# Little 500



## vincev

Here is one of the bikes used in the Little 500 bike race  held every year.this one is from te 2005 race............


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## Dale Alan

Now that is cool,I have never seen one of those before. Is it designed just for that one race on the cinders?


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## vincev

yup,only for one race.then they sell them .The Little 500 is the largest collegiate bike race in the United States held at Indiana University.


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## vincev

The bike has a coaster brake also !


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## Iverider

They're super rare! 



Untitled by VW Sightings, on Flickr

Sometimes they'll auction off past years bikes but normally they're picked up by teams for training purposes. They probably make a little under 200 of these a year. Here's an older one I have hanging in my house.



Untitled by VW Sightings, on Flickr

Fun fact, The Neutral Support Mechanic/Tech Inspector last year and this year is from Crown Point.


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## Dale Alan

Now that is interesting,my Son went to Ball State and told me about going to a race at another campus I had no idea this was what he was talking about .I was thinking cyclocross or a road race. He is not into cycling so he never elaborated on the subject .Coaster brake track-ish bike sounds pretty cool to me.


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## vincev

It is a kool race.


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## Iverider

I think I assembled 20 of these bikes last year while I helped out at the track.


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## Dale Alan

Just googled it,interesting race format .That must be a riot to race like that.


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## Metacortex

I guess you guys never saw Breaking Away? The Little 500 was the centerpiece of the plot.


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## 66TigerCat

Cutters......


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## Iverider

Breaking Away is a fun movie, but non-college students have never been allowed to ride in the race. My friend Tom worked on the movie as the bike tech and appears as the coach in the white short shorts during the race footage in the movie. LOTS of good stories from that guy.


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## Metacortex

Krautwaggen said:


> Breaking Away is a fun movie, but non-college students have never been allowed to ride in the race...




I have never seen the race myself, however a quote from this article states: http://crasstalk.com/2012/04/indianas-little-500-the-worlds-greatest-college-weekend/

"Following the release of Breaking Away, a real-life Cutters team was formed, which still uses the same simple jerseys of the Cutters from the movie. They are traditionally either Bloomington locals or at the very least non-Greek, and have been tremendously successful, winning multiple races."



> My friend Tom worked on the movie as the bike tech and appears as the coach in the white short shorts during the race footage in the movie. LOTS of good stories from that guy.




That is very cool, if you ever want to share any of these stories I'd sure like to hear them! This movie is a classic.


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## Iverider

Here is a clip I helped shoot for work. We cover the event every couple of years. 

http://my.smithville.com/little-500-an-indiana-tradition/

and all of the rest of the little 500 coverage

http://my.smithville.com/?s=little+500


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## Dale Alan

Krautwaggen said:


> Here is a clip I helped shoot for work. We cover the event every couple of years.
> 
> http://my.smithville.com/little-500-an-indiana-tradition/
> 
> and all of the rest of the little 500 coverage
> 
> http://my.smithville.com/?s=little+500



That was cool,great to see the kids so excited about it. Thanks for sharing that.


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## harpon

I said Drop the Pizza... NOW !!!





How sweet it was!  40 years ago this year. Delta Chi 1976-  that's me in the corner.


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## LiveToRide1108

Anyone know of anyone currently selling a Little 500 bike? I've been searching for what feels like forever


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## Iverider

@LiveToRide1108 I have a steel Roadmaster from the early to mid nineties that I might sell. I sent you a PM


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## Iverider

Here’s an early nineties edition I just picked up.


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## Iverider

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Found this which is a decent deal. It says 25th running of the women’s race on all frames from this year and this is actually a 56cm bike. The small frames top tube and downtube touch at the head tube junction. I don’t know this person, but thought it might be a good lead for you.


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## LiveToRide1108

I've seen that one actually! I think it's a little more work than what I am looking for at the moment to be fair.


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## LiveToRide1108

However, depending on how this weekend goes, I might make an offer on it and go from there.


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## vincev

I havent checked on current races,I would think they still have the race every year,


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## LiveToRide1108

I was finally able to get my hands on one. This is the 2021 bike.


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## TimmyCrane1978

Just got back into riding recently.  I've always wanted a Little 500 Bike (plus I'm a Fan of Schwinn's)  after going to Bloomington and seeing them everywhere, plus they are single speed, which I've wanted to try one out. This Little 500 Frame showed up on Facebook Marketplace and purchased it on the spot.  I had the gentlemen at Bikesmiths look the bike over and get it rideable again.  I ride the bike to lunch daily at work and where I live.


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## TimmyCrane1978

vincev said:


> I havent checked on current races,I would think they still have the race every year,



Yep and I’ve already seen the 2022 bike! It’s sweet and I’m going to purchase one when they are available.


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## LiveToRide1108

TimmyCrane1978 said:


> Yep and I’ve already seen the 2022 bike! It’s sweet and I’m going to purchase one when they are available.



I saw that FB marketplace listing too! Glad to see you've returned it to its original glory! Looks beautiful!


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## TimmyCrane1978

LiveToRide1108 said:


> I saw that FB marketplace listing too! Glad to see you've returned it to its original glory! Looks beautiful!




Thank you, but I can't take all the credit.  The gentlemen at Bikesmiths did an amazing job helping me get the bike back on the road.  Your 2021 looks beautiful as well!  When you got a free moment, shoot me a message, I got a couple questions I would like to ask you, since I also have a 2021 that I haven't finished assembling yet.


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## slcurts

harpon said:


> View attachment 608360
> View attachment 608361
> 
> I said Drop the Pizza... NOW !!!
> 
> View attachment 608362
> 
> How sweet it was!  40 years ago this year. Delta Chi 1976-  that's me in the corner.



Hey, that's Mark Dayton in, uh, one of the other 3 corners. He was my HS chemistry lab partner. He was plainly visible in many of the racing scenes in the movie owing to the orange jersey with blue stripe that he always wore.


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