redneckwes

I don't care for Breaking Away, it had moments, but overall, not that great.

gridplan

To each his own. But I think the AFI is right on the money with regard to Breaking Away.

WorldPax

DO NOT disrespect American Flyers, or Quicksilver. I will track you down, flat your tires and taco your rims.

gridplan

I'm sure there are some who think those movies are high art, or even basic entertainment. I'm just not one of them. If they appeal to you, more power to you.

Picchio Special

The thing that never grabbed me about Breaking Away is that it's not about cycling really, even for the protagonist. I don't get the feeling Dave really loves cycling, just that cycling fits in with his obsession with Italy, which is really about his frustrations with his hometown. And it happens to be something he's good at and which gives him an identity that is itself a form of escape. Once he works through his personal stuff, I bet he quits riding. To put it another way, Dave could just as easily have become enamored of, say, Brazil as the symbol of all things not Bloomington and been obsessed with soccer - except that soccer is (inconveniently for the storyline) not an individual sport. The real Pedali Alpini on whom the story is at least partly based were fascinated by Italy as an extension of their love of cycling and not the other way around.

Little Darwin

I've never seen Quicksilver... Time to seek out another piece of American cinema...

1bluetrek

American Flyers is one of my alltime fav movies and it drives my wife nuts lol! The acting is horrible, the plot isnt too bad tho. Costner and Grant, well... ummm...ok they sucked bigtime. Paul and Chong always demand attention tho! Interesting that the lady who played the mom died from a n anyurisum just like costner in the movie.

Breaking away? dont get me started! If my son acted like that I would have to beat him to death.

JochenRindt

I love American Flyers. Who doesn't like Kevin Costner? Sure, much of the acting isn't brilliant, but there is something charming and even compelling about the Midwestern 1980s summer setting of this film. I imagine it was shot in the summer of '84, during which I was 5 years old. I remember McDonald's looking how it does in the movie; same with the cars, hair, and clothes. The racing scenes are quite good, especially how they show some of the tactics. The bikes are okay- Specialized Allez SEs and a Raleigh USA Reynolds 555. The Murrays (Serotta) ridden by the 7 Eleven team are very cool.

Eric F 

Holy zombie-thread, Batman!!

Some of the comments from 15 years ago summarize things pretty well - mediocre acting, corny bike racing scenes (for people who know bike racing), but some of the scenery is pretty easy to look at. I can't agree with the comment that American Flyers was better than Breaking Away, however.

DiabloScott

Best part of these zombie threads is seeing all the old regulars who used to post frequently and argue about stuff... I outlasted them all... bwahahah

JoeBass

Gotta love American Flyers, even though it is horribly cheesy. This film is where I learned many of my basic cycling skills, like squirting other riders with water bottles and pulling their pants down while riding. "Man, that's the oldest trick in the book."

FrejusFlyer

Just watched it again after many years. It's very hard to believe that John Badham directed this AND "Saturday Night Fever". There are so many weird pauses and close-up reaction shots that are just confusing. Those blue Shaversport jerseys the stars were sporting were created as a "thank you" to Shaversport for providing all the jerseys for the film. When SS was still in business, they sold replicas of both the "Allez/Shaversport" and the "Hell of the West" jerseys. Been looking for one on eBay but they appear to be rare. Kostner's original kit sold at some point. Here's the link:
Kevin Costner's ShaverSport Cycling jersey and pants from American Flyers-NR | #461159495 (worthpoint.com)
and if you're really a fan, you can get one of these!
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit T-Shirt - American Flyers | eBay

Dylansbob 

As long as the thread is alive again...

I was ~14 when I first rented AF from my local VHS store and it may be the biggest influence on my riding. For the next two summers (much to my parents dismay), I would daily ride the county roads 20-30 miles to Harford City, Albany, and the great bustling city of Matthews, Indiana. Starting out on my sisters light blue World Sport and eventually moving up to a second hand 3yr old Technium, I did a century when I was 15. No one else in my family rode and I was somewhat discouraged from wasting my time with it by my parents, but I've been riding pretty much since.

Last month I picked up this '85 Allez SE and ordered the last replica jersey from china on ebay.

75lechamp 

I had to get 2 Allezs, one for the big brother's and the second for the little brother's. Rode big brother's at last year's Tour of the Moon in Grand Junction (same route as the Hell of the West in the movie).... if you look closely at some of the scenes, you can identify Alexi's Pinarello....


'82 Allez with mostly Super Record, and a repro Hell of the West jersey

'81 or so Allez with mostly Specialized and Suntour Superbe

DiabloScott

Trivia:

I met a guy who was one of the cycling extras. He said the actor who played Sergei Belov was a jerk who chain smoked between takes.
There are also so many product placements in the movie you realize how low-budget it really was (McDonalds, Coppertone, etc).
Kevin Costner (used to?) have a casino in Deadwood and there was a little museum with costumes from his movies... nothing from AmFly though. Hard to remember but he was mostly unknown at the time.
And there was a scene where Alexandra Paul's asked Davey if he was gay and he said "hell no just the opposite"... but David Grant the actor who played Davey is gay and was active in some kind of gay actor alliance.

JochenRindt

Those Allezs are beautiful. Back around 2010, Specialized came out with an Allez Steel Double and I bought one. Reynolds 520 tubing and that classic red. I'm quite sure it wasn't as light as the Allez SE, but it still made me feel like the Sommers team.

And sorry, but I can't resist:

"I'm not riding for America, lady. I tried riding for America. I spent 4 years working *****ty jobs so I could train. And then, some ******es in Washington started having opinions. I know you, you started writing your opinions. So we boycott the Olympics. I was in the best shape of my life in the summer of 1980 and I got beaten by opinions".

Chuck M 

I've never seen Breaking Away or heard of American Flyers. I couldn't afford the air in my tires in those days let alone movie tickets.

JochenRindt

Just out of curiosity, how much did a 1985 Allez SE weigh in, say, a 56cm size?

Dylansbob 

The size 60cm above is 23.4lbs. Wheels are correct hubs laced to a comparable SuperChamp Gentleman 81 clincher rim and fairly light tires with normal tubes.

Andy_K 

A guy who hardly ever rides a bike trains with his brother for a few weeks and then is ready to win a professional bike race...what's so corny about that?

I'm waiting for the reboot:

cudak888 

This is old, blurry, isn't exactly great, but there are a lot of things in this AF parody that are spot-on skewered:


-Kurt

FrejusFlyer

Here's my entry for the Hell of the West.

JochenRindt

The angle of that seat tube looks very steep- quite unlike a LeMond or a French bike.

FrejusFlyer

it’s one of the 3rensho bikes. The fork also has very little rake due to the forward sweeping fork crown.

BTinNYC 

AF has The Gayest Intro Ever, and that's the best part.