1951 LITTLE 500

[Rat Rod]

Schwinn tweeted this amazing photo today of the first ever Little 500 held in 1951 at University of Indiana.

Check out the drop bars, Brooks saddles and you'd almost swear these guys were running Jerald Sulky tires too!

Tacking the banner to the Quonset hut is pretty rad too.

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

That"s a Great Shot ,Gotta love there Riding Attire also !
you're right , those tires do look purdy Slick ...


~Rafael~

 

[Bicycle808]

The Little 500 may well be the coolest bike race on earth....track cycling with coaster brakes! All racers riding identical bikes! And it's still going on to this day... In fact, this year's race is going down tomorrow. Which is probably why Schwinn just now posted this photo )

This is, of course, the famous race from the awesome cycling movie, Breaking Away. Here's the rules:

• All riders must use the official Little 500 bike that is provided to them for that year. There can be no toe clips or grips, kick stands, water bottles, air pumps, untaped or unplugged handlebars, or any other add-on accessories.

• For the safety of all riders, hard helmets must be worn and buckled at all times, as well as biking gloves.

• Each team is required to complete 10 exchanges (5 for the women) during the course of the race.

• At the 198th lap (98th for the women), all riders not on the lead lap will be asked to move to the back or exit the pack. This is done so that all teams in contention on their last 2 laps can make their attempt to win the race. Teams which do not comply with this rule are believed to be impeding the progress of another rider and will be given a 5- to 20-second penalty or even disqualification, depending on the severity of the violation.

Thanks for the vintage photo, Steve. I'm used to the AMF bikes that dominated the series for decades; seeing the Schwinn 26"-wheeled straight-bars outfitted for the track is amazing! For many years, the required specs were 46x18t coaster-brake bikes rolling on 32x700c rubber. I just built up a Triple S in the spirit of a Little 500 bike, but i'm "cheating" with 46x16t gearing and 28mm tires.