the "death" of Muni...

General
41

After 3 pages of reading and some time to take in comments I suppose I feel compelled to throw in a few cents of my own.

Filming MUni is more about the filming than the riding and I would guess that most Muni riders, like myself, would prefer to ride rather than film the action. Filming breaks the continuity of the ride, I can’t get settled into a rhythm, everything becomes harder because I’ve either cooled down to much from stopping and filming, or don’t have my focus at riding the technical sections. When riding solo it becomes even more of a mission to get anything on video. For street and trials, stick a video camera on a tripod and mission off for 30 minutes running a section in front of the camera… easy eh ?

This is not to say that I’m not going to make a few videos. I’ve made a few rather amateur attempts which I put down to inexperience with the video camera and not spending the many hours figuring out how to use the editing software to it’s fullest potential. But at least I’m trying, if only to show off to my non-unicycling friends that I’m this supposed hardcore bugger that has b@lls of steel attempting to even ride on a dirt road with a unicycle :slight_smile:

Would I love to see more technical downhill muni ? Hell Yes !!! Do I believe that it would inspire me ? Hell Yes !!! It’s always great to see how people can push themselves and the sport. It gives one the belief that yes it can be done, and if I push myself I will be able to do it as well. But I think that regardless of how popular MUni becomes you will not see the same level of video making as for street and trials for reasons mentioned by myself and others. Sad but true…

I’ll still be riding Muni because that is what I love most about Unicycling, and I’ll keep pushing myself. For me it’s about bettering myself and doing better than I did yesterday.

So I suppose your reverse logic is kinda working. It’s getting people worked up defending what they do, although I’m not sure we’re going to see as many Muni videos coming out soon with insane technical stuff. Again… sad but true. But I’m holding out some hope :wink: Must say a huge thanks to phthoruth for producing 5 excellent videos of late showcasing what I believe is the true spirit of Muni !!!

btw Justin… checked your original thread. Posted over 4 months ago… still no video ? Lets see more of the walk and less of the talk…

42

i…am…loving…ALL OF THIS!

nice work guys, glad to see so much spark! and yes, i am trying to light a fire under everyones ass. I want to stir the pot and see what people really think…

there are a lot of good points in here and im really surprised at how evenly matched it is…more surprised at the fact that people dont want to see Muni get bigger and better.
Nobody is asking the noobs to strap on their big balls and jump off a cliff (well do it if you want im not stopping you), but dont you guys like the idea of mixing it up a little? adding some new and exciting elements to something already MATURE and amazing?

Hell if you want to keep riding uphills and seeing how many miles of single track you can ride then i encourage it! go for it! but for the others who want to rip downhill and shred northshore trails while busting crankflips, 3’s, and whatever else you can come up with, then stop thinking about it and just DO IT. But make sure you get it on film :wink: because honestly, how will any of us know about it??? I wouldnt have known about unicycling in general if it wasnt for videos, and it DOES play a massive part in the progression of all disciplines of unicycling.

but please, keep voicing opinions here. I’d love to hear more reasoning to why people think Muni shouldnt go to the next level. Honestly it just dont get it.

43

:thinking: im not even sure if i can dignify what you just said with a response…my mouth hit the floor just now! the only thing thats sad and true is your belief in where you think muni can and cant go.

*edit: head on back through to check on the status of my video, glad you read the first line of the thread. Thanks. Sorry to be such an A-hole, but the attitude in here blows me away…

44

Street is dead!

Hi Justin,

This thread just looks like a troll to me.

STREET IS DEAD! :astonished:

Ok, I said it. Does it make it true? No, but I can back it up and honestly say that I have not seen any exciting street videos in months. (It does not interest me, so I do not watch them.)

If I am riding MUNI, why would I waste my time filming it? For bragging rights? Who cares? (I do not.)

Go have fun on your unicycle and stop wasting time playing on the computer!

Scott

45

alright, im starting to see a trend here. All of the old guys have no interest in the progression of mountain unicycling (freeride), and it seems a few of you here do get me and a lot or inbetween.

hhaha bragging rights? no, no my good sir. SO IT DOESNT DIE OUT! i see decent street stuff almost EVERY DAY, all you have to do is click the link to “unicycling videos”, so you better be careful about what you say about that because you might get some nasty responses coming your way.

p.s i work in VFX for television, if i didnt play on my computer id be out of a job :wink:

46

Why don’t you start the Revolution by showing us all how it’s done :wink: 4 months … tick-tock …

As for reasons … perhaps one should look at the general demographics of those that do ride muni, and then ask the question again. You may find that it has already been answered, just not in the way you want it to. Not to say that people don’t want to see the sport progressing.

47

I don’t think that that video can be compared to the Kris Holm one. That muni video you posted of him is insane, huge drops, heaps of steep technical sections. Kris Holm is simply amazing, and you need to remember that that video was filmed by a professional company who make biking movies.

But I have to agree that way more young people ride street and flat and that’s why they’re progressing faster. It would be nice to see some more younger muni riders pushing it. I still think it’ll be a long time before there’s anyone as good as Kris Holm though.

48

Ride more Worry less.

49

that video is from 2000-2001…

ride more, film more, and progress!

50

I might make a muni vid soon, I’ll see if I can find anyone to film it.

51

I’ve actually read every comment on your other thread, each time hoping to actually see this ghost video.

To be quite honest, you are being an A-hole. You’re being overly aggressive to the people you are trying to spur on because they’re not publicly stating that they want to see 360’s, 720’s, backflips, frontflips, insane tyre grabs, all over and down some insane technical downhill ??

I used to believe that you were one of the people that would actually be pushing the muni limits, and have the videogaphy/film making skills to bring it across in the manner that it deserves. Sadly though, all you seem to be doing is moaning at everyone else for not doing the same :thinking:

52

That’s right - all activities are basically about being watched on a screen.

Nonsense.

53

Justin, if you keep adding sections to the film it will just keep growing until you’ve an amazing three-hour film spanning shoots from several years… but nothing that people can see as it’s waiting for ‘just one more amazing something-or-other’

You’re the one in the best position to inspire others to produce their own clips.
Give up waiting for Dylan Wallinger, finish the production and release it :slight_smile:

54

If you’re bio is correct, you are 21 yo, born in 1988.

You missed rock and roll, Disco, and the Progressive music scenes.

Snowboarding was just becoming a craze.

Meanwhile skateboarding had died; maybe it’s been reborn?

We had microwaves and answering machines, but still no cell phones or internet.

Get my point?

The absence of videos does not make or break a sport. You Tube, Facebook, all that crap is new, just like you!

Sports are determined by users. Sure, there aren’t many people riding muni, but then there never were. Compare muni to hang gliding, which sport has more users?

You’re young, you think you know something, but what you know can be distilled into just a few words:

You have only been alive for a few years, try sitting back and watching for a while before you make grand pronoucements.

Youth really can be self important, I think that falls under narcissism :wink:

55

I’ve heard it said many times that when a child turns 12 years of age God takes away their brain. When they turn 25 he gives it back.

Now, if only I could find in this stack of papers the statistics of the typical age of street and trials riders…

56

I only ride muni. I ride my local trails and I’m challenged by an occasional log in the way, mud to power through, roots, rocks, or hill to climb. I don’t have big mountains near me, and even if I did, downhill wouldn’t be my thing.

I am progressing and have plenty left to learn before running out of challenges. Years and years worth.
When I see videos of the pros riding muni, the most progressive riding seems to be huge drops or riding up high across a log. But even if I ever had the balance and skill to do that, I can almost guarantee I never will. The risks become too high for the reward. Maybe I’m a wimp… or maybe I’m a husband, a father, and want to keep the good times rollin’. Either way, I know my limits.

And so, since my limits are a subset of the current muni world, I’m not concerned with how muni is progressing in terms of new skills at the pro level.

The kind of progression I’m interested in is:

  • Continued growth and innovation in muni products.
  • Continued growth and competition in muni retailers.
  • Continued refinement in muni techniques.
  • Continued existence of the muni online community.
  • Continued improvement in muni filming techniques (cable-cam, etc).

And that growth IS happening.

I’m never going to want to bust out a 360 uni-spin in the middle of a trail. Just like I’m never going to juggle or dribble a basketball while I ride muni. Sure, they’re all difficult, but why would I do that? It’s like making a new sport or something.

It’s the same reason you don’t see mountain bikers doing flatland tricks on the trails. Similar sports, similar equipment, but different skills/tricks that don’t naturally mix.

I’m with you about wanting more muni video in general. Sure, why not. But I don’t really care to see people falling off 10 foot drops, riding 100 feet up on a log, and anything even more crazy because I don’t strive to be that person. I’ll watch it and smile, but I do that for a lot of youtube videos. And it’s been stated here hundreds of times… much of the difficultly of muni is lost on video. Realistically, I’m not sure that problem can be solved. Given the difficultly of solving that problem, and how most muni riders ride for their own enjoyment, the logical conclusion is to not put a lot of effort into videos. Take a picture once in a while. Talk about your experiences here. Just ride.

57

All these posts show how much “passion” there is around muni. No need to be agressive in our comments, we all share some of it and are entitled to our own interpretation of what that passion is.
What makes it an animated discussion is that this common passion for muni does not mean the same to all, very much an individual thing. For some, there is no point in pushing oneself beyond his/her comfort zone (injury risk, plenty of fun already, etc.), for others, that is at the core of muniing.

Justin’s statement rings true if you go beyond its provocative aspect. In muni, the technical ability of most riders seems fairly comparable: lots of average riders (not meaning it in a bad way – I am probably a below-average rider anyway…), very few above the lot, striving to get near the edge of what is physically (in the law of physics sense, not fitness-wise) achievable. In comparison, I have the impression that there are more riders right up there in street or trial, competing against each other for what seems like a physical limit until it is broken and raised again.
Unlike Justin, that does not bother me, I am just making the observation.

2 things: it is easier to trigger “competition” or emulation between street riders than between muni riders because street moves are repeatable anywhere (some variations, not the same stairs, skinnies, etc. but in concept, these similar challenges exist in any urban environment). In muni, you can’t easily compare someone’s challenging lines to the ones that are available to you (hard to conveye on video the steepness of the trails, size of the obstacles and drops, etc.). And for many, there is simply no comparison possible because no good trails are available nearby.
The other thing is, and this is where I think Justin can help by releasing his long-awaited video: maybe the muni “problem” is down to the poor visibility of its top riders. It is easy to film an impressive street video (relative to filming an impressive muni video). It does not impact your ride too much (no need to keep it flowing) and there is ususally easy access to nice shooting points and people to hold the camera. I am not a street rider but I can imagine how inspirational it must be to watch all these top riders releasing new videos.

All this to say that I think (although he might prove me wrong) I understand Justin’s point (the extreme high-end or freeride type of muni riding is not common or at least not visible enough). But the best way Justin can support his quest is by releasing his video and show us what he has been waiting to see from the muni community.

Teddy

58

I ride MUni and dabble in trials (especially when the trails are nasty). But I also ride alone most of the time and don’t own a video camera. I also keep a very busy schedule, so just getting out to ride is tough. So lugging around a camera and setting things up just to make a film about myself just isn’t my style. I couldn’t careless about what other riders think of me or my abilities. I ride for myself. I’m no Kris Holm or Dan Heaton or any number of other very talented riders, but I love to ride and that’s enough. I am also pushing MUni in my own way; in more of a All-Mountain, Ultra-Endurance way. As a long time ultra-marathon runner who has run over 125 ultramarathons (from 50km to 100+ miles) I’m now looking to push the frontier of what can be done endurance wise in an All-Moutain / XC setting. I’m already taking steps to prepare for that goal by gaining some multi-day trail-RUNNING experience by attempting to cover a local 325 mile single-track trail system in less than 6 days. While it isn’t MUni, it is being done, ultimately, for a future MUni goal. We all have our niches, if I were a teenager or young adult again I’d probably be more interested in Freeride MUni and Big Street. But I’m older now and have a knack for endurance so why not focus my MUni efforts there?

59

Wow, some nice comments from Joe. Thanks mate :slight_smile:

For me, Muni is all about having fun. Im lucky in that I have my brother, Leo to ride with and I suppose there has always been a bit of natural competition between us. We don’t ride hard to try and push ourselves and break the limits of the sport. We will do something and then think, ‘I wonder if we can do that any faster/longer/higher.’ If not it usually ends up with a funny bail :smiley:
Everyone progresses at their own natural rate. Muni is fun whatever level you are at because there is always something to challenge you. No two trails are the same. Even the same trail is different everytime you ride it, so no matter how much in your comfort zone you think you are, in muni, you are always riding something new and expanding your skills.

The thing I think is extremely frustrating in muni is how mundane it looks on film. I have been filming Muni for a couple of years and I always feel the video never quite captures the essence of muni. Even stupidly steep hills and big drops are completely lost on camera and just look dull to watch. I think this is the reason a lot of people have given up trying to make Muni videos.
Recently I have been concentrating on experimenting with different techniques for filming Muni. So far I haven’t found a way to really capture the speed and excitement, but I have improved (I hope!) some of the existing techniques I use. I think Terry has come close with the Cable cam, and used in the right situations it does make for some really interesting footage.

People are out there having too much fun to film videos. I think thats a great advert for the sport! :slight_smile:

Edd

60

OH SNAP!!! (to coin a phrase)