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Racycle Stamp

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fordsnake

I live for the CABE
Does anyone have a good photo or an illustration of the stamped Racycle Matese Logo on the leather saddle?
I checked out https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/racycle-alert-original-seat.119742/ But its hard to discern, is that a sun on the left side about the word RACYCLE? What's on the right side and at the top of the Matese. It looks like the wings of the Griffin and the bottom of the crown interrupts the inner circle? Any help will be greatly apprectiated.
 
Its been three years since I posted this message and I'm still putting the puzzle pieces together on this Racycle saddle stamp. I initially referenced in the very 1st post above https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/racycle-alert-original-seat.119742/ and I subsequently purchased this saddle! But even with the actual saddle in my hands...there isn't much I could discerned. The logo only appears on one side of the saddle, and not all the visual information is there. Plus the word Racycle on the top of the saddle, isn't really visible either.

You may be wondering why I should care to replicate this saddle since I have an original? That's the $64,000 question I wrestle with and a personal issue with being a perfectionist... it can become your worst enemy!

Anyway, I'm not knocking having the original saddle....it's been very helpful having it in hand... in fact, there are unique nuances you may never know or seen; for instance the Maltese Cross on the saddle has a very different shape then the nameplate badge! The badge commonly seen on the head tube and in the Racycle advertisements; its triangle shapes are equal and proportionate! Whereas, the saddle's logo at a quick glance, appears to have equal shapes, but not so. It's an optical illusion! The top triangle is much smaller than the other three triangles! Plus the top and the bottom triangles are dimensionally wider- stretched more than the vertical triangles.

Additionally, the stamped “RACYCLE CUSHION” is placed on an unfinished ribbon? This seemed strange as a design element, and the two suns on either sides seemed like an afterthought? But I can't really tell...even with the original saddle in hand, it's still a challenge to make out? Also, the top inverted triangle, its difficult to make out the design? Ward (Wcben) suggested the word "THE" was present with a scroll? I'll accept that for now, sans the scroll until further notice. With that said, here's my creative interpretation with some minor modifications as to what it might have looked like stamped on a new saddle?

Perhaps one day a detail photo will emerge with clear visual reference...if anyone does have a revealing photo, please don't hesitate to share?
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Oh wow, this is great!...what an amazing saddle! I'm confident I'm very close with my drawings...I just need to make a few adjustments with the Racycle name. I also see a line separating Miami Cycle Co. and MIDDLETOWN.O., on the lower triangle. These are easy fixes. It's just that top triangle that I'm still in the fog about? Is it possible to take a better pic of that area? I see there are two design flourishes that look like wings? Are they surrounding something...like the word "THE" or is it an Eagle with its wings spread? The Eagle was the Troxel trademark...could that be it? Also the line that runs the length of the saddle on the top is the score line for shaping the leather...this is prevalent on all early Troxel saddles.

The stamped Racycle saddle was the Troxel "Climax"
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Unfortunately I don't have this saddle. The image I posted is a photo of a photo. I do have an original Racycle saddle that is very badly cracked and barely legible, but the outline dimensions are still plainly seen which measures 2-5/8" long by 1-13/16" high. Attached is a very rough sketch of what I am able to pick out from the photo using a 10x eye loupe. I think perhaps the curved lines may very well be the leading wing
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edges of an eagle as on the Troxel saddle. The doo-dad at the top are probably the tail feathers. One thing I am fairly certain on this particular saddle and that is the word "The" is not included. However, that being said it is also possible that there were other design changes that did include "the". After all, the head badge starts off that way.
 
Incidentally, my original Racycle saddle is stamped on both sides with the logo and stamped Racycle on top.
 
Seen these pics?

Oh yeah, I've tucked those photos away in my files sometime ago, as well as every Racycle saddle photo ever posted online. It's just baffling to me this design element in the top triangle has never been discussed before…it's certainly a puzzle. I thought Craig had given us an answer as to the two flourishes…perhaps the wings of.a bird or an eagle? Troxel did used an Eagle many times and different iterations of it in flight on several of their saddles. But I ran into a dead end when I attempted to replicate the flourish of the bird’s wing spread...it just doesn't work. The curvature of the pattern is inverted to a birds wing, which leads be to believe that its something else? Plus, the redundancy of two feathered animals (the Eagle and the Griffin) in such close proximity would make for a poor design! Oh well, hopefully one day something will emerge and reveal what’s really going on there.

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