015)

Oh boy, can't wait! [emoji39]


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## mike j (Jan 3, 2015)

What, you've had the thing all of five minutes & you''re not ready to part it out.  Stop being so self centered! Just kidding, can't wait for the photo's too!


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## Robertriley (Jan 3, 2015)

Stop teasing us, go out and get some pictures!


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## dempsey (Jan 3, 2015)

I had to get it back to my house first. I am certain that the sight of it cramped in the back of my trunk would not arouse any kind of excitement. I also wanted to ride it up and down the driveway a couple of times - it was not too bad until the back tire fell off. Anyway, I will take a few pictures now.


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## dempsey (Jan 3, 2015)

The wheels, the hubs, the chain, the seat, and the pedals have all been replaced on this bicycle. Also it was repainted at some point. I am not certain whether the handlebars are original to it or not. But I know that in general Racycles are difficult to find, so I looked beyond all of the mismatched parts and basically bought it for the badge, frame, chain ring, and fork. Serial number appears to be 87721 - but I will have to get under the paint to know for sure.


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## PCHiggin (Jan 3, 2015)

How did it self oil?


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## carlitos60 (Jan 3, 2015)

*Nice, Nice!!!*

Dude,,,,Very Nice Project!!!!

Good Luck Refurbishing It!!


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## filmonger (Jan 3, 2015)

ummm yours looks to be around the same age as mine - as you serial number is slightly earlier.....( If the serial numbers are seq - and at this moment in time we do not know that...lets consider it an option though ) interesting as we narrowed mine down to before the 1904 changeover. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...)-Racycle-restoration/page3&highlight=racycle 

If you decide to part her out - I would be interested in the Crank & BB - it would be ashame to do that though as it is a nice example. Nice find!


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## Wcben (Jan 3, 2015)

04-07 ...roadster.. I may be able to get it closer yet.... You are correct, the seat and bars are not original, not sure about the pedals.  Can you read a serial number?... Oops reread your post...yep, 04-05 is a good assumption... the hardware on the split is in backwards, the nuts should be on the backside, if the screws are slotted, then its not original hardware.  Can you get a better picture of  the crankhanger? If you can get some detail of the bearing cups in the hanger, that will help allot.

Oh and, Congrats!  Havent seen this one before!


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## dempsey (Jan 8, 2015)

I was surprised to hear that it could date to before 1910. Without knowing much about Racycles, I estimated the date to be around the late teens. I will have to take a closer look at the hardware in the next few days - I have been working on the paint over the last week. For some reason the previous owner tried to remove some of the house paint from the seat tube and she actually succeeded in exposing a few of the original pinstripes. Intrigued by the idea of the original paint still being intact, I began carefully rubbing away the house paint with the finest steel wool you can buy, and thus far I have revealed most of the original pinstripes. But what captivated me most was what I found on the seat tube - I found the remains of an advertisement for a delivery service in Rockville Centre, a small town a few minutes away from me on Long Island. Underneath that mark I can faintly make out the Racycle manufacterer's mark. I am being very, very careful with removing the paint - so it has taken a couple of hours just to get to where I have on it. I will post more photographs in the next few days - and wcben, I will work on more detailed pictures of the crank hanger. 

In the meantime, I want thank to everyone very much for their help and their congratulations. As I said, I have never had a Racycle before, so I could use all the help I can get.


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## fordmike65 (Jan 8, 2015)

Can't wait to see your progress! Subscribed!


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## willswares1220 (Jan 8, 2015)

For Wcben....

I have a Racycle also, but with the serial number ( 36863 ) About what year would that be??

Sorry to take over this thread!! :o


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## bricycle (Jan 8, 2015)

"Self Oil".... if you needed it oiled, you had to do it your"self"


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## pedal4416 (Jan 8, 2015)

Very nice! I passed on that one but should have went for it. It'll make a nice rider!


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## Wcben (Jan 8, 2015)

Pictures really tell the story in reference to Racycles (and I can't wait to see the pinstripes on this one), in discussions with most of the Racycle folks, it almost seems as though the numbers aren't necessarily sequential. Some of the differences in the bikes and hardware are really minor. It's taken me a really long time to get mine nailed down.  The hardware around the crank hanger and sprockets tells allot, of course, the headtube adds as well as the seat tube (especially the top of the seat tube)... Other details may help too.... Feel free to start another thread, just include Racycle in the title, I will find it, I do searches for racycle daily... Or, e-mail me : wcben@aol.com, include Racycle in the subject line, I'll respond as quickly as I can.



willswares1220 said:


> For Wcben....
> 
> I have a Racycle also, but with the serial number ( 36863 ) About what year would that be??
> 
> Sorry to take over this thread!! :o


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## dempsey (Jan 25, 2015)

One question I have for those who have worked with the Racycle crank hanger before - is there a special method to removing the dust covers from it? I know that I have to turn it clockwise and I know what I have to do once it is removed - but I can not get the damn thing off. Maybe there is a special tool I am not aware of that would make this easier?


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## Wcben (Jan 25, 2015)

The dust covers should just unscrew, if one's stuck, try to get some penetrating oil into it, they are essentially hollow, lay the bike on the "good" side and fill the cover, let it sit..... Do it a few times if neccessary..... Flip the bike over and do the same on the other side.... Keep in mind, one threads onto the center bolt (it's a locking nut) while the other threads into the crank.  When you get both off, remove the center bolt (IT'S LEFT HAND THREADED!) don't break the bolt by turning it in the wrong direction!..... Where are the pics??

Looking at the pictures again, it looks like the dustcover that is still on the crank is the locking nut, I'm just thinking outside the box a little, that center bolt is notorious for breaking but, if you were able to get just a little turn, it might reduce the friction on the locking nut allowing you to remove it, be cautious tough, you don't want to break that bolt!


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## dempsey (Jan 26, 2015)

This is the one photograph I have taken of the paint recently - I found this advertisement early on in the process of removing the house paint. The layers of paint tell a story about this bicycle - I will explain more about that later on. I still have not removed the crack hanger, courtesy of that persistently stubborn dust cover, but I will continue working on it.


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## filmonger (Jan 26, 2015)

This May or may not help...I am guessing you have already had a look

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...)-Racycle-restoration/page3&highlight=Recycle


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## Wcben (Jan 26, 2015)

Cool to see that come out from under the house paint!


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## olderthandirt (Jan 26, 2015)

WHAT  it looks like you only need a couple of tires and you will be ready to go .first remove and save the old tires ,hang them in the closet next to your wifes wedding dress <they like this and will most likely comment on how nice they look hanging there and rubbing 100 year old grease onto there used dress>now if your still married purchase 5 of the solid white single tube tires ,,<you need a spare pair in case you find they are suddenly worn out and this saves waiting on UPS also you will need a spare just in case you have a blow out or the neighbors dog runs out and bites your tire <do not laugh this happens in my neighborhood from time to time ,dang german shepherd >now if your still married you need some sand paper and adhesive of your choice .also suggest you buy a shower cap or two and some playtex gloves .these items will help keep the tire glue out of your hair and hands . i usually put new tires on in the living room or formal dining room nothing like a nice orential rug to keep that sticky glue off the floor and nothing beats a solid cherry or mahogany dining room table for a good surface to wrestle the tires on .you might want to buy the wife 5 gallons of lacquer thinner to get the glue out of the rug and the correct color match crayon to touch up the table with ,nothing beats getting your sweetie involved in the old bike hobby you know what they say  people who play together stay together


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## dempsey (Jan 27, 2015)

I was out shoveling snow this morning and decided to take a few photographs of the Racycle Roadster frame while I was waiting for my father to finish reading the instruction manual for our new snow-blower. As I said earlier, the paint on this bicycle tells a story, one that has a few holes and lingering questions, but the only one that seems to make sense. Based on what I found underneath the house paint, I think that the bicycle was originally painted in black enamel with white pinstripes - and then it was repainted two more times over the years - again in black enamel, and then with black house paint. I think that over the years after this bicycle was manufactured, the enamel chipped and the frame began to rust heavily, until the delivery company acquired it and painted over all the imperfections to make it presentable from a distance. (But the fork - the fork has more pitting than a cheese-grater. And since I despise the look of paint when it covers rust, I am seriously thinking about repairing and repainting it to match the enamel paint on the frame. I will wait to see how the paint on the frame comes out after reviving it with Speed Clay. I might move this thread to project bicycles, and I could explain more about the fork in that thread.) In the fourth photograph you will notice the scaly white pinstripe on the crossbar and next to it, underneath the second layer of black enamel paint, the original white pinstripe. How I exposed both of them at the same time, when one should have been underneath a second coat of enamel, I can only think that the person who painted it used a brush and simply touched up patches of rust. The story ends with not a bang but a whimper - the next owner painted over every available inch with black, replaced the tires, replaced the seat, and whatever else was not there when he found it. Clearly the original paint - including the pinstripes - is not in the best condition - it was repainted for a reason after all. If the paint had been clean, it would never have needed another coat of black. But I actually do not mind the look it has. It has a more natural look without the hastily conceived rust.


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