gitaneusa.com :: View topic - A Sunday in Hell

Chaironea

Hi everybody,

A Sunday in Hell is on Youtube, full length. Don't know if anybody has posted anything about that before, the forum search revealed two mentionings of the film as such, but they did not refer to the current version on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4IDCkcnnHg

Watched it, love it! Just great, conveys a lot of the feeling that I had in that time myself. Anything was just mechanical or simple eletrical and could be understood if you cared to (we once changed the enging in my car in 3/4 of an hour, no care about resetting chips, reactivating the radio and theft control). And it was a much simpler time, although it is only 30 years ago. Just see the team cars, motos and everything else. Today it is all styled, clean, sterile in comparison, at least for the spectator. That film really makes you sense all the smells that go along with a peloton on two wheeled machines, the dust, and the sweat on the riders.

And there is a Youtube channel of a guy listing some cycling films in short patches (have already stitched together "Stars and Water Carriers" and made a DVD to watch).

http://www.youtube.com/user/mplayer98#p/

Gtane

Chaironea,

A Sunday in Hell is my favourite cycling film / feature / documentary. All the things you say are so true not only of the film but of racing in times gone by. Unfortunately things won't go back so we'll have to be thankful that this wonderful film was made, indeed Stars and Water Carriers too.

We're probably not far away from following riders by number only. Seeing the Peloton coming towards you or passing at speed nowadays with riders adorned with helmets and sunglasses makes for an anonymous sport to a certain degree. It's very difficult to pick out individual riders (excepting their jersey colour). I'm sure we'll soon have iPad/iPhone apps that will tell us when our favourite rider has passed, how fast they were going, position, cadence, etc., etc.. ...actually, that could well be an idea!

We have mentioned the film from time to time but it's always worth another memory jog. Thank you.

Tim

lofter

i watched lastnight . never seen it before . good show except for one thing ................ the freakin music . god was it horrible. i could not help myself from cheering against moser lol

lofter

has anyone seen the flying scot? now that was a good movie . i would have to say it is my favorite cycling movie.and i can relate to grahm orbre in that movie .

sandranian · Site Admin

Except for the racing scenes, it was a good movie. I hate most sports movies, and for some reason, it is really difficult to make bicycle races look realistic....

Wisey

I love the fact that those guys are going just as fast on thos old steel "clunkers" as the modern riders do on their hi-tech carpet fibre wonder machines.

My favourite part of the movie is the very beginning with the mechanic prepping the Benotto. My favourite sound in the world is that "thunk, thunk" of old school brake levers snapping back into place. Real calliper springs for real men, eh? Wink

sandranian · Site Admin

Wisey...I love the old bikes. I really do. BUT....

Those bikes do not compare to the new ones in both form and function. On the flats...perhaps they are going "as fast". But the reality is that the speeds have increased. Whether it is due to the bikes or "better preparation" is up in the air. I do know that all of those old riders would have given their...well, they would have given up what Lance Armstrong gave up...to have a 'modern' bike with clipless pedals.

Just sayin....

Reference: http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdfstats.html

Wisey

I agree that bikes are far superior today than they used to be - at least in a general sense. If you factor in the inflation, what you get for a months salary today is a better deal than what you got for a months salary in the 80s, 70s, or 60s.

Having said that, there is nothing like the feel of a high quality steel frame. (I'm not talking about old 531 here) The modern steel - either with lugs or without - is far superior to the older bikes. Again, we have superior technology today.

But it all comes down to the rider. If you add up all the "claimed" weight and aerodynamic savings that products x, y, and z are supposed to offer then guys like Hinault and Merckx would have ridden TT's at 65km/h and we know that isn't correct. They would have gone faster, but only by about as much as the current Pro's go. Remember Hinault could average 48-49 on a steel frame with no aero wheels, clothing, helmet, or aero bars. The faster speeds are mostly because they go flat bickie far earlier in the race than they used to. The top speeds are not so different, but they go that fast for much longer. Kudos to the modern pros. They are certainly better athletes on the whole.

Despite loving the old sounds and feel................

1. Campy NR brakes sucked.
2. Campy NR derailleurs were only half as good as the suntours of the same vintage.
3. Hub axles were heavy and weak, and poor design with long end poking through the freewheel body.
4. Bearing parts had pitiful seals requiring constant servicing.
5. Stems fatigued and broke at inconvenient times.

Yes, the equipment today is far superior. But the bikes have no mojo.
Crying or Very sad

sandranian · Site Admin

I just put my "Wolfpack Hustle" sticker on my 2010 Gitane's seatmast. Now the bike has both (1) street cred and (2) tons of "mojo".

http://www.wolfpackhustle.com/

Gtane

Here's an interesting recent article on modern bicycles and cycling speeds.

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/08/modern-bicycles-and-cycling-speeds-any.html

Tim

Chaironea

Gtane: Great article, although it will take some time to digest it and the further sources.

To the general thread of discussion:

I've got a newer style bianchi steel frame. It is only Zero Tre, but its geometry and build makes it a lot stiffer than my old Gitane (which in addition is a 62 cm / 24,5 frame while the Bianchi is 58 cm / 23 in).

The list is long, clipless pedals, better shifting, no missed gears, more comfortable grip on shifter/brake lever combinations, functional clothing (although I like wool a lot too, as long as it is not too hot)...

Performance/functionality rather than originality is the reason why I have 1st generation Suntour Cyclone derailleurs on my Gitane. Gitanes came in every flavor you can imagine anyway, so I do not make a religion of it and the bike has never been a real model from the company's range (even in the older Gitane catalogs it sometimes says "or best available" for definite models).

I ride my Gitane with much more pleasure because I have assembled it srew by screw and bit by bit. The Bianchi has recently gotten a smaller frame and my wife rides its components.

She rides much more seldom than me and very much enjoys the luxury of shifting without taking the hands from the bars and always locking in the right gear (at least as long as I do the maintenance). She also loves the clipless pedals which give her a feeling of control and safety. Some of that I have now implemented in her trekking bike and she likes that a lot too (as long as I do the maintenance).

We are both happy with our bikes (as long as I do the maintenance)... but I must admit that sometimes I would like a second, newer one for long rides which I think would be a little more comfortable that way.

Christoph