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Don't really think the problem was being 'London-centric', or even 'road-centric'. They've got to film it somewhere, none of the guests, presenters or features were particularly london based, and obviously with the tour and olympics the first two weeks are going to have quite a lot of road, even with the Megavalanche report next week.The real problem was just the inability to produce a remotely well-made TV programme. It was clunky, awkward and badly presented. The features managed to be both too-short and too dull, not enough explanation for those not into bikes, and not enough detail/interest for those who are. Half an hour really isn't long enough for a magazine style programme, especially with adverts. It should either be an hour, or should only have 1 or 2 features each week. Needs better writers, and a main presenter who can ask some interesting questions and get a decent conversation going, although that was clearly hamstrung by the fact that the guests couldn't hear each other, and the 'interviews' were 30 seconds long and crammed between other features. The guests weren't helping much, but I think a better interviewer, given a few more decent questions, and a bit more time, could have got something much more interesting out of at least two of the three.
Agreed, I don't take issue with the fact that they covered the most current cycling related news around the TDF/ORR first, and given the time slot and the channel it made perfect sense...
I am going to reserve my judgement for a couple of weeks, I think they need to get an eye in, and I want to see if their pieces on MTBing, Commuting and any other cycling disciplines/areas are aimed at a similar level or have a bit more depth...
My missus made me laugh, she took one lok af GF and said "Who does he think he is Willy Wonka or something?", I did notice he managed to name drop his employers during the "Interviewing" too, good work Gary...
I really think there was an opportunity missed with Graham Obree, I would have loved to se a bit more of a proper interview, I know they had to keep it light hearted, brief and were sort of aiming for a kind of Top Gear/5th Gear/Gadget-ish type show but with bikes vibe, but to not really make any use of such a guest was in my view a proper waste, put it this way I'm a mountainbiker first and formost, and I'd much rather hear what Obree has to say than listen to Gary Fisher spouting shite...
I think Mansell was worth having on the show, he had something relevant to say, his genuine enthusiasm for the sport showed....
I'll be interested to see who else they book in the coming weeks rustling up three articulate interesting cycling related guests each week might be a bit of a challenge, I'm sure at some stage they'll probably need an MTBing Guest or two and if you want one with a bit of media training the obvious choice is Rob Warner, who I can see wiping the floor with that presenter TBH, that would be worth watching...
I think the Hipster cafe setting is probably just down to "Meeeja" types based in London, with a London based view of the Universe having to produce a show about bicycles, they'll just default to what they know...
I guess the show has to have a setting/Base and at least its not a studio there's a bit more life in there...
But identifying the show and hence cycling so directly with one little niche group sort of serves to exclude the wider majority IMO, the rest of the UKs cycling public don't really do Rapha caps and fixies with a Machiato do we? hopefully the out and about articles will reflect that in coming weeks....
I think the show would benefit from being a bit longer too; 45 minutes to an hour just to give them time to get in to some detail and make the pieces a bit more engaging.
I stopped after one and half page. I am going to get it online ASAP but:
Presented by at least one real cyclist, who probably ride more and better than 99.9% of the people who speak sh1te on here.
Targeted audience, well people who don't cycle. And as for not being patronising, you'll be surprise of the number of peopl who can't put an helmet correctly on their heads.
Classic STW, never happy always moaning. And obviously any one on here could have done better with a camcorder a tooth brush and a large bathroom.
I'm sorry but that was a cheap programme made cheaply. Almost no substance and very very poor questions asked that seemed as if they were made up on the sport.
People have mentioned above, what would a non-cyclist have made of that? Would they watch episode two? No.....
And it was London-centric and the hipster-fixe **** image that cafe put across was not ideal either. How does that entice people to cycle? Promote cycling as a way of transport?
Look as some have also said its the first episode, so i'll give it a chance. But I'm cyclist so I make allowances for Obree (who was clearly p$ssed of on medication) and Gary Fisher (who is clearly mental/American) a non-cyclist would/will just think, this is ridiculous.
Graham Obree drew on a pair of Wiggo sideburns with marker-pen for the roller racing.
The man is a genius!
APF
Wasn't keen on the hipster cafe
Liked Hemmingway
Initial thoughts on Obree were, this guy is odd - ended up hoping he's going to be a regular, really warmed to him
Gary fisher has done too much brown acid
Thought the Olympic course bit was relevant and fairly interesting
Think CRC should pay a bit more so their advert doesnt look like and Internet side bar ad
It confirmed to me that cyclist are indeed geeky and not in a cool way hence although I like it, I won't recommend watching it to non-cycling friends - they think I'm odd enough
Edit: I know Fisher has roots in road racing but was anyone else surprised to see he wasn't a million miles behind Obree?
Not quite sure who the target audience is for this show.
Trying too hard to be 'trendy' with the hipster cafe setting.
Too shallow to be taken seriously by 'proper' cyclists.
No introduction of who Gary Fisher & Graeme Obree actually are, for the benefit of those not in the know. Not really sure why GF was there at all to be honest.
Cycling safety with Wayne Hemmingway (of all people) seemed to be just "don't get close to a truck" and "be aware" 😕 again, too shallow to be of any real use.
We'll see how (or if) the show develops over the series I guess.
Very much enjoyed it.
Obree is great, fisher too.
They will iron out the sound levels etc for the next show.
All the caps, I suspect they were freebees given to the crowd.
Anna nichoola is on next weeks show and she is a great embassador for cycling... She once woke up in hotel room with bikemonger stickers on her belly. She was unsure where they came from, so facebooked it, I was then Facebook tagged. It was almost nothing to do with me, but mrs bikemonger was not happy when the Facebook alerts popped up on the shop pc.
The cafe isn't really that "hipster" if you go in there (and certainly compared to other cafes in the area). A lot of very normal people and a lot of cyclists but I'd imagine the screening of the final stage of the tour and the filming brought people out. Also, I get a feeling the caps were some sort of freebie from someone as nearly everyone was wearing the same ones.
I think the Box Hill part was definitely an opportunity missed. The loop will be interesting for more than just the climb up the zigzag and they never adequately explained where people might attack just that people might.
Response on here is so predictable, it was never going to go down well really was it.
The people in the background need to be told to shut up and take the hats off, but other than that it was ok.
Anna nichoola is on next weeks show and she is a great embassador for cycling... She once woke up in hotel room with bikemonger stickers on her belly. She was unsure where they came from, so facebooked it, I was then Facebook tagged. It was almost nothing to do with me, but mrs bikemonger was not happy when the Facebook alerts popped up on the shop pc.
LOL.
No story about Anna would surprise me!
Actually thought it was OK.
Cafe setting was good, better than some contrived studio set. Some attention to the sound mixing would have helped. Choice of guests was good til Gary Fisher appeared, not sure why he was there. Obree and Mansell had enough chat to fill the show I thought, neither got to talk in enough detail. Features were pretty good for a first outing, especially the Box Hill section, and the graphic/ident/linking bits (whatever they're called) weren't annoying.
It'll never please everyone - look how hard it is to make a music show that is both popular and credible - but it could have been way worse. Not sure I'd make a point of watching it every week, but I'm happy its there and I hope it does well.
Features were pretty good for a first outing, especially the Box Hill section,
think i must have missed that. i saw an odd graphic showing only the hill secion and then a selection of contrived fake attacks, with no idea where they were or what the hell was going on, or ever mentioning that box hill wasnt both the start and finish of the race.
It really wasn't that bad though was it? A cycling show on mainstream TV is great news I think.
Having said that I knew what the STW collective would think 😆
It really wasn't that bad though was it?
it really was THAT bad. really. i genuinely can't see how people are defending it.
It turned me off fairly quickly:
* Tim Lovejoy in the Ace Cafe format
* Close ups of wild eyed kids/men in hats giving it football fan
* The first 5 minutes filled with fast-cut montages - which quickly established this was going to be very light on content
So I went to do my ironing instead. Personally I think there is far, far better content to be had on the internet. Even Rapha's slightly self frotting YouTube channel is a less disturbing watch. Maybe ITV4 should just turn it into Cycling Rude Tube, and compile it from internet clips.
Let's see what happens I guess. Not sure the sponsors are going to be queuing up if the viewing figures aren't there.
I think it definitely has potential if they can span the gap between keen cyclist and newbies.
I didn't watch it.. I knew it would be shit
But think about it.. a new genre for mainstream TV.. it will have had to have been funded and pitched on a low budget.. probably begged for.. There's not going to be a slick thoroughly well rounded and in depth programme made at that price point..
I didn't watch it. Sun was out, so I was out on my bike in'thills
By the sounds of it, a few more people should have tried that! 😀
I thought it was OK, first episode after all and clearly no budget to work with. It was hardly ever going to be Top Gear was it.
Needed more Graeme Obree and less Nigel Mansell. Gary Fisher is a bit of a dude! Actually it just needs to be presented by Obree and Fisher, that would be pretty entertaining.
Will definitely keep watching it.
I didn't see it but the oxymoron in the trailer "We're going to [i]concentrate[/i] on [i]all forms[/i] of cycling" didn't feel like a good start.
Here's hoping they can work out what and who the show is for. Cycling's a very broad church, they could end up trying to please everyone with the result they please no-one.
I thought it was alright, a bit low budget but not as bad as folk are making it out to be.
To be honest I'm not surprised that this attitude would be displayed on here, probably by the same people who were saying last week how easy wiggins rode the tour/it was boring/froome is better than wiggins, etc.
i recorded it, cant say that im bothered if i remember to record next weeks.
the live venue just didnt work, with both mansell and obree struggling to hear/talk so lots of confused looks and leaning forward
Obree and Fisher may be considered heroes of cycling, but they are just an embarrasment in front of camera. What did Obree manage to say about "face first, lying down, 83mph" it took a couple of minutes to twig that he is hoping to be involved in some land speed record, very vague and wishy washy.
the segments were ok, a look at box hill is timely and relevant and the town riding bit was ok - mostly just a relief that they were filmed with out excessive background noise.
the rollers could have done with a quick explanation and the feel of that section was very much in a teenage/the word/tizwas/kerazzy style - totally suited to a program that will only ever have ten viewers.
If they have cobbled this show together of the back of a surge in interest following the TdF then fair play to them for having a go.
It was a bit shonky, lacked a bit of clear focus - who was it aimed at? Non cyclist probably won't be watching it in the first place so why have advice about putting your helmet on properly? It might get better, would be good to see some coverage of the Mega next week.
Do you think they'll be able to get Rob Warner and Boris Johnson as guests on the show? Now that would be some train wreck TV but in a good way.
I didn't think it was so bad. fisher is a businessman FFS, of course he's going to do some promotion, american style.
A general-interest program like this is never going to please everyone, esp those who are really into biking, knowledgable and opinionated, eg those glued on here.
Rob Warner , Obree and fisher all on the same show would be a hoot ...
It was almost as bad as the mtber on BBC3 last night getting shown around the course at Hadleigh Farm by Annie Last! 😉
I may be wrong but did they even have a song by "RIDE" on the Box Hill bit.
You aren't. Brilliant song. What got me down though was working out 5 minutes later that the (oxymoronic) researcher had just typed "ride" in to spotify and also decided that The Vines "Ride" (equally good) was another suitable song. He or she will run out of ideas soon at that rate.
Good music, dire research.
It was OK, I just found the cycle cap wearing brigade "too cool". I like the idea above about going round to different Cafes if that's the format they want to peddle.
It will stay being filmed in LMNH so that anyone can roll on down there on a Sunday evening and see people such as Eddy Merckx being interviewed. I hope they do sort out the sound though and give a better intro on the guests.
The Megavalanche footage was filmed over the last week and should be really good, the crew were buzzing.
That was shockingly poor.
Scrap the couch interviews
One half of the program on beginner cyclists
One half on experienced cyclists.
Presenters with personality & some knowhow
Program fixed
If you take a look at the number of quality 3 minute films that have come out after every DH race over the last couple of years you can't help but think that there is more than enough film making talent out there to put some great riding segments together for all forms of cycling.
[url= http://dirt.mpora.com/news/video-triride-velocity-three-mont-sainte-anne.html ]For example[/url]
Well I finally stopped crying and burst out laughing when the Wiggle advert came on in the middle of a CRC show.
Dire.
I know they had to keep it light hearted, brief and were sort of aiming for a kind of Top Gear/5th Gear/[b]Gadget-ish[/b] type show but with bikes vibe
Interesting observation. Gadget show actually do cycling stuff with real passion and display pretty good levels of fiutness and cycling geekery - but pull it off in an entertaining manner.
Ideal presenter combo???
Jason Bradbury* for cheery eccentric geekery
Chris Boardman for stoi, grounded, cycling gravitas...
* and no, don't suggest pollyanna whats er face
Suzi Perry then
Ohh,
and what's with the Box Hill place? Are they seriously calling that a road "climb", flippin heck, I know we have taken the proverbial about the Essex "mountains" for the mtb, but that was hilarious....
Interesting observation. Gadget show actually do cycling stuff with real passion and display pretty good levels of fiutness and cycling geekery - but pull it off in an entertaining manner.
You're joking right?
Have you seen the piss-ripping that happens everytime The Gadget Show attempt to do cycling? The worst one recently was riding round Monaco where they'd put the front wheel in the wrong way round - not that cardinal a sin you might think until you realise that this road bike had disc brakes... Gadget Show is horrendous, proper lowest common denominator, dumb-it-down TV.
I can see what The Cycle Show is aiming for. Maybe with some constructive feedback, they might change it a bit (it's filmed on Sunday afternoon for broadcast on Monday) so they have plenty of time to tinker with it a bit. Give it chance - it's cycling on TV. Yes, the first episode was pretty awful but maybe tell them what you want and how it should be formatted and they might make some changes?
The problem is that by trying to cover everything, they actually end up covering nothing cos they're flitting from one thing to another with no link, no explanation.
and what's with the Box Hill place? Are they seriously calling that a road "climb", flippin heck, I know we have taken the proverbial about the Essex "mountains" for the mtb, but that was hilarious....
I look forward to seeing you in the lead group at the Olympics road race, powering up it in the big ring on the 8th lap.
esp those who are really into biking, knowledgable and opinionated, eg those glued on here.
OMG OMG OMG OMG... Ironing to the power of sick
and what's with the Box Hill place? Are they seriously calling that a road "climb", flippin heck,
call it what you want, its the olympic road race, so cashes in on the recent general publics cycling interest (TdF win and the potential road race medal next weekend)
obviously you would rather see some nobody ride up a steep hill, waiting to hear your suggestions, ones that wont make the pyrenees look like the tour de francis 😉
wayne hemmingway was fine, the bloke who did the box hill bit was too dour, like said already, the main presenter wasn't the right person or he wasn't given the right material. I think it was predominantly the studio/LMNH bits that really spoilt it, topped off by that pointless race at the end between Obree and Fisher, only 22mins to deliver a good programme and 5 mins were wasted in that. The LMNH 'studio' location is as good as any, but they do need to turn the volume down on the crowd and have more interesting chitchat, if that's going to be the format.
Rob Warner , Obree and fisher all on the same show would be a hoot ...
That would be the Top Gear equivalent
I look forward to seeing you in the lead group at the Olympics road race, powering up it in the big ring on the 8th lap.
No, you're mistaken, not me 😉
It's a road race, it can all be on the flat as far as I'm concerned. Just surprised with the way it was being pitched on the show... 🙄
The features managed to be both too-short and too dull, not enough explanation for those not into bikes, and not enough detail/interest for those who are
basic stuff. Rob Hayles (the "too dour bloke") says Ive got 6 riders of differing abilities. Okay then, spend 10 seconds introducing each one, you may find they represent the audience and we identify with them. Then another 10seconds each at the end covering their thoughts on the ride, how taxing the climb will be after 8 ascents etc
Interesting observation. Gadget show actually do cycling stuff with real passion and display pretty good levels of fiutness and cycling geekery - but pull it off in an entertaining manner.You're joking right?
Dumb it down TV? The presenters are enthusiastic and try to entertain. Compare that to Rob Hayles who is a pro rider, but not a natural presenter. Have you watched any of the bike sections Jason Bradbury has properly been involved in on GS? He is a [i]really[/i] handy rider, from seeing him ride an MTB a few times I'd guess he grew up riding BMX (in fact I think they showed him doing some flatland stuff on a bike once) and I reckon he'd be outstanding on a show like this. They are trying to pitch an even broader field (anything consumer/tech) so are going to struggle to cover both fans and the public more so than the cycling show, they are trying to cover eg. cycling in a 2 minute slot hence the lowest denominator dumbing down. Cognescenti are going critise it for not pandering to them but it meets its brief more thoroughly than the first episode of cycling show did. Some of the more rational responses to the Monaco article pointed out a novice cyclist had been put on a too-big-for-her £20K bike, so maybe having the front wheel in wrong was to prevent her locking it up and binning it? Again, not a feature aimed at "us".
I think most of the criticism on here has been constructive, highlighting specific areas where it can improve, and we all want it to succeed. Being an apologist is to accept mediocrity as thats all we deserve.
I just watched it - it was OK for a first shot.
Fisher, with his faux eccentricity, was a mistake. Outside the 'industry' no-one knows or cares who he is (neither do I really), and a viewer with casual interest would most likely run a hundred miles the other way if that's a typical 'cyclist'. Obree should have been better introduced too.
I can see 5 minutes 'sport round-up' (all disciplines) each episode being worthwhile, perhaps it would help the rider in the street to connect his experience to top of the pyramid, and show the breadth of what cycling can offer.
Let's give it time to breathe. Good on 'em for having a go.
I just watched it - it was OK for a first shot.
Fisher, with his faux eccentricity, was a mistake. Outside the 'industry' no-one knows or cares who he is (neither do I really), and a viewer with casual interest would most likely run a hundred miles the other way if that's a typical 'cyclist'. Obree should have been better introduced too.
I can see 5 minutes 'sport round-up' (all disciplines) each episode being worthwhile, perhaps it would help the rider in the street to connect his experience to top of the pyramid, and show the breadth of what cycling can offer.
Let's give it time to breathe. Good on 'em for having a go.