Ride for Deutsches TV this Friday?

Anyone read the German comments under the vid on youtube, interesting discussion but they seem to be fairly unfarmiliar with fixed gear riding...

No, but that thank fuck they left me out pumping up my tyres!

Good stuff of you though with me following you down Blackfriars etc....few gay bits of you do fucking endo's too! ;-)

Yeah I remember that footage that was some pretty cool stuff, that was the kinda thing I was hoping to see, is the bit of you going through that teeny weeny gap past the bus in there as well?

Translation....?

Yeah I remember that footage that was some pretty cool stuff, that was the kinda thing I was hoping to see, is the bit of you going through that teeny weeny gap past the bus in there as well?

Yep, but doesn't look all that to be honest, was hairier in real life

They've missed out ALL the stuff of me, you n Chris bombing it up n down Kingsland Rd too :-(

So we have as children also slowed, I'll say so. The other is with the cycling in London anyway extremely dangerous and only discouraged them, whether with or without a front brake.

32ghzt54 (5 days ago) You can also rigid hub with brake drive. I have even a disc brake.

FraenkL69 (1 week ago)depp my son would run in auto, I would beat him ...

slartidan (1 week ago) Is again typical: A lurid title with only half a statement. Braking is obviously possible: 1:13

x20LUx (1 week ago)jo .... as if it would be dangerous ..
on old bikes with brakes ichs resignation was almost easier than with the normal brake "

Deluxe freethought (1 week ago) "Who slows, loses. Continue at any price."
Is there such contributions always stupid, heuschelnden comments?

187Guitarplayer (1 week ago) no risk no fun .. but I think that it is not long until it s dead there ... me too dangerous ..

N0RiskN0Fun (1 week ago) My although Nick says something else, but I must agree with you.
Fixed Gear drive is cool, the rear brake is also there, and enough, but without a front brake drive is just stupid.

Approximate translation from google translator, not sure how accurate it is, but I think you get the idea.

This one not about fixed gear but still amused me:
*"Im uebrigen ist das mit dem Fahrrad fahren in London sowieso extrem gefaehrlich und nur davon abzuraten, ob mit oder ohne Vorderbremse"
*
"Incidentally cycling in London is really dangerous anyway, and can only be advised against, with or without a front brake."

EDIT: LOL @ Googletranslatefail

Haha, mate when they are being fed such gash journalism like that, is it any wonder they have such stupid misconceptions?

Are you Graham in disguise?

"Ist mal wieder typisch: Ein reißerischer Titel mit einer nur halbwahren Aussage. Bremsen ist natürlich möglich"

"Typical, a sensationalist title with a half-baked statement. You can obviously brake."

EDIT: Yeah James too true. Shame really.

*"Fixed Gear fahren ist geil, Heckbremse ist ja auch da und reicht aus, aber ohne Frontbremse fahren ist einfach nur dumm."

*"Fixed gear riding is cool, there is a back brake [meaning your legs, difficult to translate, literally 'back brake is there'] and it works, but riding without a front brake is simply stupid"

I hate the products of Google Translate with a vengeance. The worst thing is that I've actually met people who thought it produced any accurate translations.

Did the Germans then kick off a long discussion about riding with only a back brake? ;P

Funny thing is, I only had a back brake that day (unmachined CXP 14 up front, didn't want to hurt it). They weren't interested in my bike.

I left a comment in german ... about how rubbish they are!
Hate this kind of sensationalist hunt for a shocker headline, especially when you effectively report about people that have no control over the editing or can understand what the end product voice over does say.

Sorry folks, ashamed for german television. ZDF is funded like the BBC, whcih makes it even worse. Cannot understand why something publicly funded has to do daily mail type journalism.

I hate the products of Google Translate with a vengeance. The worst thing is that I've actually met people who thought it produced any accurate translations.

Oliver, all you have to do is convince your fellow Germans to change their language so that Google Translate is an accurate translation and it will all be fine.

Cyclists in Germany all ride on the pavements on bikes like this:

They probably think drop bars are dangerous and edgy.

When you see the unedited footage you'll realise why they left CrazyJames out of the final cut... ;P
Best bit is when horatio and I are raggin' on elguapo... Retardo to the max... :S

thats funny.

the two men in the park smoking and disturbed by the film crew for a vox pop.

question : do you agree with the government making it mandatory for your grandchildren to ride bicycles on busy streets without brakes?

answer : no i dont agree with them at all,,, no brakes, you can't stop

question : okay then do you agree with them taking away your liquid refreshment and only giving it back to you if you cycle up and down oxford street twice with one hand and no brakes?

answer : no i dont agree with them at all,,, no brakes, you can't stop

they could have asked them any number of questions to get that answer.

sorry if i missed something.

Am sorry, but I don't get it. It's time for a rant methinks.

You guys just made the "easiest £20-50" in your life by helping some clueless media types produce this masterpiece of journalism called 'Brakeless through London' that is to be aired on mainstream TV in a country where the police have been cracking down on people like us. Thanks.

In addition, thanks for being part of the whole push to get the fixie (sub)culture right into the mainstream. That's surely what we all stand for! We are all about people who rely on TV for new trends.

I am sorry about being a spoilsport and a boring git, but as a freelance photographer, who goes to events like the ECMC knowing that I will take pics that must never leave my hard drive. They don't. What happened to belonging to this (supposedly) edgy/underground scene? What goes on tour stays on tour kind of mentality...?

I think this sums it up for me: http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised

and this:

"...hipsters serve as agents for the stakeholders in the established cultural hegemony, appropriating the new cultural capital forms, delivering them to mainstream media in a commercial form and stripping their inventors groups ...of the power and ... and the mode of resistance." source

Ring open. Go for me.

Am sorry, but I don't get it. It's time for a rant methinks.

You guys just made the "easiest £20-50" in your life by helping some clueless media types produce this masterpiece of journalism called 'Brakeless through London' that is to be aired on mainstream TV in a country where the police have been cracking down on people like us. Thanks.

In addition, thanks for being part of the whole push to get the fixie (sub)culture right into the mainstream. That's surely what we all stand for! We are all about people who rely on TV for new trends.

I am sorry about being a spoilsport and a boring git, but as a freelance photographer, who goes to events like the ECMC knowing that I will take pics that must never leave my hard drive. They don't.** What happened to belonging to this (supposedly) edgy/underground scene?** What goes on tour stays on tour kind of mentality...?

I think this sums it up for me: http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised

and this:

"...hipsters serve as agents for the stakeholders in the established cultural hegemony, appropriating the new cultural capital forms, delivering them to mainstream media in a commercial form and stripping their inventors groups ...of the power and ... and the mode of resistance." source

Ring open. Go for me.

Get over yourself, riding a fixed gear bicycle isn't an exclusive club.. Anyway, from what I saw of the piece it wasn't exactly glamourising fixed gear riding for the masses

Ring open. Go for me.

Thanks for the kind offer. But, if you don't mind, I'll decline.

@ skiver "keeping it real" is hugely overrated any scene will go overground, just suck it up and keep riding your bike, or find the next alternative/edgy "scene" to be a part of. You don't own riding fixed so why do you want it to be underground forever, so you feel better/cooler than everyone else? Just ride and let the rest go, unless the rest is more important than the riding.

Get over yourself, riding a fixed gear bicycle isn't an exclusive club.. Anyway, from what I saw of the piece it wasn't exactly glamourising fixed gear riding for the masses

I think riding brakeless in traffic SHOULD be an exclusive club reserved for experienced cyclists - not a gateway into cycling for people who'd not sat on a bike since they were 12 and now decided to take up cycling. There are other bikes that are far less easier to handle. More media --> more of the bad cycling we all moan about here.

Sure ZDF is not glamorous. It is the mainstream channel in Germany. You saying that you'd jump on this if it was Channel 4/iTV doing a piece on brakeless through London with Donald MacIntyre or Coleen nolan???

skiver, you need to be in london to understand how ridiculous your statement is. there are parts of london where 75% of all bikes on the road are fixed gear bikes. it's not some hidden subculture in london anymore.

I think riding brakeless in traffic SHOULD be an exclusive club reserved for experienced cyclists - not a gateway into cycling for people who'd not sat on a bike since they were 12 and now decided to take up cycling. There are other bikes that are far less easier to handle. More media --> more of the bad cycling we all moan about here.

Sure ZDF is not glamorous. It is the mainstream channel in Germany. You saying that you'd jump on this if it was Channel 4/iTV doing a piece on brakeless through London with Donald MacIntyre or Coleen nolan???

Riding brakeless on the road should be left to people experienced enough to do so yes but in Germany riding brakeless can result in a fine and confiscation of your bike so I can't imagine this piece is encouraging that.

As for my 'glamourising' bit I was talking about how riding fixed was portrayed (lots of vox pop from cabbies etc saying how it's wrong). From what I gather, the piece was making out that riding fixed is a bad thing to do and thus wasn't exactly encouraging people in the mainstream to take it up.

I left a comment in german ... about how rubbish they are!
Hate this kind of sensationalist hunt for a shocker headline, especially when you effectively report about people that have no control over the editing or can understand what the end product voice over does say.

Sorry folks, ashamed for german television. ZDF is funded like the BBC, whcih makes it even worse. Cannot understand why something publicly funded has to do daily mail type journalism.

The German voiceover indicates that the journalist who produced it is the German equivalent to your stereotypical clueless BBC journalist. It's an utterly vapid piece of commentary that is only spoken to showcase the journalist's privileged status in a desperate attempt to make something appear the way they want it to appear.

I find you get the same types in both countries, with only a few fairly minor differences.

Oliver, all you have to do is convince your fellow Germans to change their language so that Google Translate is an accurate translation and it will all be fine.

Quite a few Germans who are on-line have already done this.

Cyclists in Germany all ride on the pavements on bikes like this:

They probably think drop bars are dangerous and edgy.

That bike looks much too sporty. I think you want to go looking for something safer and heavier.

Am sorry, but I don't get it. It's time for a rant methinks.

You guys just made the "easiest £20-50" in your life by helping some clueless media types produce this masterpiece of journalism called 'Brakeless through London' that is to be aired on mainstream TV in a country where the police have been cracking down on people like us. Thanks.

In addition, thanks for being part of the whole push to get the fixie (sub)culture right into the mainstream. That's surely what we all stand for! We are all about people who rely on TV for new trends.

I am sorry about being a spoilsport and a boring git, but as a freelance photographer, who goes to events like the ECMC knowing that I will take pics that must never leave my hard drive. They don't. What happened to belonging to this (supposedly) edgy/underground scene? What goes on tour stays on tour kind of mentality...?

I think this sums it up for me: http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised

and this:

"...hipsters serve as agents for the stakeholders in the established cultural hegemony, appropriating the new cultural capital forms, delivering them to mainstream media in a commercial form and stripping their inventors groups ...of the power and ... and the mode of resistance." source

Ring open. Go for me.

Haha! Best worst post ever.

I particularly like the description of photos of the ECMCs that make them sound like kiddie porn. Nut job.

In any case, the quicker the "scene" loses wannabe-elitists like you, the better. If anyone is a hipster, it's the guy trying his damnedest to remain unique by riding a particular type of bike, while feeling something has been lost when others begin to enjoy the same past time.

God...