Comments on: 50th Anniversary Little 500 Bicycle

By: Samual

Samual — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:04:34 +0000

Oh this bicycles are realy awesome………..

By: t from indy

t from indy — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 05:18:27 +0000

I just got the same bike for $50 also. I was very excited to find the deal.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:06:06 +0000

This is the way things should be, get off what we are on now

By: Urban Jeff

Urban Jeff — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:32:58 +0000

Shane, you misread Brad’s comment on our blog. And it’s not good PR to insult people’s intelligence.

Nobody said the Osobike isn’t a good deal. You get what you pay for at $419, and there are numerous value-oriented complete bikes in this price range.

Brad said that a bike like the Little 500 (a department-store quality bike) should cost $250. His rationale being that if manufacturers can sell a bike with full suspension, 27 gears and two handbrakes for $250 or less, they can certainly offer a singlespeed coaster-brake bike of higher-quality (and perhaps for less money).

Happy New Year’s!

By: Shane Stock

Shane Stock — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:26:36 +0000

Brad,
You are way off on your price estimate. Either you don’t know much about bikes, or you haven’t looked at the Osobike closely. Becuase for $419, the Osobike is a steal. Look at some of the similar bikes that are fixed gears that are going for around $600. (Swabo Sanchez, Trek Soho S, Surley Steamroller, Schwinn Madison, Bianchi Pista).
Your problem is that you have in your head the image that all bikes with coaster brakes are cheap, when in fact, the coaster brake is an upgrade to a fixed gear. The Osobike is just as in style as any fixed gear out there, yet it can coast and brake.
Shane Stock
Osobike.

By: dpow

dpow — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:27:21 +0000

Steve is right. seriously, what is the draw to have non-functioning FS department store bikes? A fully rigid bike you could put racks on, would be a far better choice for about 90% of the people buying them…

By: cafn8

cafn8 — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:48:06 +0000

@Brad- I wouldn’t say you have a bike problem. It sounds like you have more of a house problem. you need more space for your bikes.

As for the “little 500 style” bike being more suitable for riding around, it most definitely is. I’ll agree with that. On the other hand, I’m a bike guy just like most everybody who comes to this site on a regular basis. the people who buy bikes at department stores, on the other hand are not bike people. They’re the occasional riders who think that drop bars, skinny tires, hard saddles and rigid frames are uncomfortable, and they’re young kids who know the x-games but never heard of “breaking away” and don’t care to emulate the structured world of road racing. These people drive their trucks and sport utilities to their local S-Mart and buy what they think is best: the one with the most gears, the most springs, the most upright position, the cushiest tires and saddle, without ever having spent any time on a road bike- even a cheap one. That bike looks comfortable, yet tough and rugged like their 4×4, but having no bike experience or sales guidance, they don’t know that it will be a chore to ride in just about all conditions, and probably not even very durable, given its complexity and price point.

I’d love to see kids stepping up from BMXes to simple, stout road bikes like this. I hope that current trends in bikes help that along. Keep it simple, build it strong.

By: Steve A

Steve A — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:25:31 +0000

The real question is to why a bike along these lines isn’t available in department stores, as I have a sneaking suspicion such a bicycle would fit the needs of many people far better than the full-suspension monstrosities currently dominating the racks.

you hit the nail on the head with that comment. Is there a more useless piece of crap out there than the urban 55 pound full suspension bike? A simple hardtail mountain bike is so much more useful than any of these wastes of metal, it drives me nuts.

By: brad

brad — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:02:50 +0000

I’m familiar with the Osobike, but for $400 you can buy something way nicer than what this Little 500 bike is all about. This bike should be no more than $225 or so at the retail level.

I do not have a set of images of all the bicycles in my collection. It’s hardly museum quality or anything, but there are some weirdo’s mixed in with the bikes I actually ride. Schwinn F1, 90’s era Swingbike, 50’s all original (down to the hub polishers) Schwinn Boy’s cruiser with a 2-speed hub, Eastern Wood Research trials bike #1… and then the rest of the bikes that actually fit me. I have a bike problem, with my house now containing around 20 in total.

Someday I’ll photograph each of them for this site and insurance purposes.

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:49:27 +0000

For a hair over $400, such a bike IS available…the Osobike — track-bike styling with a Shimano coaster brake and not much else. It’s very “Little Indy”, but also a bit different (bullhorns instead of track drops).

Where can us mere mortals actually SEE the oddball collection in the Urban Velo headquarters? Do you have a Flickr set or the like where we can gaze upon the wonders contained within?!?