Sticky business: Fishers native, IU grad reinvents the race bib
Source: Current
During some racing sports, athletes still pin paper numbers to their clothing before competing, a routine so familiar it rarely draws a second thought.
For Gage Pratt, a 23-year-old Fishers native and recent Indiana University graduate, it raised a simple question: Why?
“We’re still using these paper-and-pin number bibs,” Pratt said. “They just take forever to put on. They put holes in your clothing — your expensive clothing — and they catch wind.”
That question led Pratt, a graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School, to develop AeroBib, a fabric-based sticker designed to replace traditional race bibs used across multiple sports.
The idea is simple: A change to a system so familiar it has gone unquestioned.
Created as part of his senior capstone project in comprehensive design at Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, the concept aims to streamline a process that has remained in place for decades.
A lifelong track and field athlete who rides for the Cutters cycling team at the Little 500, Pratt began noticing those limitations firsthand during competition.
“So, just completely inconvenient,” he said. “And I was thinking of alternatives. What’s a better material we can use? What forms better to your body?”
The result is a thin, flexible bib made from fabric and designed to adhere directly to clothing without pins.
“You just put it on your desired spot, press firmly, and it’s there for your race,” Pratt said.
While the idea took shape during his senior year, Pratt said it had been on his mind some time.
“I’ve had this idea for a few years now, and then I had the opportunity to work on it for my capstone project,” he said.
The work gave him the time and structure to refine the design through prototyping and testing.
As part of that process, Pratt said he sought guidance beyond his field, connecting with a local furniture maker to better understand how different materials might perform.
The process also included testing in a range of real-world conditions. Feedback from other athletes played a key role in shaping the final design, with many pointing to the same frustrations with traditional bibs — pins, movement during races and added bulk.
“The design is sleek and low-profile, especially compared to paper bibs,” said Aiden Huff, a freshman studying environmental science at Indiana University and a cyclist with the Cutters team. “It just sticks onto a jersey, and you don’t even notice it.”
Another rider described a similar reaction.
“It is genius and it’s shocking it didn’t exist before,” said Jacob Zarov, a recent graduate of Indiana University who studied counseling and is a competitive cyclist.
The concept extends beyond a single sport.
“It’s (for) any sport that uses a number identification system,” Pratt said.
That broader potential is part of what stood out to his instructor, Maxwell Fertik, a lecturer in comprehensive design at Indiana University Bloomington.
“I think he saw this very specific thing in a field that he’s very familiar with,” Fertik said. “Addressing this thing that’s very specific but has a large impact.”
Fertik said part of the process involved pushing students to clearly define not only what they were making, but why it mattered.
“Not just me, but convincing anyone,” he said. “Why is this important to me? Why is this important to anyone?”
That emphasis, he said, pushes students to think beyond the concept itself and consider how an idea functions in the real world.
Outside the classroom, Pratt continues developing AeroBib, producing the product himself and sharing it with teams for testing.
“I’ve converted my office into a workshop,” he said.
He also began testing the product in live racing environments, including events leading up to the Little 500, where select teams used AeroBib in pre-race competitions.
“I’ve had about four or five that use it in and out,” Pratt said.
Pratt said interest has extended beyond campus, with organizations requesting samples and some teams already using the product in competition, including a cycling team in Virginia.
“I’ve got a number of organizations that have reached out,” he said. “I’m sending out samples and getting it in people’s hands.”
During one round of testing, Pratt said race officials raised an unexpected concern.
“They told me that when athletes are testing AeroBib, they have to wear a traditional bib with it because it offers too much of a competitive advantage,” he said.
For Pratt, the most rewarding part has been seeing how athletes respond when they try it.
“Once they peel it off and put it on their uniform, they’re like, ‘Wow … that’s it?’” he said. “It’s seeing that spark … and knowing that that just made a difference for that athlete’s race.”
He believes part of the reaction comes from how long the traditional system has gone unchanged.
“The paper and pin has just always been the way,” Pratt said. “I don’t think people have really questioned it enough.”
After graduating, Pratt said his focus shifted from development to what comes next. That includes continuing to refine the product, expanding testing and exploring opportunities to bring AeroBib to a wider range of sports and organizations.
But the goal, he said, is simple: keep improving.
“It’s go time,” he said.
For more information, visit aerobib.com.
