BikeUMentary : A UCLA Transportation Documentary

May 21, 2010 By Arleigh Jenkins Posted in The Archives Tagged with Commute by Bike

A short film documentary from UCLA Transportation and the Sustainable Resource Center. Within this short film they talk to a few different bike commuters in the LA area. Each user gives the advantages of choosing a bike for transportation, tips for how to get started and on safety.

Two thumbs up for a 5 minute film to encourage bike commuters!

0 thoughts on “BikeUMentary : A UCLA Transportation Documentary”

Kevin Love says:

May 21, 2010 at 7:32 am

Very nice film!

I particularly liked how they showed ordinary people wearing ordinary clothing to get to where they were going on their daily travels.

The people shown were in the peer group of the target audience of the film. That’s good too!

My only concern is that this is a film about bicycle commuting. But the bicycles shown were not commuter bicycles and are highly inappropriate for that use.

The bikes shown were lacking mudguards, chaincases and coatguards. A wet road would result in the rider getting filthy dirty.

The bikes shown were lacking internal hub gears and brakes. They are far too high-maintenance for ordinary people to use conveniently.

None of the bikes shown had baskets for cargo, and only one even had a rear rack.

If we are going to be advocating bicycle commuting, then we should be showing films with proper commuting bicycles. Bicycles that look like this:

http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2009/01/anatomy-of-reliable-everyday-bicycle.html

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Bike Shop Girl says:

May 21, 2010 at 7:48 am

Kevin,

Thank you for the positive feedback on the film.. as for the commuter bike, the perfect commuter bike is the one the person loves to ride. This film was shot in LA, where the weather is nice.

Not everyone needs to carry things and the messenger fringe crowd tends to like the fixed gear with messenger bag anyways.

In areas like LA, looking good is part of the commute!

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Greg says:

May 21, 2010 at 11:12 am

Great film. I’ll send a link to this to my friends who ask about commuting on a bike to help motivate them. I laughed at the first comment. You can commute on just about anything. It’s California, it doesn’t rain for about 9 months a year!

Go Bruins (and anyone else who rides a bike)

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Kevin Love says:

May 21, 2010 at 1:02 pm

I was born in Palo Alto, long before “Silicone Valley” had ever been heard of. Although I don’t live in California anymore, I can attest from personal experience that the roads do get wet. A 365 day of the year bicycle needs proper mudguards, chaincase and coatguard.

As to “the bike you like,” bicycles for commuting are like shoes or any other transportation appliance. If someone wants to walk to work in 15th century troubador shoes with bells in their curling toes, go for it. But for mainstream walking to work, the discussion about shoes tends to be about fit, comfort, arch support, etc.

Same with bicycles. If you look at cities with a bike mode share above 20% you will see the vast majority of people riding proper commuter bikes. From Bejing to Tokyo to Copenhagen to Amsterdam to Gronigen to Basil the bike of the ordinary commuter looks like this:

http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2009/01/anatomy-of-reliable-everyday-bicycle.html

As to looking fashionable, this is obviously a matter of opinion, but in my opinion a proper commuter bike is the easiest to look fashionable with. Because the bike protects my nice clothing.

I’m not the only one with this opinion. Take a look at:

http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/

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Kevin Love says:

May 21, 2010 at 1:15 pm

If we want bicycle chic style, how about this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyqNYkli08&feature=player_embedded#!

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Sirinya says:

May 21, 2010 at 2:31 pm

I think I’m apt to agree with BikeShopGirl: The best commuter bike is the one you ride!

I think we could debate all day on what constitutes a proper commute bike. Mine is a hybrid, sans chain gard and rear rack, and I carry a backpack. Sometimes I get a bit dirty, but it is what it is. I confess that I ride the bus on days when it is raining.

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David says:

May 21, 2010 at 4:07 pm

Thanks for posting this. I sent them an email congratulating them and their system created a support incident. LOL.

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Merlin says:

May 25, 2010 at 3:53 am

Definetly a great idea to educate people about the most appropriate equipment, we get so many beginners who are really enthusiastic but have no idea what to buy.

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Columbus Commuter says:

May 26, 2010 at 10:25 am

Thank you, Bike shop girl- “the perfect commuter bike is the one the person loves to ride.” I cannot fathom why Kevin Love is so obsessed with dictating that everyone should be on the type of bike he describes. The young woman in the video even says, I believe, that her bike is suitable for her eleven mile commute because it is fast. She is young and apparently in good shape. For her purposes, Kevin’s bike would be totally unsuitable.

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Matt says:

May 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm

Nice little film! I’m always glad to see anything that promotes commuting by bicycle, and this one is short, simple, and interesting.

As far as Kevin goes, I see him post on quite a lot of different forums, and he always has very strong opinions about what is ‘proper’ for cycling – he often refers people to the Dutch model, and to his own brand of bike (Pashley).

BikeShopGirl said “the perfect commuter bike is the one the person loves to ride” and that’s the basic issue that a commuting cyclist needs to address. If you like riding your bike, then you’ll do it more often. Depending on your commute, you may find a rack, lights, and fenders useful (and therefore you’ll enjoy riding your bike more). But in some areas, they aren’t a necessity at all.

All in all, this is a nice, positive film about cycling as an alternative to driving. Well done!

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chunkymonkeybiker says:

May 29, 2010 at 11:31 pm

Thank you for the short film! I lived in San Bernardino and took the metrolink to downtown LA and rode my bike to the usc campus during gratuate school. It was totally fun! I miss it. Keep riding!

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BikeUMentary : A UCLA Transportation Documentary

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