I recently
wrote an opinion piece on how I'd love to see more riding in videos that the average mountain biker can relate to, and while I went to bed the night before it went live half expecting to wake up to a shit storm of insults in the comment section, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of you agreed with me. Sure, there were a few snarky comments to found, and even a couple of pro freeriders who waded into the comment section to defend their vocation, but, in general, my fragile self esteem was left intact for another day. Just to be clear, I don't ever want Rampage, Crankworx, or any of the insane stuff that we see in today's movies to go away - that sort of riding will always be mind blowing.
No, I simply would like to be able to watch the best mountain bikers in the world ride trails that I could also ride (
much slower then them, obviously) without having to send it off a fifty foot super booter or giant cliff. And I'm talking about the biggest names in the sport being filmed by the best filmers with the best cameras, not three minute 'web edits' that just barely whet my appetite. I don't think that's too out of line, and I also think that it makes a whole lot of sense given that it's how roughly 90+% of the world's mountain biking population rides their bike. It's easier to be inspired by something you can at least relate to in a small way, isn't it?
Yeti's video-ad for their new SB6c, filmed by Craig Grant, sums it all up perfectly for me: Jared Graves, the 2014 EWS champ, riding singletrack that we could all enjoy but at a speed that we also recognize as being somewhere between insane and ludicrous. I challenge anyone to watch the video below and not get the itch to go carve a few corners and try some half-baked natural gap on their local trails.
So, I want you to weigh-in and tell me if that's also what you'd like to see more of. Remember that I'm not saying that freeriding needs to go away - I don't want that to happen - only that I'd appreciate watching the skilled riders getting rowdy on their trail bikes. In order for that to happen, though, we'd no doubt have to sacrifice a dirt jump or cliff huck section in the name of budgets and movie run-time, which is the hiccup in my storyline. Am an idiot who's way off-base, or do I have a point?
why isnt there one for walking?
Also, I do very much like the use of slo-mo in (difficult?) tricks, like off-axis backflips or even just tailwhips, as it's basically an instruction video at that point: you can learn from the pros by following their body movements, whereas you miss out on the subtleties of what the human body did to accomplish these feats when viewed at full-speed.
pinkbike.com/video/379531
www.pinkbike.com/video/317720
Or
www.pinkbike.com/video/353677
Would it not be cool to see someone, not just a freerider, but any pro/semi-pro rider have even a quick video of some of your local/reasonable driving distance away trails, and you can see their line choice, the way they'd maneuver over and around some features that you've encountered on your daily rides.
what if that helps you clean some rock rollers, get better at one turn that you've been struggling with, anything. that'd be a cool way that they could almost reach out to the community.
this is just me, who doesn't have the time or money to hit a bike park, so these DJ and bike park videos, although jaw dropping and entertaining, serve no relevance to the riding i do daily.
When I ride my bike I feel a sense of joy and it's great to see videos that properly reflect this. Stuff like New World Disorder comes to mind. Friends and individuals all having a great time riding is what I want to see more of. That, to me, is what the average rider can relate to without fail.
1. Ditch the dramatic music (advertising muzac used to sell virtually anything from cars to MTB).
2. Ditch moving clouds from this and every new vid!
3. Ditch most slomo.
Just showing Jared riding that trail is great for us and YETI.
we all know how "stocked" riders get when they "shred" their bikes.
we wanna se bike being ridden.
Love no music edits with bike noise and tyres and a good freehub
NO getting out of bed, having breakfast, driving to trail head, pulling bike out, putting gear on, meaningful staring into camera, scenic shots of snow capped mountain peaks, moving clouds, insects on plants, dumb dramatic music (music is acceptable if very low volume so bike can still be heard), and cut the slomo to an absolute minimum!
I pretty much buy every descent mtb DVD as soon as it comes out and of recent times I have found my self skipping all the dirt jump stuff.
I like slope style but in my opinion it's all about the big bike stuff, I also skip all the enduro stuff.
Fingers crossed for a where the trail ends part 2
Would like to see a movie that really sets freeriding apart from slopestyle, definitively.
But,
MORE DH RACING VIDEOS IN THE SPIRIT OF THE EARTHED SERIES.
And,
LESS SHIT MUSIC AND DRAMATIC COMMENTARY(LOOKING AT YOU CURTIS KEEN SERIES) AND MORE SOUNDS OF MAXXIS TIRES ROLLING THROUGH THE GNAR.
Also,
ANYTHING WITH KOVARIK and HILL and RAT BOY
I personally prefer the trail riding and downhill shredding and the freeride/slopestyle stuff is fun to watch.
Bulldog/blenki, Rachel/Semenuk, Vanderham/brendog, Voreis/Gracia/Bruni, Simmons/Rheeder, Warner/Palmer, Barel/Lacondeguy, Coastalcrew/Fro Riders......
Note: "track/trail/spot/race" choice is absolutely vital: Warner/Palmer at Rampage sucks, but on a Bigwheel tricycle race...
No carving brown pow
No loam
Unless
The rider is riding something new,unride'a'ble. Super tech not a previously built trail
Unless
The rider has a VERY unique steeze
A good trail noise to music level
Metal obviously...... Maybe some old school hip hop?
Any techno dub Step warpy warpy shit or terrible rap gets turned straight off
just show biking. i could give a shit about the camera guys talent, or the editors talent. i want to se landscape, beautiful features and someone who looks like they are out for a great day out that is oozing talent... you can tell on a lot of these when they are having to get going becuase the camera man seen a berm that needed to be destroyed...
Freeride is impressive no doubt but it's not what most of us relate to. Or is it?
m.pinkbike.com/video/384030
The how-to videos are great. Why not make a HOW-TO tab and have videos with everything from changing a tire to how to whip.
Bonus points for getting pros and big bike names to do the videos.
Real component reviews, do stress tests, crash the stuff.
More how to videos, unlike the guy that has the "how to DH" videos riding a hard tail bike doing bunny hops. LAME!
More POV of the guys racing EWS during the races.
More interview videos with the pro DH and EWS riders - ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN.
More anything with women riders.
Tippie should do the How To / what to avoid when riding / what to look out for (positives and negatives) when riding videos - if he has the patience for it. ;-) with guest starring pro riders giving input.
what happened to Cam Zinks occasional articles? Havent seen one yet since he got sponsored by PB.
More sponsor interaction with the rest of us, have contests with prize give aways, this stuff is expensive. They can afford it
www.pinkbike.com/news/red-bull-curtis-keene-video-2014.html
www.pinkbike.com/video/359766
or all three i guess in this situation
For the people who produce these amazing videos we see everyday I say thank you for getting me excited to ride. Ultimately everyone has their personal preferences but MTB is being introduced to younger riders.
You're all great, short clip from my past weekend
www.pinkbike.com/video/384806