Your choice in cycling movies/film/cinema/documentaries

[triaesthete]

Hi Dan
I never realised Japanese Keirin riders wore body armour. It looks more like Rollerball insofar as it looks to be a racing cert that someone will crash.
Brave guys!
This has been an entertaining and enlightening thread. Are any of the films you listed at the outset available online?
TYhanks
Ian.

[kickingcones]

I loved "Triplets of Belleville" (absolutely hilarious depiction of the stereotypes of the US as seen by non-Americans) and "Breaking Away".

The whole keirin world I stay away from and find very offensive. Keirin is sponsored by and the ugly world of the keirin racers is created by the Yakuza, who cause great damage in Japan and the world, traffic in white slavery, and are increasingly involved with major crime around the world. I want them obliterated and erased from Japanese society and will not support in any way anything to do with them. Sorry for voicing this strong opinion, but we've enough awful things in the world.

While not strictly movies, have any of you seen the BBC documentary series, "Fat Man On a Bicycle", featuring Tom Vernon, an author/ reporter who travels around Europe on his bicycle looking at history and local culture?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41t23WGvEUM
I've always wondered what happened to him.

[Danneaux]

Are any of the films you listed at the outset available online?

Hi Ian,
A great question! The answer is "yes", but for a number of reasons, I decided not to post direct links to them. Why?

Well...

The Thorn list is international in scope, and enforcement of copyright law varies by locality. Also, a number of the sites streaming the films are pretty sketchy, and I didn't want to lure viewers to sites hosting malware. Not a problem for me with virtualized machines, but that is not the case for everyone.

One really is on one's own when looking to view or stream free movies online. And yes, I realize streaming or viewing movies online is not the same as a torrent-download, but things get murky quickly in that regard as well.

The best course is to see if any of the films are currently hosted by YouTube or Vimeo. Just enter the title in the search box on each site. Hulu -- if available in your part of the world -- also hosts films, and some are available without fees. If your ISP is also your pay-TV provider, they frequently offer movies for free online through their portal.

Most of the films are available through inter-library loan. If your local library doesn't have them, they can put in a request to any other library in their system, and it will be transferred over on a temporary basis, usually without charge.

Here in the States, we have online movie rentals available through Netflix, and the films can be delivered via post or download, for a fee. Something similar may be available for you.

If you don't have luck with the above methods, I do have some suggestions:
- In your favorite search engine, enter the string, "watch <title> online free", with no < > and no quotes.
- In your favorite search engine, enter the string, "<title> streaming video", with no < > and no quotes.

Minor variations on this theme will get you where you wish to go, but use some real caution; many of the sites that will come up are not ideal.

Finally, Amazon.com and eBay have a number of the titles available for very little cost. I do see site like movieberry.com have titles like Six-Day Bike Rider available for download for as little as USD$0.87. See: http://movieberry.com/6_day_bike_rider/

I wish I could be more specific, but I haven't been able to think of suitable free online viewing solutions beyond YouTube and Vimeo. I'm surely open to suggestions!

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All,

Given our Thorns are now made in Taiwan, it is interesting to see the "other Taiwan" -- its countryside and mountains -- through the eyes of freerider Richie Schley in this video:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Richie-Schley-Made-in-Taiwan-video-2012.html?trk=rss

Gorgeous countryside.

Best,

Dan.

[jimmer]

Danny MacAskill - "Way Back Home", used the you tube clip in a year 9 assembly to promote the idea of cycling to school rather then being delivered to the door in a 7 seat people carrier, as a minor contribution to ensuring that they inherit a habitable planet. We were picking jaws off the floor along with the chairs. They're still being driven to school and childhood obesity, however..

Yours, James

[Danneaux]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw

Yes, James, it is a lovely piece of cinematography as well as some incredible riding.

They're still being driven to school and childhood obesity, however..

But you tried, and that's the thing. Kids don't exercise, and then people wonder where the obesity problem came from. I mourn the loss of kids walking to school or riding bikes in my area (Pacific NW, US). It was so common as to be the norm when I was a kid, now it just doesn't happen. The bike racks out in front of schools are empty as last year's bird nests, and you never see kids riding. Unfortunately, I'm not a parent and so don't know firsthand, but here it seems to be the result of a) parental fears of abduction or molestation, and b) the ever-growing number of off-site after-school activities that require speedy point-to-point transport over distances greater than kids are able to ride in the time available. I think there is a c) in there as well, which concerns distracted drivers running over the kids or creating unsafe riding conditions. Judging by what I saw as I pedaled past a school at bell-time yesterday, the biggest concern is likely to be other parents hauling their own little darlings at warp speed to their activities, and seeing bicyclists as impediments equal to speed bumps.

Whew. Where'd that come from? Must've been rattling around inside me for awhile!

Good recommendation for a film, James, and most welcome and appreciated. And good on ya for trying to make a difference. I'm guessing you lit a few candles' worth of interest in those young minds, even if circumstance prevented much discernible change.

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

There's touring on a bike, then there's living on a bike. Here's an intriguing little film from Montreal filmmaker Guillaume Blanchet:
http://vimeo.com/35927275
Almost as interesting is the "Making Of" video, here:
http://vimeo.com/38060089

That is one stable bicycle...even on ice!

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All,

We are cycling around the world. This video sums up the first half of our 3 years adventure cycling around the globe, in 2010 and 2011. We covered extreme climates of the world, thanks to the power of a bike and also to all the people that helped us on the way. You don’t need much to achieve your dream of travel, and that’s what we to show in our project and in this video too.

That's the introduction to Solidream, a world-touring film series with startlingly good cinematography:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM_BYLIFQmM
Root for this channel is here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SolidreamCycles?feature=watch
Most questions answered here in interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxNw3Qvq-jc&feature=relmfu
Solidream's channel on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/solidream

Home page, blog here in original French:
http://solidream.net/
Google-translated English version here:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://solidream.net/&ei=4o2GT6OqM5DTiAL92dTmDw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsolidream%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1320%26bih%3D688%26prmd%3Dimvns

Twitter here: http://twitter.com/#!/solidream
Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/solidream
Myspace here: http://www.myspace.com/503445625
Flickr photostream here: http://www.flickr.com/people/solidream/

Nice summary here: http://www.nwevolution.com/2011/12/07/bike-the-globe-with-a-purpose-solidreams-adventure/

Today's productivity killer!  

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Here's a 1945 documentary by Raleigh, showing how they mass-produced bicycles back in the day:

How a Bicycle is Made
http://vimeo.com/39401575

This was long before the Tube Investments (TI) era, but shows how the workaday line was constructed. Lots of pressings for the BB and lugs, and not an investment cast part in sight. The hand-lining (coachlining) process is very interesting, and uses a roller as was common in mass painting. The coach lines on my 1980 Centurion ProTour were made by older ladies drawing paint-filled, long-bristled, bamboo-handled horsehair brushes along the painted tubes (I have photos from older brochures). Same result, but a different method suited only to more limited production.

Of course, this documentary is in black-and-white, as was the world, before the invention of color film.   I found proof of this in my father's old photo albums, where the black-and-white world was captured perfectly in every photo. Kodachrome and Agfa made the world a much brighter place...   Further proof here: http://www.reoiv.com/images/random/dadbandwandcolour.jpg

Best,

Dan.

[triaesthete]

Thanks Dan, for another great find. I love this industrial heritage material. Old fashioned health and safety at work too: hands dipped in enamel baths, polishing without respiratory protection, frame dippers inhaling all the fumes etc. Good old days?
The "all steel bicycle" of old no less. Isn't it strange though that they could seam weld the frame tubes but then had to braze the joints.
Best wishes
Ian

[Danneaux]

My sister owned a marble-maze game when we were kids. This video is like that, but with bicycles and very steep drops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr5FGOKY3RM&feature=related

I don't usually go for the gonzo downhill videos, but this one shows some split-second decision-making and some real on-the-fly skill. The stakes are awfully high.

Best,

Dan.

[triaesthete]

Reminds me of an old motorcycling T shirt slogan: "I'M IMORTAL!  so far."
Cheers
Ian

[macspud]

I don't usually go for the gonzo downhill videos, but this one shows some split-second decision-making and some real on-the-fly skill. The stakes are awfully high.

Best,

Dan.

I think the stakes might if anything be higher on this one it's not called downhill but "Vertriding"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyWJczxK-cQ

Regards,

Iain.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Graeme Obree is back, this time building another radical bicycle for an attempt on the bicycle world speed record.

As described on the Humans Invent site...

In early February 2012 Humans Invent visited the ‘Flying Scotsman’ Graeme Obree at his home in Saltcoats, Scotland. The 46-year old maverick was embarking on hand-building a bicycle in his kitchen capable of breaking the human powered land speed record this September in America. A man with a history of being marginalised for his innovation, Obree had returned to once again challenge conventional engineering and bike design by using his unique investigative mind to create a blueprint for a hand-built bicycle that could reach speeds up to 100 mph.

A fascinating look into Mr. Obree's latest design and thought process and a peek at how his work has progressed:
http://tinyurl.com/c7fcmcu
...or a preview of the TinyURL to show it is a legitimate redirect...
http://preview.tinyurl.com/c7fcmcu

[EDIT: Had to go with a TinyURL, since the original one kept breaking when pasting here; this one should work fine -- Dan.]

A transcribed interview is included at the above link, with drawings and details of the bicycle.

Best,

Dan.

[macspud]

As described on the Humans Invent site...A fascinating look into Mr. Obree's latest design and thought process and a peek at how his work has progressed:
http://tinyurl.com/c7fcmcu

You just have to love his style!!!!