Welcome to this week’s roundup! Normally I review 60-80 videos, but after taking last week off to pay respect to the tragedies that had taken place. So far this week I’ve reviewed 130 videos, have a second review queue of Tour de France videos, and have some leftover videos I’ll review next week. For me, the past two weeks included an internet outage, a hospital visit, some great rides, and lots of Tour de France watching. To start us off, PathLessPedaled’s Russ and Laura are vlogging their #GreatWesternRamble (they don’t like spaces, apparently). The first video in the series is above; you can watch the full series with this playlist. The Palouse is a beautiful place.
Wired magazine (wait, I think it’s just ‘Wired’ now) gave quick history of mountain biking. It may not be news to some people, but as a 4-minute primer with interviews it’s pretty good.
“My name is Hera, and I’m a globetrotter on a bicycle.” I can’t add anything to that.
There’s a Dutch artist named Theo Jansen who makes things called ‘strandbeest’. You can go watch videos about strandbeests, but this is a bicycle inspired by strandbeests. I’d say it isn’t really one (it isn’t self-powered), but pretty amazing and perhaps the least practical bike ever. (also: a second video about building this)
New Brunotti makes me happy. This is in Barcelona, it starts with a “professional rider on a closed course. do not attempt.” disclaimer, which makes (some) sense when you watch it, especially since it’s actually an advert. I wonder how heavy that bike is. Fun.
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After a weird start, this “world cup of paracycling” highlights video is pretty cool. Not only are they specialized bikes but they are make for racing. I’m sure every one of those carbon fiber bikes is unique.
This is a bike intro/sales video, but it’s easy to ignore that and just enjoy the scenery of Madeira (a Portugese island). Lean back and enjoy.
I’ve covered the idea of riding a Walmart bike as if it’s an actual bike before. Here’s another one, with a much more extreme course. (you can watch the full ride here)
What makes this video special is that it’s truly about his story, not about his bike or a race.
Comparisons are almost always unscientific but still interesting. Here’s a comparison betwen two bikes that are nearly similar, only varying in rear suspension (and lack of).
I worry about not knowing my chain length. I’m only comfortable lining up the new and old chains and adjusting for stretch. That makes this a handy video.
Pro racing
Honorable mentions for racing vids: Bianchi: how carbon fiber changed racing more Kanza, linked to timestamp with a super-pretty segment, Womens XCE final (I love ‘dual-terrain’ racing), XC course preview, look at how radical this Lapierre time trial bike looks (from Giro d’Italia)
Tour de France
It’s that time already! I’m splitting this from the above section and will avoid spoiling a stage until it’s been 7 days. In fact, I think I’ll save most of the racing highlights until the end of the race and do a separate post with TDF and Giro Rosa.
The best non-spoiler videos from TDF so far have been the “landscapes of the day”. They have 10 helicopters over the race and spend some time looking at the scenery. The first stage ended at Utah Beach, so there’s some highlights of the D-Day invasion in the following, specifically, the ‘blocks’ in the water, which are Mulberry Harbor pieces. (also: stage2 landscapes, stage3 landscapes (chateaus), stage4 landscapes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeVcYuBr1po
Adam Hansen showed what’s in his bag- similar to the “in the team car” bag from a few weeks ago. Check out his exotic custom shoes at the 6 minute mark.
This spoiler-free Stage 3 ‘magazine’ video is about the extreme heat during the 1976 Tour. It’s always neat to see old footage. (there’s a bio of 60s-70s “the eternal second” Raymond Poulidor for Stage4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Y-KwO72d8
Other spoiler-free vids: “faces of the tour”, inside the Katusha mechanic truck. SRAM eTap abounds.
Honorable Mentions
This week’s honorable mentions: Australian cop explains that rider can’t be on a side road, must be on a side-side road because drivers can’t give cyclist space, the future of cycling is Tron?, following on Michael’s biketown post there’s another Biketown video and a a third Biketown video (with a distinct lack of ‘bike’), PathLessPedaled tips for video editing on the iPhone (for last week’s Lodi miniseries; also: video nerdery and Leif Erickson), GCN and wind tunnel testing, watch out for monkeys, about the Brooklyn Bicycle Company, and 9 bolts to ensure are torqued properly.
Inclusion criteria: If I’ve missed something, post it in the comments! I prefer videos published in the last week or so. Note if there’s a specific point in a long video that is worth highlighting. Also note if there is colorful language. I will delay videos containing pro racing spoilers by 7 days.
– Ted Timmons, @tedder42
Thanks for reading.
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It’s “Brumotti”, with an M, not an N. Normally I’d let it slide, but I see you keep repeating the error. Cheers!
You’re right- I have seen both, but the M appears official and correct. I was just clinging to what is stuck in my memory 🙂
Coolest car commercial EVER!
Do you recommend the Huffy bike or is it a flop?
In the full video someone made the comment the bike sounded like a small animal being stomped to death. So, not as it exists at the store. Just think of it as a frame kit with placeholder components, because you really can’t kill the frame. Everything else has to go of course.