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Life Cycles

2010, Sports  -   38 Comments
Ratings: 8.24/10 from 29 users.

Life CyclesLife Cycles tells a spectacular story of the bike, from its creation to its eventual demise.

A visually stunning journey, with thought provoking narration, Life Cycles uses 4k Ultra HD to document the many stories surrounding the mountain bike and its culture.

Ride along into breath taking natural settings, as we battle the elements, showcase the progression of riding, take a road trip, fix the bike, and show the destruction and eventual creation of trails.

Semenuk, Hopkins, Schwartz, McIntosh, McCaul Agassiz, Hunter and Vanderham guide you through this wonderful story. Life Cycles is a celebration of the bicycle, and is sure to entertain anyone who has ever ridden one.

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38 Comments / User Reviews

  1. Laurel Wood

    I watched this again after 5 years of owing it, & I had tears, the BEAUTY of the story , every shot is worth slowly reviewing. Thank you. ? any new material to view????

  2. RonG

    Probably one of the best films I have ever seen. The riders and the directing!!!!!

  3. Stoked Bear Films

    Everything about this film is spectacular. The Cinematography, soundtrack, editing, narration, riding, locations, and anything and everything in between is absolutely superb. Even those not associated with the mountain bike lifestyle can appreciate this film. And, no, it is not just a huge Shimano film. Since riders like Agassiz and Semenuk ride SRAM gear and anyone else on a Rock Shox fork also gets supported by SRAM, aka, Shimanos rivals

  4. Topher_s

    Love this film. I've always been disappointed with mountain biking films, sure the riders do great tricks and the bikes are cool but there's little emphasis on the beauty of mtn. biking. This film does that and does it well. It's artistic shot and the script touches on many of the reasons I love this sport. You can see how many hours were put into creating this masterpiece, even the soundtrack is exceptional. I really hope to see more work from this crew in the future.

  5. IwannaliveuntilIdie

    Wow, what a fantastic piece of art. I am glad someone paid to sponsor that film for everyone to see. That was a unique perspective.

  6. Ether Smith

    ALL THAT MATTERS, it's a FANTASTIC journey and beatifully shot, wonderful footage, WOW, great sounds, music, song, and boy U GUYS make riding WOW beyond, words. GREAT JOB putting this together for US to see, THANKS.

  7. dubmess

    This was shown in the Dublin Film Festival last year, which surely makes it slightly more than an advertisement. I think people get confused with the glossiness of action sports scenes, it's hard to get away from products when the products themselves are what facilitate the shots! It wouldn't be much of a bike film without the bikes!

  8. charlie patrick Martin

    well ya shimano is all through this and yes you could call it an elaborate commercial. If it wasn't Shimano it would have been someone else, but without them this film probably wouldn't have happened, some times you need a big sponsor do these things and generally they will have a certain say in matters and want to show their product. If you ask me it is a fantastic film showing how far the bicycle has come and some of the amazing places you can ride. Anyone who can't appreciate that and has to find something to poke a hole in, should get a life. I have watched this film many times and to be honest i don't give a dame that it's got Shimano everywhere because I'm watching the people, the scenery, the trails. So there is a difference between a commercial and a sponsored project. A commercial generally has stats, testimonials, prices, I don't see any in this film.

    But call it what you want because most people don't give a crap and probably thank Shimano for a brilliant film.

    PS, I do not work or have any reason to promote Shimano, I just appreciate the hard work ,blood, sweat and tears that went into it. Thanks guys.

  9. Yangos Moraitis

    Thats a very well made documentary!
    I suggest it to all even if you have nothing to do with bikes.

    Fantastic scenes, all of them with hd cmbines with great music.

    1. Skep_Tick

      No matter how great the scenes, the music, the HD or the length of this "thing", it will never turn a commercial into a documentary. By the way that's what people working for publicity are payed for: great shots, great music, everything positive. I have 3 bikes and I like biking a lot but I'm not blind. I know a commercial when I see one.

      One of my bikes has even Shimano running gear and I'm quiet happy with it. But it's irrelevant if I like Shimano or not. The question is do you have a brain or not?

      Go ahead, get your education from commercials. Believe everything they tell you. It's for your own good. Drink the Kool-aid.

      I guess the Shimano shills will keep posting "very well made documentary" using multiple fake identities to drown out any negative comment. You guys can be proud of yourselves. In the end anything is for sale. You will sell the rope that's going to hang you if you can make a good markup.

  10. Draw Vinette

    Amazing sport photography! Fantastic bike riding! A lot of time went into making this video and it is greatly appreciated. This takes sport video documentary to a whole new level of expertise!

    1. Skep_Tick

      Just a full hour publicity movie for Shimano and nothing else. Must have been expensive to make but then Shimano has many bikes to sell. I guess a big portion of those "great documentary" comments are by payed Shimano shills. This is not a documentary. You don't have to watch it. It has only one message: buy Shimano. If you are interested in covert publicity and product placement ( and blog rigging ), go a head, study this example very well, you won't find anything better done than this.

    2. tomregit

      "you won't find anything better done than this."
      So you like it then. ;o)

    3. Admir Efendic

      Thats a pretty crap review and undeserved, you must be working at Shimanos competition.

    4. Skep_Tick

      Thanks for confirming with your reply that this "documentary" is all about Shimano. Why else would you suspect me of working for Shimano's competition if this was a "neutral documentary" without any Shimano product placement? :-)

  11. BeardHero420

    Read the title and thought this would be boring, then came back another time and gave it a second chance. Glad I did. Just goes to show, you can't judge a doc by it's cover :)

  12. Jim Freedom

    These guys deserve an Academy Award for the production of this movie. It is the most stunning footage I have seen since Avatar.

  13. PaulGloor

    I'da been diggin those trails out with my teeth all the way :P

  14. kelly_d

    I use to live with two guys that did some editing, or "creative assistance" for this. I remember they worked on some of the time lapses for months. I can't believe I never took the time to watch it until now.

  15. Gil Acosta


  16. PavolvsBitch

    Georgeous cinematography, thrilling maneovres, a poignant narrative. Reminder of our blunted instincts as a refresher course.

  17. Guest

    You guys are funny, endearing geekyness :)

  18. John Krisfalusci

    i was watching through and began noticing the painstaking beautiful video rendering and editing.. how do you time lapse shift then pan while someone is moving through the scene in real time? very clever! and the detail visuals is incredible! were these all recorded in a resolution greater than 1080p to get the final results?

  19. Jordan Lebow

    WOW!! Awe inspiring doc! Wish there were more like it on here...

  20. Guest

    Wow, that was beautiful :)

  21. Achems_Razor

    Great doc, great music, cranked up my powered subwoofers. Love cycling, have many bikes, have friends that are good at cycle gymnastics, myself more into road bikes.

  22. fl260

    Thank you Vlatko for this!
    I'm a dedicated cyclist (crossed canada last year) and this is truly a gift for me!

    1. BeardHero420

      Crossed Canada?!? Impressive! That's a story for your grand kids.

    2. tomregit

      Wonderful production here; a good watch.
      @fl260: What a terrific experience for you. Most of my cycling now consists of a short daily commute of around 14km round trip. I love the feeling of getting lost in the cadence of pedalling and then "coming to my senses" after a few minutes and finding myself 1-2 km down the road. I'm just dimly aware of where my mind has been yet it feels secure because some part of my "lizard brain" has been in charge of monitoring the surroundings. A sunny day and a breeze at my back is conducive to this, but when properly dressed it can happen in even on a cool rainy day. I hope to never quit; I'll cycle as long as I can walk.

    3. fl260

      Believe me my friend, it was everything but terrific. Just imagine : you leave home on your bike, and two weeks after, when you watch behind, you realize you've just pedaled a province. There's no word for it.

      Also, simple things teach you a lot.
      The wind, for example.
      I would not feel it when it was in my back, helping me. I only felt it when it was against me.
      We prioritize our attention to what's harming us, instead of what's helping us.

      That's the kind of things you get to learn, when pedaling for two months.

    4. tomregit

      I understand completely about wind. My awareness of wind at my back emerged from being so very aware of pedalling into a headwind, then trying to be aware of and enjoy the push when it's with you. Pedalling up a long incline, even a shallow one, is something that can be taxing but it passes unnoticed in a car. I will be 65 years old soon and 100 km days are fast becoming a thing of the past for me. I guess a trip like yours is out of the question but I enjoy riding daily. My hat's off to you.

  23. leonardobdas

    this is shot with a red one in 4k res, 4x that of 1080.

    1. Guest

      That must be getting damn close to analog 35mm.

  24. Andy Rhine

    Truly amazing HD camera work!

  25. Earthwinger

    Epic riding, awesome camera work, and bangin' tunes! You may want to keep a barf bag to hand though, for when the commentary gets a bit too much. ;)

  26. David Hawkins

    Truly phenomenal...

  27. Guest

    I love 1080p. Absolutely stunning. And you might want to crank up your 5.1 speakers too. Great music.

  28. Arno Jullien

    Amazing shots, it's truly a graphic achievement, and I wish I knew more about the technics employed... even made me think about buuying a bike ;)