New Guy on the Internet Block

[Singletrack Cinema]

Hey Riders,

I have recently been able to fulfill my lifelong desire to buy a mountain bike and start exploring the trails around me. Waiting the solid decade that i have to do this has been well worth it and I find riding absolutely amazing (Obviously!). I like it so much as a matter of fact that I want to share it with the rest of the mountain biking community. I would like to start my own YouTube channel and do my best to make it a little more serious than your average weekend rider channel. Now this does not mean I’m shooting to produce the next RedBull edit.  I would like to make it similar in feel to a Singletrack Sampler, a BKXC, or even a Seths Bike Hacks.  THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN.

I would like to know what kind of YouTube content other riders want to see. What’s your favorite thing that mountain biking channels do? bike checks? on-the-trail commentaries? tutorial videos? whatever! Also, what is something that YouTube seems to be lacking for riders. Beginner oriented content? where’s all the northeast trails? science of MTB? you name it! Any input at all is appreciated so i can make this channel as good as possible for my future subscribers. If you are another current or aspiring Mountain Bike channel I hope this thread helps you out a little as well!

 

Thank you and happy riding!

[marvinmartian]

uhh, you sort of screwed up here… sounding like a douchebag trying to cash in easy money rather than a true mountain biker who is in the sport for the right reasons. Jeez…  Maybe you should know what you are doing, know your audience and then figure out on your own how to cash in. Or try to cash in on a sport that is actually growing without any knowledge. The Seths Bike Hacks dude has succeeded with a bunch of dumb videos that interest newbies (I suppose) and I have no idea why Singletracks posts his dumb videos, but usually it is not that easy

[Zoso]

Nice and harsh Marvin.  You’re assuming his motivations are $$ when he’s likely just excited about 2 wheels.

It’s good to see the stoke.  Good luck.

Personally I think there’s already a glut of vids out there, but have fun.

[Singletrack Cinema]

ZOSO my man, thanks for your input. I know what you mean about the glut of videos. I will put more time and thought into making unique content that will stand out from the clutter.

[schwim ✓ supporter]

Hi there Bryce,

You can easily make a successful channel by making the same videos as everyone else.  As I was explaining to someone a little while ago, a lot has to do with how you present the information.  People tend to subscribe to channels that are made by a person that they feel could be friends with or at the very least, have traits in common with.  For instance, if Marvin up there made a channel based on his proven method of living forever, I’d just resign myself to dying at some point rather than watch his videos because I’d be as likely to watch a video made by that type of person as I would sit down and have a chat with, which would be never.  I would, however, watch another video on how to bunny hop if you made it interesting and fun, regardless of the fact that I already know how to do it.  75% of the videos that Seth, Phil Metz and a lot of the others put out pertain to something that we’ve all learned as kids on our BMX bikes but we still watch them for the same reason that we sit around a campfire and talk shop with friends.  It’s enjoyable to watch, listen to or read about something we have a particular interest in and everyone seems to have a little different view on any particular topic.

I think it will be easy for you if you’re doing it because you love doing it and it will be hard if you’re basing any kind of success on subscriber count.  As it was said before, there’s a lot of channels out there so it can take a very long time to get over that initial hump of climbing out of the pool of white noise.  Just keep pumping the videos out there and always share them via your social channels.  If you’re making an appealing video, you’ll see cool things happen.

Best of luck and be sure to share your first effort here!

[Singletrack Cinema]

Hey guys, sorry to bring back an old  thread. For fear of seeming like one of those annoying guys at the family gathering who wont stop trying to get you in on his pyramid scheme I want to point out someone asked me to do this on this thread!

 

I have created and uploaded the first videos of my channel and made them available for viewing. Hopefully there will be many more videos and hopefully the quality of video will increase BUT the first two videos went pretty well and aren’t too long so checking it out shouldn’t be a waste of time. Without further ado ill let the videos speak for themselves.

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Channel Link</span>

 

 

 

[azdb]

Ignore that negative post.  That is the kind of attitude that baffles me in mtb, marvinmartian that is…  I had a racing background as a kid and got back into biking for basically knee rehab reasons 7 years ago or so and even in that short period have seen dumb sort of cliquish culture in mtb.  That post typifies a combination of growth in mtb combined with immature folks with keyboards and postings.  Sure there are lots of trolls and such, but some folks have no restraint…..anyway, one more point on this, it sort of also typifies the many different people that are making up mtb now.  Kids, adults, retired boomers, huckers, cruisers, explorers, eco freaks, opposite of eco freaks, hikers, new folks, veteran folks, rich, poor, in between, the bored retired folks that love rules to death-think HOA extremist, folks that ignore all rules altogether, etc…….tough mix of different sides, I ride to get away from exactly what I described above,  exercise , explore, and have fun.  Simple. I do agree that there is a truck load of content out there and a lacking of content for beginners and newbies or people just enjoying the ride.  Maybe it will balance out.

[Alvin Mullen]

No, do not ignore the negative reviews, just don’t take them personally. Making videos is like writing or any other art form, most of what you do will be crap and you have to recognize it, not be upset by it.   Even the greats produce crap occasionally, don’t let it get to you, use it to make your stuff better.

Now for my review, just too similar to everyone else’s. I really don’t have much interest in watching more of what is already out there. There are plenty of vids about maintenance, and how to do all sorts of things. I would rather see new videos that are just about riding and having fun. More like travel logs, vids showing the best and worst of each trail or system, narration while the vids are going telling why it was good or bad, how to get there, what there is to do when not riding, best places to stay for out of towners.

This is what I would do if I were making videos, but I find it takes an hour of filming rides, and about four hours of editing to get a decent 10 to 15 minute video and I’m just not willing to spend that much time on it.

[Singletrack Cinema]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I am surely not going to ignore or take too personally a negative comment. As Alvin said I recognize my first view videos are not going to be amazing by any means. I just recognize I must start somewhere and most of that initial feedback will probably be negative its just part of the job description. The videos will improve as I learn how to shoot something people want to see, but mainly as I develop the identity I want for the channel. I am doing this and making this channel because I want to, not because I want to prove something or have a chip on my shoulder, so I have nothing to lose and plenty of wisdom to gain from those who hate the youtube mountain biker. In fact i just read the thread on the rise of the youtube celebrity and that was a really informing post that was surely not friendly to someone just starting to do this. I hope someday I find away to at least mitigate those feelings from those people and give them a reason to say “ok ok, so singletrack cinema isn’t THAT bad, but its not great!” . Honestly, I am just happy to be a part of this community and I feel good about creating another place people can meet and share good stories. I mean come on whose ever come across a mountain biker that doesn’t have a good story or two right?

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