Beauty and the Bike Short

[monopodilato]

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[TheDINEY13]

*****Que maravilhas!!!Quem deras no Brasil tivessem mais belas que pensassem assim.*****

[krirks]

I have no idea what are they talking about....

British accent is really hard to understand for foreigners

[BeautyandtheBike]

@krirks Just click on the cc button, bottom right of the vid. You'll get subtitles in many languages.

There are a hundred British accents - even the Queen can't speak proper English!!! (I'm Scottish, by the way ):-)

[oldloafandyoung]

Fashion really does cripple people in so many ways

[cosmicspeed33]

Ich liebe mein Bike! Benzinpreise sind mir egal!

[allansandman1]

This is interesting. well, I think in korea they're more on bikes.. so gurls riding in a bike is just is not a problem, well it's kinda cute =)

[BeautyandtheBike]

You're so right, amorfuss. Guess I have the same perspective as you here. What I find intriguing is that, if the politicians and urban planners get the infrastructure right, attractive female cyclists appear in their thousands. Without it, we are left with this kind of desperate plea to fashion and style.

[amorfuss]

It is a little sad that we only do things based on image and fashion or the general consensus but I guess these are things that you tend to grow out of when you eventually realise that fashion and image does't really mean anything, personally though I think it shouldn't make a difference regardless because I find one of the most attractive things in the world to be a female cyclist.

[stevecunio]

I think it's really sad that using a bike is seen as a style choice. However, I think it's good that the bikes now available will help get style conscious people on their bikes, saving money, saving the planet and experiencing the freedom of the open air! :)

[GildedAlien]

Girls look better on road bikes or fixies. Mountain bikes and anything else, only makes you look like a bum. haha

[frootiloopi]

There's something about a girl on a dress riding a bike that.... well it's just pure poetry

[EastFrontier89]

Always nice to see girls riding bikes, really lifts your spirits

[sampfa]

I agree with this totally I would love to ride but just dont feel safe on the london roads etc come on England catch up with the times

[PARABOLOUS]

This is amazing!

[MrMegaPickle]

get a fixed.. Fixed Gear if there worried about style

[atomheartfather]

Interesting what you say about your daughters, Elio. A news item on the radio this week (BBC's "You and Yours") states that there has been a big rise in women cycling in the UK (and buying bikes - the interviews are with bike retailers). But kids are generally a very conservative lot, and few seem to want to be part of the "avante garde" that brings new "fashion" on to the streets, without needing the "fashion industry" to tell them. Patience - things are changing!

[ElioFrankAnthony]

When I ride my carbon fibre racer that weighs 7.4 kilo for seriouse exercise I go hard but when I go down to the shops or the pup or visiting on my mountain bike I just plod along no real hurry its great, if only I could get my Daughters to cycle they seem to think that its not fashionable & you are a nerd if you cycle, teenages they will grow up...

[KrunchyJD]

This needs to happen in Australia, only 21% of people who cycle in Australia are female. Women represent half the population, it is a problem. As a male, I believe there is something charming about a woman on a bicycle.

[TheJUSTOMAR]

beautiful girl at 330.. wow!

[trx1961]

someone need to upload the whole film. would LOVE 2 c it.

[trx1961]

why the helll are the bars up so damn high??

[trx1961]

someone need to upload the whole film on here

[neltec]

Niceeee & Very lovely !! ♥ ♥

[ideasoner]

bikes are cool! they are way cooler than cars

get the right bike, a good one, you can get all matching parts, custom colours and its exsersize! the right bike also realy feals nicer to ride, think of it like shoes...

you wount be looking cool on a hunk of junk from argos....

[eldridgepaul]

You should try recumbents, either with two or three wheels. so much better that a 'normal' bike.

[ideasoner]

@eldridgepaul also 5 times the price

[eldridgepaul]

@ideasoner May be so, but so worth the extra money. I found a second hand one to start with which can be got for around same price as a half descent new bike. Once you try it lying down you won't want to go back.

[ideasoner]

@eldridgepaul the faster disign ones do go faster than most road bikes to, they realy dont seem practicle though

irl stick to my fixed gear, mtb and SS retro roadie :)

[tourdefrance]

Great video. The girl at 6:30 is stunningly, naturally beautiful.

[Pupixario]

Drive a bike , save a penguin !

[ideasoner]

@Pupixario haha im using that saying

[hartleymartin]

Education, Engineering, Enforcement, Encouragement. You have to properly teach people about cycling, you have to build the appropriate infrastructure, you have to enforce cyclists' rights on the road, and you need to encourage people to use their bicycles on the available infrastructure. It really is a case of build the cycle-paths, mark the cycle-lanes and then wait for the cyclists to come.

[moffig1]

we are going to move from karlsruhe, germany to birmingham.

I'm 17 and very sad about that but we have to go because of my parents job.

I can't speak the british accent...

[Dayhikr]

...LOVE to see programs like this one promoting Cycling Safety, Utility and Fun!.....The state of Ohio in the USA where I live is building a 300 Mile long bicycle path from Cincinatti to Columbus to Cleveland.....Our longest existing auto prohibited bicycle path is over 70 miles long.....Mostly, we have the Room to build them where places like Europe are more physically restricted....That's what makes this film even more important to Cycling!....Rick.... :-)

[katmalin]

The full film is being screened in Manchester on Wed 31st March at Lass O'Gowrie on Charles Street (near the BBC) at 7pm.

We will have some special guests at the screening including some of the young women who star in the documentary, Lauren & Kate, and the makers of the film, Richard & Beatrix. There will be a short introduction to the project and film, and time for questions and a discussion afterwards

Entry is free (but we will ask for a small donation in return for an awesome sticker!)

[katmalin]

The full film is being screened in Manchester on Wed 31st March at Lass O'Gowrie on Charles Street (near the BBC) at 7pm.

We will have some special guests at the screening including some of the young women who star in the documentary, Lauren & Kate, and the makers of the film, Richard & Beatrix. There will be a short introduction to the project and film, and time for questions and a discussion afterwards

Entry is free (but we will ask for a small donation in return for an awesome sticker!)

[adastraMMX]

What a fantastic video.

It really is a shame that so many people are denied the freedom to roam due to our repressive infrastructure.

I hope that this video goes out to as many councillors, mayors, and MPs as possible. There are too many dangerous and ineffective cycle lanes out there. And HGVs present a serious threat to people.

It is just not fair that the most direct and safe routes are built for cars, then pavements follow as an afterthought followed by cycle lanes. Here's to change!

[andrew097]

What a nice little video . I often think towns should state "shared space" on roads and just put a little paint down on te road just to make drivers a little more aware of the other road users.

Cycling a Granny bike is just about one of the most enjoyable things you can do.

The bike for me reperesents liberation. Its class less you can go anywere and you can dress and just express yourself anyway you want.

[nesbear23]

For me a bike represents liberation and freedom.

Bike riding is where I am free from makeup and clothes and being clean and tidy. The bicycle represents womens emancipation and to adhere to such beauty rules when upon one is a tragedy.

Creating trinkets and feminine cycling clothing isnt the answer to low self esteem. We need to tackle the roots of it not put a plaster over the wound.

Women need to get together, to talk and discuss the REAL issues and how to overcome "the beauty ideal"

[nesbear23]

Beauty must be defined as what we are, or else the concept itself is our enemy.

To see beauty is simply to learn the private language of meaning which is anothers life — to recognize and relish what is.

Why languish in the shadow a standard we cannot personify, an ideal we cannot live?

[NeonLoveMe]

haha Bremen is nice :)

[Wuppidoci]

You are welcome to visit it.

[JaneMorris28]

great stuff - but easier to look good on a bike without wearing a cycle helmet, even if not as safe?!

[hartleymartin]

In most countries it is not compulsory to wear a helmet, although it is highly recommended. There are only a few countries where helmets are compulsory items (I live in one of them - you get used to the helmet very soon).

[Wuppidoci]

Are you a male cyclist, hartleymartin? I guess so. Women (and most men) do not fancy helmets, they are not very becoming. And if you talk about risk, then you have to get pedestrians to wear helmets as well.

There is a huge discussion about helmets esp. in the Anglo-Saxon World, But in countries like the Netherlands, where cycling is supported and relatively safe (from motorists), helmets are not an issue at all.

[hartleymartin]

Wuppidoci - Yes I am a male cyclist, and I don't like the fact that women are a tiny minority in the cycling world. I try to encourage my friends to cycle, to the point where I actually own a number of lady's bicycles to lend to them.

Helmets are part of a huge debate. I think that their "need" will be significantly lessened when bicycles become mainstream and cyclists are respected as valid road users.

[Wuppidoci]

To refer to your last paragraph in your answer: It is hen and egg: As long as cyclists are not respected, people will not cycle. And "to be respected" does not just mean to be friendly to them while they are cycling on the road from the car drivers' side but also the respect the council shows for cyclists, when they do road works: When roads are changed, cycle paths should be self understood. So far infrastructure is only geared to motorists, and that is respectless towards cyclists.

[hartleymartin]

Wuppidoci - You have a perfect understanding of the issue and I whole-heartedly agree with you.

[Wuppidoci]

We are not alone in this world, great!

[andrew097]

I have a rule for me, about wearing a helmet and its to do with the geometry of the bike . If I have lots of gears and I am leaning forward I use my helmet. If I'm on a bike where my shoulder hip and ankle are in a line downwards its the same as walking and I dont bother with a helmet.

One bike my balance is off and the other bike I'm in balance.

[CruzDemon]

Definitely want to see the full 55 minute doc

[kelsnelable]

looking good ladies! yay bikes.

[sparxx49]

Brilliant video!

[yotengomuchosanos]

There's at least one girl who bikes to my school, she uses the same bike rack as me. She's not really fashionable I guess, but I think she's pretty anyways.

Anyway out of a high school with 3,000+ kids, its pretty sad how few people bike, like 15 on beautiful weather days, including one crazy art teacher.

[Wuppidoci]

Dear TehChurch, you are from Britain (as your profile shows), and in Britain most car drivers have no respect for cyclists, there you are right. But when the young women talk about respect shown by car drivers, they are in Bremen, Germany, and there the situation is completely different. Please have another look at the video, we are not making propaganda for British transport policy, but criticising it for not doing enough for cyclists. There must be a misunderstanding on your side.

[PieG59]

Well done DTC! The point is - what will it take to get girls cycling?

Q. What are the benefits of girls cycling?

A; Reduces traffic congestion; improves cost of public health through exercise thereby reducing obesity & stress; reduce traffic emissions & global warming, lastly improving driving standards in the future - many of these girls will become motorists & mums in the future. Cycling now means they become better drivers on the few occasions they drive in the future.

[JimexJimex]

This video emphasize WAY too much on the fashion and style side of urban cycling, as if fashion is a MAJOR factor that prevent girls from using their bicycles.

No, it's NOT.

Then it puts out images of hot girls on dutch style bikes, which is totally impractical in their cycle environment.

The message quickly degrades to "Oh we the lovely girls want to ride our lovely bikes, so use the public fund and build lanes for us!"

That is EXTREMELY unconvincing, to say the least.

[atomheartfather]

Sorry, but your comments fail to follow the narrative - that girls stop cycling because they see it as uncool, but they see it as uncool because the infrastructure is so crap and unsupportive of ANY normal person cycling.

The "lovely girls" are just one section of society who highlight the wider problem - what about 12 year old kids? If infrastructure does not provide a safe and convenient basis for ANYONE to cycle then, surprise surprise, most people will choose to use a car instead.

[JimexJimex]

Disagree.

In this 8 minute video, the first 3 minutes and 45 seconds are DEDICATED to fashion and style. the word "SAFE" didn't even pop up until 4:40.

[atomheartfather]

@JimexJimex Come on Jimex. Happy to deconstruct any media, but please do so accurately. How can statements about transport policy in Bremen, independence, environmental issues, flexibility, ideas about what is "a kid's thing" have anything to do with "fashion and style"? Why are you so keen to tarnish this analysis with such innacuracies? Just say openly if you believe we should all be cycling in helmets and lycra.

[Wuppidoci]

@JimexJimex How can you write such a comment? In these first 3:45 minutes only two girls are talking about fashion and another one mentions that cycling is not looked at as being "stylish". All the rest is about their general attitude to cycling shaped by their peer group and opinions. Then they travel to Bremen and one of them comments on the situation in Bremen: Nothing about fashion here. Please look at this video a bit more diligently before you post a comment that is so inaccurate.

[AzzyAsi]

I live in Bucharest. We have some tiny cycle paths made on the sidewalk (not on street level) that are usually blocked by parked cars, and pedestrians are walking on it. It's dumb.

Anyway I ride along with the cars, switching lanes and zig-zaging through rush hour traffic (every day, at every hour it's rush hour). I'm riding a race road bike, no helmet, it still works.

Didn't encounter any problems on my daily route.

Use of helmet is not specified in law (here), but to be safe you can use it

[groovetonemusic]

Super!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Noel8]

Which one of that lot is meant to be the beauty then?

[BeautyandtheBike]

@Noel8

Beauty is a concept, not a person.

[nesbear23]

i think this film is great.

A little sad that the idea of beauty is not challenged, rather how teenagers and other women can still look beautiful on a bike.

It's surely time to question and address the deeper problem, which is overcoming the lack of self esteem and pressure on young girls and women to adhere to western beauty ideals, on a bike or not.

[atomheartfather]

Sounds like another film to me. Actually, the deeper issues around "beauty and the bike" quickly leave behind a simplistic idea that it's just about cute western ideals. The culture of young western women challenges the universality or otherwise of cycling - as would many others currently excluded from cycling by our car-centric towns and cities. Interesting though..

[maximummask]

NHS-sponsored plastic surgery for everybody!

[atomheartfather]

Beg to differ. The distance between your head and the pavement does not change when you walk - or indeed, drive a car. Why target cyclists? Because in those cultures where cycling is 2nd class - ie US of A, UK, Australia - we are thrown into the most dangerous of situations by our wonderful town planners. Fight for better infrastructure, please, and stop all this acceptance of absolutely CRAP cycling conditions.

[WANGZOOMZIP]

using a helmet has NOTHING to do with speed. It is the distance between your head and the pavement. An "at stop" tip over can be fatal if you strike your head, once again, NOTHING to do with forward speed. I have seen folks do a slow motion tip over a dozen times in which they for some reason fumble for the bars or get caught up in them and crack their noggin.

[snoogly]

Totally agree. My 3 'crashes' have all involved just me, twice when I was barely moving.

[halsvideo]

Love the music and professional quality of this video. Like the idea of targeting young people to promote cycling. However, the end message that cycling lanes are safer is really not supported, in practice or in research. The real tragedy of this video is that non of the young cyclists were wearing helmets, a proven personal safety measure. Guess it was counter to the "fashion" focus. Too bad.

[Wuppidoci]

Thank you for your positive remarks! But why do you question the end message about cycle paths or cycle lanes? What do you recommend to make cycling safer?

And the issue about helmets is a simple one: Helmets are needed when you are a beginner, quite right. This is why kids wear helmets. Experienced cyclists do not just fall off their bikes.

The other reason for helmets are the dangers from cars. Go to Holland, look at the infrastructure and then try to find a cyclist with a helmet.

[Wuppidoci]

Then look at statistics and you will see that in countries with a safe cycling infrastructure like the Netherlands the percentage of cyclists wearing helmets is extremely low, whilst in dangerous countries like the U.K. it is the other way round. In this film we are not talking about sporty, racing cyclists but about everyday cycling, gentle cycling.

[Wuppidoci]

Do you need a helmet, when you are cycling at 10 mph or 16 km/h, where you can step off your bike any time plus you cycle in a safe infrastructure on your own cycle path where a car cannot harm you?

[princessfearn]

Briliant video, putting the point well. I'll forward it to my girlf's fashion conscious 16yr old and see what she makes of it. Not much, I fear... And talking of that, bicycle accidents rates are much less in reality than in the imagination of the general public. How to get around that one? (more safety in numbers, more bikes on the roads and fewer on the pavements). Good Luck!

[atomheartfather]

Yes, I know they can be bought in some cities. York has a really great bike shop with dutch bikes, but we've tried to convince the 3 shops in Darlington to stock dutch bikes - we even visited the factory where the girls' bikes are manufactured in Germany, and got the details for a deal for a retailer to import them, but still have had no positive response frm shops. And car culture here means, for example, our work in Darlington is ignored by the mainstream. No wonder so many people leave!

[GeorgieRI]

One can buy bikes like theirs in Britain - but you have to look hard. The young women in the video look like they're enjoying cycling and that's what needs to happen. But it's a terrible up-hill struggle against the UK/US car culture which doesn't seem to exist in Northern Europe despite the general affluence of the population.

[atomheartfather]

Silly helmet debate. I cracked my head when staggering to the toilet ill. If I'd worn a helmet, I would have saved the stitches and pain. Lowest bike injury rate in the world - Denmark - also lowest helmet wearing, and highest cycling rates. Spot on bfdingo. Let the helmet debate wither away!

[Barnetonni]

Bremen is well worth a visit. Try the river side cycle routes north of the city.

UK city engineers, note that many services are beneath the cycle tracks which are often herring bone brick pattern laid on sand. Replacing and adding cables, pipes etc is easy. Cyclists are diverted with bollards onto the road while work is in progress.

Congratulations on an excellent video!

[bfdingo]

Top video. More people on bikes makes cycling safer for all and the helmet debate will go away. If you cycle in Bremen or Amsterdam or Munich or Copenhagen, the only reason for a helmet is to protect you when you've had rather too many sherbets in the BierKeller.

[kcnirva]

Some really cute girls there. :O)

[franciscccccc]

No helmets? D:

[abountu]

Helmets were never proven to make cycling safer (specially not in the cities)

Researches are not conclusive, it just makes you feel safer.

[franciscccccc]

I got knocked off while wearing a helmet and it cracked in two, if I hadn't been wearing it I'd probably be dead... It's just common sense.

[abountu]

(if what you're telling is true) you are one case in a million as they say..

statistics tell a different story. countries where most percent of cyclists wear helmets have the highest percentage of cyclists accident.

And then it could be due to the helmet that you got knocked off in the first place.

Anyway as I said there is no proof that helmets save cyclists lifes. And common sense in this case, taking statistics into account, is not to wear helmet.

[SueWithoutHelmet]

I loved this movie & I plan to order copies for our pollies here in australia! - Well Done!!!!

[addictedtobicycles]

Outstanding....bikes make people smile.

[heeby93]

well that was shit.

[atomheartfather]

ah yes, the UK infrastructure.....

[falameufilho]

You might get better bike adoption among girls if you give them newer bikes made with lighter materials as opposed to these 40Kg behemoths they're riding on this video.

[BeautyandtheBike]

You should check out what's available in most UK shops - BMX, racers, mountain bikes. The weight of the bike is not an issue right now. First thing is to recognise - there are gentle ways of cycling, whether on "modern" or "old fashioned" bikes.

Having said that, if you're offering a few light bikes on trial, the girls will happily try them out :)

[Wuppidoci]

These bikes are by no means 40 kg. They weigh about 16 kg.

We had to import them, it is extremely difficult to get bikes like that in the UK. That is one of the reasons why girls do not cycle in this country.

[JimexJimex]

That's right. My road bike is 7.73 kg and it's VERY easy to keep up with the cars going 35kmh or even go faster than them.

Cars on UK roads are not really that fast during rush hours.

[Wuppidoci]

@JimexJimex

I do not want to go at 35 mph on my bike. 15 is quite good and well enough for me, when I cycle to work, shopping, to the cinema or whereever.

[camoran81]

It was my experience as a teenager that one of the things that let to me abandoning cycling was the new bike given to me when I outgrew my old Schwinn. The lighter weights, "over the handlebars", posture and higher perch makes them feel very unsteady and uncomfortable. Maybe not an issue for some (like you and my dad), but can be a deal-breaker for others. Not everyone has the same needs and desires out of bikes (or cars, or toothpastes etc) that's why there's so much variety!

[cyclenut]

@falameufilho I'm not sure I agree. My Eruo city bike is much heavier then a "light bike", but it is very stable. Riding it seems as if then bike will not fall over and if one tried it seems it would fight to be stable. My light bike may be faster, but they are not near as stable as my Dutch bike. So what if it weights over 50 pounds. I never have to clean the chain, just oil it 4 times a year. I can also wear anything I want on it.. Can't do that on many other bikes... Heavy Ducth bike rule!

[codekiln]

Reinhard Loske, Senator for Environment Construction Transport Europe "The experience we can offer is ... give cyclists space, and very clearly, give cyclists advantages over car." If only cyclists in the US had representation like that. Mayor Menino in Boston will cycle to work occasionally, hiring a "bike czar" to try to give representation to the cause ... but we're still forty years from having representation like Reinhard Loske that understands what it takes to build a bike city.

[webwarren]

Such a "feel-good" bit, want to see more... Here in the US, too, cycling after puberty is more a "guy" thing, and cycling for errands is not much understood by shopkeeps and clerks. Then, too, are the matters of secure bicycle parking and showers/lockers at one's place of business.

[freddotu]

A wonderful bit of video. It's unfortunate that the young lady in one segment is untrained in safe operation on the roadway. She is riding in the door-zone and risking injury from a driver opening a door.

In the USA, too many riders of bikes are untrained and convert their lack of knowledge of safe riding into fear and it would appear that also happens in other countries.

People fear that which they do not understand. Training removes that lack of understanding and therefore the fear.

[Kezpipa]

I would love to show my little sister this video to encourage her to cycle... have been looking at bikes to potentially get as a xmas pressie for her. Unfortunately, the video has pointed out to me that someone as fashion-minded as a 19 yo girl is going to want a bike that looks like one from this video, so perhaps I shouldn't show it to her! I might pick up the book for her actually...

[evictorr]

The short film was great to watch :)

Films like these are just what we need here in Melbourne, Australia, where cyclist numbers are growing, not without its problems unfortunately :(

The positive publicity given by films such as these is invaluable.

Cheers,

--- Victor.

[DavidHembrow]

This short version looks excellent. Well done. I look forward to seeing the entire film eventually.

[JoanneClegg]

Really enjoyed the film. Would love to see it in its entirety.

Any chance?

[BeautyandtheBike]

The film will be touring the UK next year - if you'd like to organise a screening....... Otherwise the DVD will be out in December.