Reviews >> Bike Video Review

I'm a big fan of bike videos. They've played a big part of the progression in my riding. At this time I have at least 15 dvds in my collection. And even more videos on vhs.

My brother Izaak has quite a video collection as well. I made him bring down his new acquisitions and over the Thanksgiving weekend we watched hours of bike videos in the place of the traditional football. After many hours of video watching, I was dying to to ride my bike, and caught up on current freeride events.

When I began writing my thoughts on the videos, I started with a rating system. After some thought though, I decided that it was kind of a lame idea. I can be critical of others giving judgment on other people's artistic endeavors, and expect it back, but the thought of laying down judgment as a critic seemed wrong. I personally get annoyed by a number of the cycling publications when I read reviews by individuals that don't seem to know the material; it's like they're just talking smack. I'm not down with that, so here are some some observations.

Videos watched: 4

Counterparts

Aaron Chase's follow up to Killing Time. If you're a video snob, the ghetto bmx video feel may turn you off, but that aside, there were some gems here and there that make this video worthy of adding to your collection. I would have enjoyed this video a great deal more if they had invested in better video equipment. Watching Aaron Chase dump his bike repeatedly is pretty impressive. If the image quality was better, I'd add this one to my collection. If you don't mind the lower production quality and just want to see good riding, you'll probably like this one. It plays like a pro rider's home video.

New World Disorder 6

I've enjoyed all the New World Disorders to date. The bonus features on this one come on a second disk and will supply you will even more viewing pleasure. . I just picked up my own copy. Need I say more?

Drop In Season 3

Drop In is a reality sports tv program broadcasted in Canada. It gives us Americans some insight into Canadian bike culture as the crew stops in to visit local pro freeriders on their own turf. Its sad we don't have anything like it here on a national level.

If you've never watched Drop In, imagine a combination of MTV's road rules with Props Road Fools. If you haven't seen Road Fools, think bike video meets reality tv. As a fan of the video "The Collective" watching Drop In is a treat. The crew drives around Canada going from spot to spot, and the crew rides locations we've seen in other bike videos. This time though, we get a better sense of the technical difficulty in many of the gaps and stunts. The editing is laid out in chronological order giving more of a real time feel. When a rider goes down, they're out, with the hospital experience documented.

And there are some big and painful crashes to watch. Romaniuk takes a super hard crash off a huge road gap (in front of his mom, no less) and is carted away in a stretcher. It's burly.

The level of riding is high with a number of recognizable pro riders in the cast, and guest appearances by others. The production level is high, (although the show can't afford a bus that runs) and the footage is good. It's definitely worth checking out.

Halfway to Nowhere

Of all the discs we watched, I had the most trouble with this one. I like the box art, and the production quality was good, but something about the way this one was put together didin't do it for me. It was the same with the previous one, Rise. Maybe it was the repetition of cheesy sunset shots that didn't have anything to do with the riding.

There were some features that may please a lot of viewers. This video actually has a mountain biking section of actual bike riding. Much of the video has a mellow feel, with alot of what I call art-sy landscape shots.
Its definitely worth checking out, but I don't think I'm going to buy this one.