Top Gear is one of the best programmes on TV.

Some of it is good. Most of it is lazy derivative crap, the same jokes year after year dressed up different ways

I’m glad I don’t have to have a pint with the majority of posters on here, as I’d probably stab myself in the eyes to lighten the mood.

100% of the people I do choose to have a pint/ride with wouldn’t have taken offence at tonights TG, as they actually don’t give a **** about getting het up about light entertainment.

Top Gear is one of the best programmes on TV. Jez is fantastic and his satire is sometimes brilliant. It’s a total petrolhead programme and if you take your head out of your arse you might actually enjoy it. Bikes are ace, cars are ace. Vive la difference!

Oh please have a pint with me?! Please? Pretty please???

You’re not cool enough I think. He’s very cool. So cool he doesn’t care about things. Apart from not caring about things. He cares about not caring.

Some of it is good. Most of it is lazy derivative crap, the same jokes year after year dressed up different ways

Every now and then I catch an episode – and this pretty much sums it up for me. When it’s good it can be very good, but an awful lot of it is just dull – does anyone really still find his Stig intro amusing these days, for example?

If it had been remotely witty, it would have been OK. It was just lazily written and thrown together and not funny. I was actually expecting something a bit more considered, given that it was filmed with the cyclist deaths in London very much on the agenda.

I liked a few of the other segments in the programme, but it’s been a so-so series.

Has Boardman given his reaction yet? I’m reckoning that he was promised a little bit more by the producers to secure his involvement.

In response to all the hatred against Top gear, why have the cycling community never made their own TV programme to the same level

(And by same level, I don’t mean that drivel that ITV4 put out when trying to cash in on the Olympics and Bradley Wigging)

oba Fatt – Member
In response to all the hatred against Top gear, why have the cycling community never made their own TV programme to the same level

This point has cropped up many a time. In short, it’s primarily because there really isn’t the market for it. Even with the vast numbers of people using bikes as transport, and the rapid rise in those numbers, cycling is still a tiny minority activity. Further to that, for the vast majority of people who have a bike, they don’t see themselves as cyclists, just someone who rides a bike sometimes. STW is very much non-representative of the wider cycling community! 🙂

Also the problem is what they would cover which was one of the problems of the ITV4 show. Bike reviews were dumbed down (and almost always totally positive), in-depth stuff on specific disciplines bored people who aren’t into that and so on. Top Gear is a generalist programme, not specialist. ITV tried to do the same for bikes but ended up pleasing nobody.

Top Gear is a generalist programme, not specialist

Indeed. Another point where a cycling show would always fail, IMHO.

Commuter/hybrid tests – No one ‘serious’ is interested.
Megabuck crabon fribe fredvagen tests – ‘Cycling’s just too expensive’
BMX articles – Cycling’s for kids, etc.

Wheel sizes? Don’t even start on that one!

There are too many niches within cycling, each of which is a tiny population to please.

If it had been remotely witty, it would have been OK. It was just lazily written and thrown together and not funny. I was actually expecting something a bit more considered, given that it was filmed with the cyclist deaths in London very much on the agenda.

I think it was probably toned down a bit, there did seem to be a lot of scope for obvious jokes which would have been bad taste. Maybe the script was written 12 months ago, and ammended after the deaths last year?

I don’t think the average motorist* or petrol-head takes Clarkson as gospell, it was blindingly obvious when they were joking knowing they were wrong (red/green, ohh look aren’t taxi drivers polite, etc). No ones going to go and quote that down the pub are they? And the number of rule-breaking cyclists is probably no higher than the number of rule breaking motorists.

And it ended on a positive, ‘one less car’ point. What did you expect, a 30minute section outlining every grievence ever leveled agaisnt people in cars by cyclists?

*of the outraged of tumbridge wells, frothing at the mouth, i pay road tax, variety

There are too many niches within cycling, each of which is a tiny population to please.

Ski sunday managed, and skiing’s even more a minority sport. I think you could fill 30min with raceing news, and some tech and technique features. Even someone with only a passing interest might find Di2 an interesting idea (or disk brakes, or how carbon fibre frames are made, or how to jump a BMX, trackstand, switzerland squeeker etc).

Reviews of bikes rather than concepts would be a bit crap though, like cars, to 99% of cyclists a bikes a bike, trying to pick one based on someone elses preferences or requiremnts is pointless.

Well dispite my best effort to watch it last night I will now catch it tonight on BBC2 at 7pm…

And it ended on a positive, ‘one less car’ point. What did you expect, a 30minute section outlining every grievence ever leveled agaisnt people in cars by cyclists?

Which they fluffed with the ‘give an inch’ line, despite Hammond’s intervention to correct it.

I wasn’t expecting much, TBH, and they certainly delivered it. Unfortunately, they’d already done the ‘race across London’ format in a previous series, which would have been the best way to show why people cycle, and how it could be made safer.

Just had the feeling of something that wasn’t particularly thought out or scripted well, more likely to have been rushed together on the spur of the moment after Clarkson’s little twitter spat.

in 2007, 84% of cyclists stopped at red lights.

I.e. a huge 16% didn’t and some of you are saying it’s got worse. That’s pretty poor. Imagine the chaos if 16% of drivers didn’t stop at red lights.

I found Top Gear funny last night; had they attempted to make the cycling feature any more serious it would have been out of character with the show. I can appreciate some people’s disappointment at a missed opportunity but I half-expected it to be worse for cyclists than it actually was. At least they delivered a “cyclists are alright” message.

^Good point about Ski Sunday though. I think they’ve done a tremendous job with that since Bell and the other one took over and to see something similar for mountain biking would be ace, especially if Rob Warner hosted it 🙂

Some of the comments on here are brilliant 🙂 It’s TopGear! You wouldn’t expect a cycling show to extol the benefits of driving a 4×4 around central London would you?

I was just hoping for either funny or helpful. Didn’t get either. They could have had a lot more fun ripping the piss out of London cyclists.

Good point about Ski Sunday though. I think they’ve done a tremendous job with that since Bell and the other one took over

I suppose Ski Sunday was lucky to have had the weight of history behind it. Many happy evenings by the fire as a kid watching Klammer and listening to Vine! Also, it began as a sports show, not a ‘lifestyle’ type show as it’s slightly morphing in to now. OK, so it’s still all about the sport really, but Amy Williams pops up now and again, so that’s all good!

Is there a market to watch a cycling version of Ski Sunday? If it was about racing, I’m really not sure. To do justice to a road race, you need to see how it all plays out. The TDF highlights are superb at this. You could do the same for the Spring Classics, but beyond that, I don’t think enough people would want to watch it on TV. Especially not MTB racing, which looks rubbish on telly. Always has done. Now, if they could get some 4X on, and capitalise on the success of Ski/Board Cross……. 8)

Especially not MTB racing, which looks rubbish on telly

I respectfully – and strongly – disagree. Downhill mountain bike racing coverage just gets better and better. My SINGLE favourite bit of sporting footage EVER – the one that always gives me goose-bumps – is Danny Hart’s World Champs winning run. Even family members who have no interest in cycling enjoy watching that one, no doubt helped by the commentary too 😆

CaptainFlashheart – Member

Good point about Ski Sunday though. I think they’ve done a tremendous job with that since Bell and the other one took over

I suppose Ski Sunday was lucky to have had the weight of history behind it. Many happy evenings by the fire as a kid watching Klammer and listening to Vine!

I liked the older format – I have little interest in the two presenters
(although my opinion of GB has changed massively since the Olympics – he was superb) – Just show us the sport!

The other show Ed & Graham did, High Altitude, was very good at what it did, so why not have have both?

Older sports coverage was much better in some respects – remember full rally stages with no tiresome interruptions?
Bliss.

Is there a market to watch a cycling version of Ski Sunday?

I really think there is, if it was done properly.

Especially not MTB racing, which looks rubbish on telly. Always has done. Now, if they could get some 4X on, and capitalise on the success of Ski/Board Cross…….

I thought the last Olympic XC races were fantastic – if the courses are properly designed to exploit the TV coverage & vice versa, then it can be great.

But yes, 4X would be superb.
After a month or so, every single kid in the playground would be hooked. 🙂

I have little interest in the two presenters

I think Bell adds a lot of value to Ski Sunday. His efforts at explaining why someone did a fast run, where they made a mistake etc make the whole experience of watching the racing much deeper and I get a lot more out of it.

I agree.
I think his commentaries are excellent.
It’s the lifestyle/travelogue stuff that should be excised.

It’s the lifestyle/travelogue stuff that should be excised.

I like that too. I prefer a more varied programme than “just” racing.

Anyway, way off topic for the TG lovers and haters 😆

I.e. a huge 16% didn’t and some of you are saying it’s got worse. That’s pretty poor. Imagine the chaos if 16% of drivers didn’t stop at red lights.

Seems standard practice for drivers to go through red lights nowadays. Generally at the lights without cameras there are usually about 2-3 cars which push through when the lights change.

I always thought that the old format of Ski Sunday would be a great Alan Partridge show, you could have Alan interviewing Bode Miller 🙂
‘So Bode, where’s doyle’
‘eh?’
and imagine the commentary on the race runs 😀

I didn’t see TG, I’m sure that even if there was an oblique point trying to be made it would have been lost – he’s never going to point out that motorists have responsibilities to avoid accidents and not force their way past cyclists (‘because they are in a car which is faster innit?’) so the whole segment was probably counterproductive

Seems standard practice for drivers to go through red lights nowadays. Generally at the lights without cameras there are usually about 2-3 cars which push through when the lights change.

Ditto. I ride across Bristol everyday. I see more motor vehicles run red lights than cycles. Not defending either, but it isn’t even sneaking through on amber, but full blown red light jumping.

traildog – Member

I.e. a huge 16% didn’t and some of you are saying it’s got worse. That’s pretty poor. Imagine the chaos if 16% of drivers didn’t stop at red lights.

Seems standard practice for drivers to go through red lights nowadays. Generally at the lights without cameras there are usually about 2-3 cars which push through when the lights change.

I’ve just got back from the school run. I have to cross a main road using a pedestrian crossing. I can guarantee that at least once a week at least one car will RLJ. So – anecdotally I know – if I go back and fore to the school every day 20% of my attempts to use that crossing will be endangered. I have counted up to 7 cars driving across the crossing while the green man is flashing.

Occasionally, when it’s safe to do so I’ll stand in the road, force them to stop and explain what they’ve done. I have never had one person admit that they’ve run a red light, they always claim it was green. Not even amber, green! And usually it’s just foul language.

Anyway, back to arguing about a TV program because that’s more important than the real world, eh?

Three pricks mostly enjoyed by dicks.

The car bits are sometimes good. That’s why I watch.

Shame about the pricks though.

I have counted up to 7 cars driving across the crossing while the green man is flashing

Doesn’t flashing green man coincide with flashing amber on the crossing? Meaning that drivers can proceed if the crossing is clear? It does on most crossings I know.

I may have phrased that badly, Molgrips. I’ll try again. Up to 7 cars driving through the red light when the green man is beeping and allowing pedestrians to cross.

What i took from the piece.

Cyclists: maintain your bike so as it isnt dangerous, dont run red lights and dont get all high and mighty with car/bus/lorryists when it comes to the rules of the road, it’s not cool being right and dead.

Carists: give cyclists more room.

All the other jokes etc were to make the article fit the show, so not suprising they are a little devisive.

Given thier brief was to improve safety/increase haromony on the roads, I reckon they did alright.

I watched it last night, thought the Porker was “Amazeballs” 😀

I watched it last night, thought the Porker was “Amazeballs”

+1 – want want want want!

Also, some of the video editing in Top Gear now is truly stunning.

Helpfully timed for the night before the start of the Big Pedal, a Sustrans campaign running from 3rd-14th March to encourage children to pedal/scoot to school.

id didnt see it, I have nothing to add, however

What i took from the piece.

Cyclists: maintain your bike so as it isnt dangerous, dont run red lights and dont get all high and mighty with car/bus/lorryists when it comes to the rules of the road, it’s not cool being right and dead.

Carists: give cyclists more room.

All the other jokes etc were to make the article fit the show, so not suprising they are a little devisive.

Given thier brief was to improve safety/increase harmony on the roads, I reckon they did alright.

^^This.

In typical Top Gear style, it was a humourous piece about a serious issue, presented in a certain tongue in cheek way. Stop getting all indignant about it.

And to keep it rolling today we have an understandable point of view…

http://road.cc/content/news/112817-cyclist’s-widow-tells-top-gear’s-jeremy-clarkson-look-me-eye

Not sure if its a proper link so you know what to do.

And to keep it rolling today we have an understandable point of view…

http://road.cc/content/news/112817-cyclist’s-widow-tells-top-gear’s-jeremy-clarkson-look-me-eye

Not sure if its a proper link so you know what to do.

I can understand that if you lost someone in a cycling accident you may of been offended, but if we never air anything that any particular person may find upsetting you’d never air anything on tv at all.

the more this drags on, the more I think that they should just leave cycling alone. it has no place on Top Gear and the piece just stemmed from Clarkson being a bellend on Twitter and someone deciding to rectify the issue with a cycling piece.