I wish commentators would talk about actual bikes more
07-19-21, 03:43 PM
#26
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There are several cycling journalism outlets that do very detailed breakdowns of bikes and tech on the Tour de France. This is usually a bigger deal at the beginning of the tour, because teams sometimes show up with bike setups that haven't been previously seen.
Cyclingtips has a bunch of good breakdowns and tech segments on bikes. These videos are usually pretty interesting if you're into bike tech. I wouldn't expect the average TV viewer to care about most of this stuff.
Here's one where they get into details of a few different bikes, they even weigh them:
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/bike...sram-and-more/
Also this one: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/pro-...ks-tarmac-sl7/
Cyclingtips has a bunch of good breakdowns and tech segments on bikes. These videos are usually pretty interesting if you're into bike tech. I wouldn't expect the average TV viewer to care about most of this stuff.
Here's one where they get into details of a few different bikes, they even weigh them:
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/bike...sram-and-more/
Also this one: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/pro-...ks-tarmac-sl7/
07-19-21, 03:50 PM
#27
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Yes, I do read those. But if the point is to engage the type of viewers who do not read cycling magazines, then I'd suggest adding a bit more stories about the bikes and other aspects of racing would be useful. Heck, it would appeal to me and I already race. As it stands, the Tour coverage on NBC seems geared primarily to folks who are already very engaged in cycling and racing, but not so much for others. No wonder professional cycling struggles.
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07-19-21, 04:22 PM
#28
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I don't find it a lot different than coverage of other sports. For example, my daughter and I started watching F1 a couple of years ago, it took us a while to get up to speed on what was being discussed during race broadcasts, including spending time reading on websites to add knowledge depth.
07-19-21, 04:27 PM
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Funny, my son got me into F1 this year, too. What really made it interesting for me was when he also had me watch the documentary series that follows the various F1 teams and explains a lot more about the sport and cars. F1 -- like most sports -- has an advantage over cycling in that the events tend to be much shorter and more action packed. Cycling has a lot more dead time during events that some backstory into the sport could easily fill. Of course, maybe F1 ought to consider adding a bit of this type of content, too, given that it's viewership is slipping and its expansion prior to last year tended to be from expanding into new markets (e.g. - China) rather than growing in existing markets.
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07-19-21, 07:32 PM
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There's plenty of bike tech content available on demand.
A mention of noteworthy things or a focus piece now and then is fine. But I don't want much more than is there now.
Racing <> wrenching <> sales/advertising.
A mention of noteworthy things or a focus piece now and then is fine. But I don't want much more than is there now.
Racing <> wrenching <> sales/advertising.
07-19-21, 09:36 PM
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All the bikes are basically the same. Not interested.
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07-22-21, 08:59 PM
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Between the demands of competition (ie; what works and what doesn't) and UCI rules, there's not much 'special' about aTdF race bike. GCN does tech rundowns on some of the big team bikes, and it's pretty much "this is next year's top-spec Evengerorello, just in team colors". Rim brakes, disk brakes, electronic shifting, nothing you couldn't find in any major market bike shop.
The most interesting ones were the MAVIC (now Shimano) neutral service bikes, which were (I think ) un-badged Cannondales with dropper seatposts, and a couple other touches that were intended to make it easier for a Rider to jump on to an unfamiliar bike and stay in the race.
It was more interesting to see what the mechanics on the big teams (it was either Lotto or DQS) have to do to keep the squad's bikes in top shape every day.
The most interesting ones were the MAVIC (now Shimano) neutral service bikes, which were (I think ) un-badged Cannondales with dropper seatposts, and a couple other touches that were intended to make it easier for a Rider to jump on to an unfamiliar bike and stay in the race.
It was more interesting to see what the mechanics on the big teams (it was either Lotto or DQS) have to do to keep the squad's bikes in top shape every day.
