ROAM is Now here!

The collective shoots in 16mm, so HD isn't coming anytime soon. It does create the grainy effect at times, but lends itself to a more artistic/richer picture. It is also much harder to work with, you can't just dump the footgae to a computer like any 12 year old.

Let me preface what I will say next. Also though I consider myself a 'prosumer' in the realm of video, I cannot hold a candle to the guys from the collective. I still thought a review would be fun.

My Review:

INITIAL IMPRESSION: The boys from the collective were behind the eight ball almost immediately becuase the first film was so well recieved. Bike films have a whole "bigger and better" mentality each year. So making a film that surpassed the first was going to be difficult.

The finish on this film is not as good as the first. The DVD menu looks like it was rushed through post production as an after thought. They did some nice composting with the map and the whole "ROAM' motif, but nothing truly unique. The three screen split horizontally I have used quite a bit myself. I was far more impressed with the four screen splits that started the Collective. The difference in the time involved between 3 and four screens is very large.

I was also not a fan of the packaging. I tend to travel a lot with my Bike films, and the cardboard on the case is already showing wear. I will probably just drop the disc in a proper empty case from now on.

FOOTAGE: ROAM only has one or two true "HOLY SH*T" moments. However, the reason I love this film is that it gets me stoked to ride. It shows flow and speed better than any film I have ever seen. The entire Idaho segment is just two guys ripping single track, yet I still loved it. ROAM shows you the possible, rather than the impossible. The long cable shots are amazing as well, though they do not compare with the Wade Simmons segment on NWD this year, which blew my mind.

For comparison sake, my favorite scene in the collective was Hawaii, so there is no surprise that I like watching riding, not just big hits.

The scenery and the beauty of ROAM gets top marks. The music is always fresh and appropriate. Original tunes are definitely a highlight that most films seem to lack these days.

The narration was suspect. I started to think this was a movie I might show a first time rider. It was almost an introduction to MTB at times. ROAM has a pretty core audience and we know about WBP and Moab. These don't need to be explained. Narration is always a fine line, and I actually liked the little rant about what ROAM is to start the film.

SPECIAL FEATURES: ROAM gets top marks for sharing the creative process with its viewers. I love watching the set up of a cable shot and what goes into scoping lines. This tickles my fancy, but isn't for everyone. The rest of the sponsor stuff is pretty generic contract obligation footage.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This movie remains a must own. It seemed about 1 segment too short to me, but it was still a great film. It isn't easy to match a first hit, and I thought this was a worthy attempt. It wasn't quite as good as the collective, but it did get me stoked. Two fingers off the brake levers.

got mine last week, and showed a friend the movie. we both agreed the first two segments were awesome. it was also nice to see wade rocking moab, and the entire experience of leech doing his thing in prague was perfect.

for some reason i dug the collective more, but i stll enjoyed roam quite a bit :)

Me too, not quite sure why. I didn't mind the narration, it feels like it's there to address a broader audience, not just riders. I really liked the Whister high speed scenes where the riders were merging together at mach. Imagine if the timing was a split second off. You get the feeling of speed, especially when you see them cranking hard on the pedals knowing they've got a big DH ring on there.

Jordies yard segment. Well lets just say it's the first DJ segment in a flick that I don't hit the "next" button, and Jordie's dad must get "dad of the century" award. Those kids are pretty impressive, and the overhead cam is a great view. Ryder, I've said some unfriendly things to you in the past, but you're definitely out there doing it. One request, please pull up your pants.

I've been waiting for this group to capture the essence of the shore on film. I figure if anyone can it will be them. Berrecloth has got to be one of the most impressive riders out there. That bag of tricks just seems to get bigger every time. Unfortunately a bunch of stunts in the forest isn't what I consider the essence of the shore. His segment is nothing short of mind blowing, but it's still not what I'm waiting for. They almost had it in the Collective with Simmons, too bad it was in black [HTML_REMOVED] white, it didn't capture the true depth of the colours and feel for me. Big, natural, rooty, gnarly lines with guys like Simmons, Shandro and Willows, classic shore riders is what I'm waiting to see. I might be wrong here, but after their introduction to the North Shore, isn't the segment filmed on the island? Again, I might be wrong there, but I though I read that somewhere.

sooooo sweet….lunns backyard sesh was crazy. Zipline dirtjumps look amazing

sweet to watch even sweeter to ride

After watching it 10 or so times I think I can say that I like ROAM a lot more then the collective. Bearclaw's segment is awesome, RJD2 was a perfect music choice for this segment. I also disagree with the second half not being as good, however it does certainly change directions to more singletrack style riding. The narration was way better then the collective, I could show this to my non-rider friends. The collective had a lot of philosophical ramblings, I muchly prefered what they did this year. Awesome video, get it now if you didnt yet.

roam sucks.

berrecloth has maybe the best mtb segment ever. the jumps/drops in the BC segment were HUUUGE. whistler section was really sick. amazing filming, best I've seen in any movie probably. my new favorite bike movie (okay, maybe tied with the collective)

about the whole Warran Miller type thing, maybe they hope to get it on TV….in 10yrs…once a week…for the following 20yrs…:lol:

Hahahahah, so true.

about the whole Warran Miller type thing, maybe they hope to get it on TV….in 10yrs…once a week…for the following 20yrs…:lol:

I don't get it…

I've been waiting for this group to capture the essence of the shore on film. I figure if anyone can it will be them. Berrecloth has got to be one of the most impressive riders out there. That bag of tricks just seems to get bigger every time. Unfortunately a bunch of stunts in the forest isn't what I consider the essence of the shore. His segment is nothing short of mind blowing, but it's still not what I'm waiting for. They almost had it in the Collective with Simmons, too bad it was in black [HTML_REMOVED] white, it didn't capture the true depth of the colours and feel for me. Big, natural, rooty, gnarly lines with guys like Simmons, Shandro and Willows, classic shore riders is what I'm waiting to see. I might be wrong here, but after their introduction to the North Shore, isn't the segment filmed on the island? Again, I might be wrong there, but I though I read that somewhere.

Agreed. Simmon's seg in the first film was wicked. I would love to see a nice segment with a colorful, very dark and loamy cypress. The problem with that, nobody watching the film who has not ridden cypress will understand just how natural, gnarly, and perfect that place is. If not cypress, than a rip from upper massage therapy all the way down :) that's right, I just volunteered eagle :)

i just watched it for first time. I loved it. and the bonus rocks 2

I agree the first 2 segments (Berrecloth and Whistler) are just amazing but the movie kinda lost its steam from there.

that's typical of all porn vids - bike or babes

after the first 15 minutes, it's all the same

I might be wrong here, but after their introduction to the North Shore, isn't the segment filmed on the island? Again, I might be wrong there, but I though I read that somewhere.

If you watch the vid with the film-maker's commentary on, it says that it is filmed on the Shore, Squamish and the Island. It also says that the stuff at the very beginning (i.e the sick log drop) was supposed to be for Gully, but then he got injured so the Claw rode it. The massive dirt jump that he 360 tables is in Squamish. The sick combo line, with the wall ride is on the Island, I think. I guess it's all North Shore inspired.

just watched it at friends house, its sick sick sick. darrens part was cool, wicked trailness. like the whistler section too