[Closed] DIRT / JMC content - Which MTB video inspired you the most?

Still got Dirt, Chainspotting, Gotta Getta Grip, Mud Cows, Burning Calves, and a whole load of others still on VHS!

Gotta love the VHS! I had to borrow my parents so i could watch my dirt, i'm gonna have to have a rummage in the loft when i next visit i should still have most of these vidyo's

Dirt was pretty much the only MTB video when I was young - the rest of them were all "best crashes" and other shite although I remember one called Exploding Mountain Bikes which featured Sian Roberts and Paul Hinton. Sort of a mix of what passed for humour, riding advice, basic maintenance and "rad tricks" (ie a wheelie and a bunnyhop).

Dirt was great, at the time it was something totally new, no-one had tried a video of that format before. Watching it though it was noticeable just how much better JMC was than the others...

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Tread (?) - the Herbold/Rey one was the first one I'd seen and was completely eyeopening compared to most of the field edge riding in Cambridge I'd done by then.

Dirt at the time didn't do a lot for me - too much dicking around, not enough riding. With hindsight, the sheer joy-de-vivre of JMCs riding is pretty cool. SIP JMC (Shred In Peace - I very much doubt he'll want to rest)

The other vid that I love is The Collective. Especially having ridden some of the trails from it. Different level of riding, but equally inspiring.

Chainspotting is still running in my head every time I bounce down a rocky Peak District decent. Can't do the trails in Porthcawl though.

"I totally remember how inspired I was by this man and this video"

Yes I agree. The riding is pure fun - apart from the silly sequence with the armoured-up guy doing the table. Didn't Warner pringle a rear wheel in one segment?

Dirt for me was the first inspiration, to see the 'legends' of MBUK actually riding instead of just photos in the mag was amazing but Sprung 2 was the proper 'wow' moment. Funky tunes, good mix of riding, racing and pissing around. It was a must watch for me and my mates whenever we got together.

Teabag anyone? 🙂

It was Dirt for me too, I remember getting the free copy on the front of MBUK and watching it over and over again, I would have been about 14 at the time.

The Jez Avery section shot at Great Ayton Quarry was a bit poo though.

Exploding Mountain Bikes was the first biking VHS I got. Remember watching it over and over. Remember Sian tutoring how to ride down a rough, loose fireroad. Attack it.

Dirt was the next VHS I got and it changed the way I saw mountain biking. It was what I did with my mates, but better, faster and all looked so much fun. There is no mountain bike that I ever wanted as much as Jason McRoy's Specialized FSR.

yeah i must have been about 14 or 15 at the time too, went out after on my GT Pantera 😉

I remember watching Chainsmoke a lot during Uni - a dodgy VHS copy of an American MTB film a mate did for me. Wasn't great, but it was probably like an American version of Dirt, largely just a few blokes dicking about on dusty trails.

Dirt was good for capturing what biking was about for us at the time - again, just dicking about on bikes (or not) on hot, sunny days.

There is no mountain bike that I ever wanted as much as Jason McRoy's Specialized FSR.

Same here, stuff the 2011 bikes at spesh I just wanted to take Jason's bike out for a spin... but the showroom sufficed.

A modern day classic for me has to be Seasons. I have watched a few videos and generally end up fast forwarding a bit because they get too repetitive. However I always liked the Road Fools BMX videos and Props series and I think Seasons has a bit of that in it. It's the sort of video that makes you want to go out and ride, and believe you might be able to do the same things as you just watched. Yes there are some crazy tricks and big jumps occasionally but I felt that it wasn't beyond me - it felt as if you were watching the people doing their own local riding (which they were) rather than set pieces for the camera.
I still daydream about it now and watch it often.

class tunes too.

Lots of Fallen angels tracks (dirt and clouds)
Play Dead - This side of heaven, fave track off it.

2.30 into the part 2 (up there) when JMC is hammering along the wall line and seems to just hop what must have been an entrance to a field, so I guess quite a big gap.. absolute class

he is horsing it somewhat, even if it's sped up to industry standard...

I'm not that old so my object of lust would be Palmers FSR over JMC's.

The NWD series for tricks, probably the fist film I saw that made me go WOW. Before that all I'd seen was the free crap off the front of magazines (even MBR did one, no towpaths though).

Clay Porter (Between the tape, synsopsis, hypnosis etc) for raceing, those inspired me to fit slick rear tyres and drift corners 🙂

Roam (the collective didn't quite do it for me and seasons wasn't as good and follow me is a bit mehhh)

Hahaha, those old Dirt clips put a smile on my face.

I think I've still got a copy somewhere. MBUK should make a DVD of it and Gettagrip.

Jimmy - Yeah, Chainsmoke was great, had Fuzzy Hall doing backflips in his back garden and Shaun Palmer getting heli-lifted to the top of a mountain and riding back down again. Excellent.

even at the time I found Dirt a bit boring, I liked watching the Grundig DHs on eurosport and Props BMX vids back then.
first decent UK MTB vid was sprung2 IMO

Dirt! Incidently, the MBUK/freebie version has extended bits stuck on the end featuring Ted, Dave Hemmings and JMC for those that have never let it run through... Slightly emusing.

great soundtrack on chainspotting

Still love Dirt because it was all about having fun and features mostly the sort of bikes and riding that us mere mortals could realistically aspire to.
I never got the same buzz out of Chainspotting, perhaps because it looked like it was all shot in the depths of winter with low light levels and bare trees.

[i]I think I've still got a copy somewhere. MBUK should make a DVD of it[/i]

The original film got lost so they never had anything good enough to convert to digital format. IIRC there was a fairly large reward offered to anyone coming up with the original, they reckon it may have been accidently sold as part of a garage clear out or something.

The bit at the end of 'original DIRT' is soooo funny. It was years before I found it, wondered what the hell the noise was when I left the tape running 😆