Must Watch: Fabio Wibmer Sends HUGE Gaps in Paris and Lyon for 'Urban Freeride Lives 3'

Dec 3, 2019 at 2:55
by Ed Spratt  

Photos by Hannes Berger
Words: rasoulution

When Fabio Wibmer sets out on his very own journey through France you can expect banger after banger. Starting in Lyon, the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the Austrian bike phenom makes his way up to Paris, sending one sketchy staircase after another and pulling some mighty jumps until he reaches his final destination at the famous Eiffel Tower.

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Starting with the famous 25 stairs in Lyon Fabio sets the direction for everything that follows. The 4.5 meters high and 6.7 meters wide stair gap rose to fame in the skateboard and action sports community when Swedish skater Ali Boulala first tried to send it in 2002. Only mastered once on a skateboard and never really tried on a big bike, Fabio’s attempt was a step into unknown territory.

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bigquotesUrban Freeride Lives 3 definitely has been my raddest production yet. I really had to improve my riding and push my limits to get some of these shots done. Shooting in France with the boys was good fun, but not always that easy. We surely had a few risky and gnarly situations to master. Fabio Wibmer

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Member since Mar 16, 2017
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258 Comments
  • 284 2
 Don't you mean Gabriel Wibmer's cousin?
  • 8 1
 ahh, beat me to it! Well played.
  • 5 1
 don't forget Johannes
  • 28 0
 Seriously sick riding though, high speed, high precision, high consequence. Some of the bits going between posts, benches and pillars had me wincing
  • 5 0
 lol, classic
  • 17 2
 Man, I'd love to see this guy at Rampage!
  • 2 0
 I don't see enough room for a water bottle in that frame.
  • 134 2
 So, that drop at the start is the one that skateboarder lands. Wow. Blows a pro-rider on a downhill bike off his pedals and that skinny dudes lands it on a skateboard. So much respect.
  • 69 0
 Street skaters are gnarly af
  • 40 0
 Aaron Homoki - Aka Jaws is the skateboarder
  • 32 0
 First attempted by Ali Boulala.
  • 12 0
 gnarly af. not only that, Aaron Homoki actually ollies it, Wibmer rolls it.. thinking about it, rebound probably isnt his friend in this instance. mad respect to both obviously.
  • 28 1
 Jaws is like the Bender of skateboarding except he rides away from his landings. No one else can compare.
  • 6 0
 @scott-townes: did you see the last season of king of the road? jaws smashed his teeth in, rode away to the hospital, maybe...dude is still tough AF though. so much respect
  • 1 0
 so much respect
  • 1 0
 Had the same reaction... the impact he had there is insane... and knowing there was a parkour and a skater doing that... duuude... I want to see those stairs in real life...
  • 14 0
 a parkour pro jumped it by running and flipping it. Broken ankle
  • 8 2
 A french blader 540'd those... just sayin'.
  • 3 0
 @scott-townes: Jaws took his knee out the first time. Landed it a year later. Doesn't take away from how nuts it is.
Boulala never made it and has since f*cked up his life. But I'm guessing y'all have youtube too.
  • 1 0
 Jaws is not a human
  • 5 0
 Skateboard have no rebound
  • 1 1
 my mum did this drop in the 80ies, just sayin...
  • 2 1
 Jaws still has more travel to absorb the landing because he can bring his butt close to the floor, which Wilmer can't because of the wheel and the seat. Just compare 200mm or whatever is the bike's travel with the size of a whole wheel getting in the way.
  • 1 0
 @bok-CZ: Elastomer suspension like the old style forks, still not completely abrupt rebound like a metallic spring. Travel should be about 5mm.
  • 1 0
 He may not have been far from injuring his ankle.
  • 1 0
 @Gilmarques: they're even bigger and scarier in person.
  • 1 0
 This is jaws jump youtu.be/4GFIXrybfKg
  • 84 0
 That was a lesson in anxiety. Guy is 2 inches away from absolute disaster the whole way through. Amazing. Whatever wheels those are, I need them for my next mtb.
  • 13 0
 ahahah would like to know how many spare parts he needed to record this one
  • 7 0
 My thoughts exactly! LIke watching Jordi Lunn's Rough AF 3. I was on edge the entire edit. Fabio never fails to push the limits. A real rowdy video.
  • 2 0
 @Gilmarques: Looked like at least one frame based on the out take. Did he crush that Demo on the lamp-post on the bridge to street drop?
  • 4 0
 Harsh bottom outs and tyres pushed to limit the whole way
  • 4 0
 No way those are Rovals on there... the first kerb would have ended them.
  • 3 0
 This is the sickest video I’ve ever seen I think. Huge consequences, high speeds, and the constant sound of a bike being thrashed to within an inch of its life. No bike should have to withstand that kind of abuse. And no human body is built for it either. Absolute animal. Amazing.
  • 3 0
 Its a lesson in anxiety for the viewer! Fabio is missing the fear gene
  • 2 0
 Oops, in the video screen grab, there are some Roval stickers visible. Clearly not the same as my defunct Rovals though :-)
  • 54 0
 Can we just appreciate for a moment how incredibly strong modern bikes and parts have become?
  • 47 0
 If you watch it in reverse it's a story of a guy with so little damping in his shocks he keeps bouncing up things.
  • 2 0
 And the multi-colored eyes close at the 48 sec mark rather than open! I also like how freaked out the couple looks at the 50 sec mark, which to be fair, I would probably would too if I saw that big middle finger to Newtonian physics.
  • 43 8
 I honestly think that is more gnarly than Rampage. I was so anxious watching him send those narrow stairs with metal bollards and kerbs and concrete everywhere! And the kerb-berm. OOOSH.
  • 5 8
 Hmm. Apart from Rampage being in the middle of nowhere, hours away from the nearest major hospital. Nothing can compare. This is gnarly af though, that drop off the bridge was absolute madness, how the hell do you dream up that sort of stuff!!
  • 12 1
 @JamesGTi: Rampage has helicopters literally onsite which could fly directly to a hospital. I'd rather be in a helicopter than in an ambulance stuck in traffic in the city.
  • 4 6
 @Grouty2505: Yeah, but helicopters can't land on a sketchy hill like Rampage... The rider would still have to be taken down the mountain to get on the bird.
  • 1 4
 @TheYetiHelpsMeDig: yeah and if you've f*cked your spinal cord, the last thing you want it being carried out of a deep ravine you'll fallen into so you can get anywhere near a landing spot.
  • 5 0
 @MTB-Strength-Factory

Agreed. Higher consequences for failure here. Much higher.
  • 31 0
 I bunny hopped once. I think.
  • 10 0
 E13 has left the chat
  • 30 1
 Gotta love the appearance of the Lyon 25 for the skateboarders here
  • 1 1
 I though I recognized it.
  • 11 0
 Yeah same thought.
Such a cool an tribute to Ali Boulala and to Jaws who attempted this gnarly stair gap :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ3ZDcp-E9I
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GFIXrybfKg
  • 5 1
 @Groscreux: Homoki didn't just attempt it. He landed it.
  • 21 0
 That crash at 6:45 made me feel a little sick. I think I'm dehydrated from palm sweat just watching this entire video.
  • 21 0
 Bike for Sale .... only home trails ! Big Grin

FABIO IS SICK!!
  • 21 0
 Just used for city riding
  • 12 0
 Never seen dirt!
  • 4 1
 City commuter bike
  • 3 0
 Beat me to it! “Handful of urban rides only, like new!”
  • 20 0
 Those slide turns are ridiculously awesome.
  • 15 0
 I didn’t know Lyon was just upstairs from Paris
  • 11 0
 Reminds me of the good old JIB series and 24 Bicycles street riding clips, to me that was one of the greatest time of mountain biking though it had nothing to do with a real mountain.
  • 4 0
 I can remember the one multiple stair drop clip from that when one rider ripped his crank clean off on a railing 'ahhh I just clipped it with my pedal'
  • 13 0
 That flat drop at the beginning O.o
  • 3 0
 I watched that 1,000,000 stair drop to flat waiting for the headtube to snap off the frame. Absolutely mental riding.
  • 8 45
flag WAKIdesigns (Dec 3, 2019 at 11:26) (Below Threshold)
 Of all things in this otherwise amazing video, this was the second big disappointment. Huck to flat like that is not cool since 2005 or something. But the biggest bummer was a missed opportunity at black humor, when the kids sits on the wall, waiting for a high five and Fabio doesn't push him down the chasm behind him... this acted nihilism would break a slight cheezyness of Fabio/Danny videos... oh wait, that crash into the light post and then head into the pole... yes that kind of broke the spell... fk me...
  • 42 5
 shut up, waki
  • 13 14
 @Sethimus: I'll watch your positive props come in Smile
  • 6 6
 @WAKIdesigns: Pushing the kid over the wall would have been hilarious! So f..king dark I love it!
  • 4 7
 @SintraFreeride: It would be glorious, especially if they winded it in casually as if there was nothing to get excited about.
  • 2 3
 @WAKIdesigns: lol dark humor waki, not black humor, thats frowned upon.
  • 2 1
 Yo can u shut the fuk up @WAKIdesigns:
  • 12 0
 Calling in the Frame Police! That bike was clearly abused...
  • 3 10
flag WAKIdesigns (Dec 3, 2019 at 11:30) (Below Threshold)
 No evident case to call a lawyer for though...
  • 1 0
 He swears he was just riding along.
  • 13 1
 Absolutely bonkers. Wibmer for Rampage already?
  • 4 6
 With his speed, balls and skill - he needs to show up at a DH WC .
  • 5 0
 @neimbc: I´ve raced him in IXS Cups before and he´s fast, but not quite world cup fast. If he would put his focus on racing maybe he could get there, would be interesting to watch for sure.
  • 1 0
 @neimbc: he has already a few years back
  • 1 0
 @NicoOfner: Which one? Did he qualify?
  • 1 0
 @neimbc: Leogang. Don't know.
  • 12 0
 Ronin (1998 )
  • 12 1
 Jesus freeriding Christ!!
  • 5 12
flag WAKIdesigns (Dec 3, 2019 at 11:31) (Below Threshold)
 Jesus hates you. Because you speak his name in vain.
  • 4 0
 @WAKIdesigns: freeriding was his actual middle name. and u call urself a biblical scholar...
  • 2 0
 Forgive them Father, for Nozes and WAKIdesigns know not what they are doing.
  • 7 5
 @IntoTheEverflow: Jesus hates Freeride and children in Africa... and people who masturbate with right hand

Matthew 5:30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off" ...
  • 4 2
 @WAKIdesigns: You might want to read the bible and find out what Jesus really taught.
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: you spelled hyperbole wrong.
  • 8 0
 That manual to staircase stepdown is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen done on a bike! Lovely! And pretty much bar dragging on a cobbled turn? Madness!

Keep up the insane work Mr WIbmer!
  • 9 0
 Wow. This guy's edits have been fire for a while now. That was a quick 8 minutes. Thank you.
  • 8 3
 This video is incredibly bad ass... but can we get a raw cut? I don't want to diminish the efforts of all involved. For instance the riding can be it's own objective... a cell phone graphic and hi-five based story arc doesn't add to the interest in this case. Also the music-- it's not that I don't like the genre, it's that it is not a genre. "Songs recorded to be sold as presets in editing software suites" is not a genre. Especially the second one... an easy bar to clear would be "Has anyone ever listened to this track purely for pleasure?" Maybe it's what redbull execs bump in their g-wagens
  • 8 0
 He’s a bit good isn’t he!
  • 9 0
 Rowdy AF, Very cool
  • 6 1
 Good lord. I don't typically get on the edge of my seat when watching most videos, but this one had my heart rate up. I was way anxious too. He was on the edge all over the place. Crazy video.
  • 4 0
 Does anyone else not see the moron at 1:50 mark watching her phone on a vespa as he puts his phone away to go ride into the street - yea don't do this at home kids - people are morons and most of these shots are done with some teamwork and street closings...
  • 2 0
 Pretty standard stuff over here. I'm more surprised when I don't see people on the phone while driving, riding a bike or scooter and generally anything that requires your full attention.
  • 4 0
 At 1:57 I always thought this slab near the stairs would made a pretty cool descent, but the wall at the end make it impossible to ride, unless you put a wooden board like Fabio. This is so sketchy.
  • 4 1
 That thing that in each and every Fabio Wibmer video he pedals the f*ck out every single trick like someone chases him with a knife makes me feel nervousBig Grin Dude should just chill down, no one is going to believe that an 8 minute video is a one-piece ride together in a kinda flat city!
  • 6 0
 I wish you a long life man!
  • 6 0
 I think he's got a death wish.
  • 6 0
 Sick!! I loved the part when Fabio gapped down the stairs!
  • 4 0
 a little bit of stair side rush from the last stair set
(He suicides and case the first part). Madness.
youtu.be/HSSd05dGkqk
  • 6 0
 To quote Deadpool... "I'm touching myself tonight"

Thank you PinkBike
  • 4 1
 can't believe it. the jumps in this video are way riskier and dangerous then rampage. Never ever seen anything like this. Best rider in the world. This course is the new rampage!
  • 6 0
 Stair-country bike, the new must have for 2020.
  • 6 0
 Curb berm was awesome!!! that dude rides balls out!!
  • 4 0
 So looks like the street/urban Freeride style is fully back. Not long now I guess until DH rigs are seen all over cities again. Coming full circle.
  • 5 0
 Specialized Demo for sale. Never ridden on dirt. Just a quick suspension shakedown ride on the street...
  • 2 0
 1 careful lady owner. lol
  • 4 0
 OOOOOOHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 6 0
 I could do that..
  • 6 0
 ....one handed
  • 6 0
 blindfolded
  • 6 0
 on a gravel bike
  • 6 0
 with no brakes
  • 1 3
 ...
  • 5 0
 @JamesGTi: clipped in
  • 5 0
 Once, lol.
  • 6 0
 Beer still in hand.
  • 2 0
 @dkcove: with no shoes
  • 2 0
 with flat tires
  • 4 1
 Yeah thought this too. Ready to go out and try it right away. Then I read the disclaimer at the end: "do not attempt". Bummer. Looked like fun though.
  • 2 0
 lmao I caught myself thinking the same til I saw that crash reel. I'm pretty sure they put that in just to discourage us mortals from following this train of thought straight to the hospital.
  • 4 0
 Soooo many hucks to flat, gotta say hats off to the bike and components too! Some big sends there.
  • 3 0
 My jaw hasn't been on the floor this much since I watched that one clip of Semenuk linking up jumps in a continuous shot. This was absolutely maddening! So much respect.
  • 3 0
 Holly smoke this is crazy.. one wrong landing and we are talking proper hospital time!! I love how he rides the side of the sidewalk as a berm...
  • 5 0
 Couldn't buny-hop the chain at 2:53...? I mean... c'mon Wink
  • 4 3
 Fabio needs to chill, enough is enough, not sure he can push odds of injury any further than this before something happens. That said, he is an absolute legend in his prime and each film is a masterpiece of unbelievable skill, boldness, creativity.
  • 4 0
 Best movie of the year. And had much more fun watching this than rampage. That was 8 minutes of quintessence of freeride.
  • 4 0
 If this was rampage, the winning riders would cruise down the stairs, but do a points-rich flip on a kicker placed on the flat portions between the staircases.
  • 3 0
 geez, with the aggression that he rode all of that with I was sure that the curly headed kid was gunna get pushed off the handrail.
  • 2 0
 *leans back in office chair and sips coffee* "Probably should have bunny hopped the chain instead of riding around it. "

On the real, love Gabriel's cousin Fabio. What a legend.
  • 1 0
 The black van symbolic of Red Bull and Specialized sponsorships owning your sole? No way I'm risking my life with hits like this riding Roval wheels... Lay your cards down Roval and let's see the damage report. Santa Cruz owned it

For real though, such a mental edit
  • 4 0
 He is the Ken Block of mountainbiking
  • 5 0
 GNARLY AF
  • 4 0
 I knew I should have brought an extra pair of pants to work today.
  • 4 0
 I’m not entirely sure he has all his oars in the water...
  • 3 0
 Oh. My. God....... One of the scariest videos I have ever seen. Beast Mode.
  • 4 0
 Can we get a bike check please...I want to see that bike
  • 2 0
 Absolutely: I especially want to know what rims / spokes he's running, and what his tire, pressure, and insert set up is. I wonder how many times he pinch flatted while doing this. If never, he must have been running 90 psi or something.
  • 2 0
 Right On Fabio! Going Hoonigan Freeride. Oh man, landings on the very corner tip of the razor's edge! And now I got to try bermin' some curbs! Thanks Fabio!!!
  • 2 0
 In all seriousness.... HOW IS HE ALIVE!?!?!?! I can't keep my body intact on on my local trails!?!?!? This seriously blows my mind!
  • 4 0
 That curb berm is legit! Riding balls out, who needs brakes!
  • 4 0
 hitting the light pole looked like it might have hurt just a tad
  • 1 0
 I like that the sketchiness of everything was left in the video. You can see cases and wiggles and its not always a "perfect" shot.
  • 3 0
 This is one sick video! Hard to believe what he can do on a bike.
  • 3 0
 Stairs for daaayyyzzz! Sick is right
  • 3 0
 reminded me of an updated video part from Jibb (that's a good thing).
  • 3 0
 Just imagine super t did that with out gps!!
  • 3 0
 Now that's what you call "high consequence"
  • 3 0
 I think France could do with some more stairs....
  • 3 0
 is this real life ? Eek
  • 2 0
 Oui,c'est la vie.
  • 4 0
 Is this just fantasy?
  • 4 0
 @winko: caught in a landslide
  • 1 0
 no escape from reality
  • 1 1
 moms spaghetti
  • 3 0
 Red Bull athletes are top notch, but Fabio is in a league of his own...
  • 3 0
 Bro, how the fk is this guy still alive? my jaw is on the floor.
  • 1 0
 No enduro bike this time around? Weak. On other news brand new specialized demo 8 bike on sale, just 5 miles on it, frame's to short.
  • 4 0
 Love the CURB BERMS !!!
  • 3 0
 That was straight up bonkers.
  • 2 0
 this is what I dreamed of when I was 16. Now seeing it done is jaw dropping...and terrifying.
  • 2 0
 that is up there with one of the best vids ever. the speed, power, talent, and etc. of Fabio is mind blowing.
  • 2 0
 4:52 in that CASE I wonder how many Rival wheels where harmed in the making of this edit.
  • 3 0
 Possibly the best mountain bike video I've ever watched. So impressed.
  • 2 0
 100%, makes a change from the endless bike park edits
  • 1 0
 Holy f*ck this thing is just gunna sneak in the end of the decade like it shouldn't be on the top 50 list? Wow. Best one yet,
  • 3 1
 Fabio Wibmer this is your life insurance agent, your policy has been canceled.
  • 1 0
 What about the classics? La Sarra in Lyon and a big wall ride on the Pyramid of the Louvres in Paris! Well this video is a great ad for your suspension and wheel brands! ^^
  • 2 0
 well that was f***ing mental
  • 1 0
 la France le meilleur pays pour pratiquer la DH avec le Canada ou meme l'enduro
  • 3 0
 So brutal, wtf
  • 3 1
 Tsssssss...ah ah, hot shock, hot shock!
  • 2 0
 is heat (how?) the reason for the sounds every time he lands? or is it the wheel touching the saddle?
  • 1 0
 Who else remembers ''Lyon staircase'', first seen in Ali Boulala's ollie attempt which didn't end so well?
  • 5 4
 Rampage is just a slopestyle event. Ladder-bridges and jumps are still just trails. THIS is Freeride.
  • 4 0
 I keep feeling like rampage uses the gnar as a secondary piece between kickers to collect their slopestyle points. The focus should be the gnar, not the flip before and after it.
  • 2 0
 Why has this guy not been to rampage yet?
  • 1 0
 Hasn't been invited i guess... in one of his videos he says it's a goal for him to compete there.
  • 4 1
 I don't recall seeing any stairs at rampage.
  • 2 0
 The dude is on a mission to drop as many crazy videos as he can in 2019.
  • 2 0
 Lucky for Fabio the route between Lyon and Paris is entirely downhill.
  • 3 0
 Needs more stairs
  • 2 0
 Is that the biggest HTF ever at 0:39?! Bananas!
  • 1 0
 20+foot scrub to flat. Ouch!
  • 2 0
 i wonder if he changed bikes after wrapping one round that lamppost...
  • 1 0
 Crashes made cringe. The one at 6:50 was brutal. Smashes a pole with his body and then a concrete block with his head.
  • 2 0
 just sick, had me wincing a few times watching the vid.
  • 2 0
 Well he has his Rampage submission done and dusted. #takethatshittoutah
  • 1 3
 I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and have massive respect for the amount of skill and balls Fabio Wibmer has. BUT, I hope the security issues were just an act to hype things up and that he had proper permits/permission to film his stunts. If he didn't this film can harm mountain biking advocacy.
  • 3 0
 Never stopped BMX
  • 2 0
 Fabio is way more gangster than kanye!
  • 2 0
 banger, off the wall, curb appeal!
  • 2 0
 Fabio Wibmer x Dylan Stark edit please
  • 2 0
 Jaw dropping edit. Best of the year!
  • 2 0
 Did that moped rider rode with phone in the hand ? gnarly gnarly video !!
  • 1 0
 Has a parisian, I was watching the most unrealistic riding video until the end with the police.
  • 1 0
 Sadly, some kid is going to try this locally, and kill someone just walking up a staircase.
  • 1 0
 Plank of wood > state of the art 5-figure intricately engineered machine
  • 2 0
 Haul Ass!
  • 2 0
 lost for words, wow.
  • 1 0
 Real life Downhill Domination
  • 2 0
 His best video yet!
  • 2 0
 JIB 2.0
  • 1 0
 Just noticed the moped rider at 1:50 grrr
  • 2 0
 Those poor tires...
  • 2 0
 and suspension
  • 1 0
 Looks like I’m gonna have to turn in my degree.
  • 1 0
 Well that’s as good as it can get! Absolutely geiles Zeug
  • 2 0
 Rowdy
  • 2 0
 Oh my
  • 1 0
 So did they really put on a cinema screening just for an 8min video?
  • 2 2
 He's going to get really badly hurt one of these days. The margin for error is SO small.
  • 1 0
 Wow, I wonder how many rims he smashed!
  • 1 0
 wonder how his suspension was coping after that massive huck to flat!!
  • 1 0
 Do you think it broke ?
  • 1 0
 a skate boarder did it. i think scooter to
  • 1 0
 OMG how many wheels and flats did this barbarian get!!!
  • 1 0
 HOLY SHIT! How is Fabio still alive?
  • 1 0
 8 Minutes of total madness
  • 1 0
 To be honest i was expecting more than just stairs
  • 1 1
 well...if you care for your bike and your head, not to get broken...DO NOT RIDE LIKE this YOUNG man !!!!
  • 1 0
 Total respect to the lad!!
  • 1 0
 Wibmer owns all the stairs
  • 1 0
 I so wanna see the making of this video !!!
  • 1 0
 I have a headache just watching that head hit at 6:50
  • 1 0
 This guy is insane! Awesome video tup
  • 2 1
 Your a Fuckin beast bro
  • 1 0
 c'etait un rendez vous
  • 1 0
 Crazy Mr. Wibmer... Wink
  • 1 0
 wibmer for rampage
  • 1 0
 Grandios!
  • 1 0
 that was... nuts!!
  • 1 0
 Almost hit by a bus
  • 1 0
 wow!
  • 1 0
 Nuts!
  • 1 0
 Sick!
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