Video round-up: Ghent 6 on-bike camera action + bike dancing

Starting with some amazing footage from last week's Ghent 6, this edition of the road.cc video round-up features a lot of bike dancing, a skyscraper bike ride, a guy surfing a bike and a tron-esque BMX light show.

If you're not in to bike dancing - or artistic cycling as it's officially known - or any of this high-octane nonsense, we've got a winter soliloquy from British former pro rider Dean Downing and a very sensible American with a solution to bike-frame winter visibility.

We'll end the round-up with footage of a collision between a bike and a car in the Netherlands, apparently settled pretty amicably.

Enjoy.

Ghent 6 Derny footage

On-bike cameras are very much the dernier cri in cycling this season, so first up we’ve got some incredible footage of a Derny race from Ghent Six earlier this week for you.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to race around a packed velodrome, wonder no more. Here’s footage of overall winner Jasper De Buyst narrowly losing his Derny race to Mark Cavendish’s teammate Iljo Keisse.

The footage brings a fresh perspective to track racing, especially with the insight into the effect that the ever boisterous crowd’s involvement has on the race.

Dean Downing - This is Winter

Grappling with the elements is something we’re all doing at this time of year. Some of us complain, some of us relish in it, but very few of us can relate our experiences as eloquently as recently retired British cyclist Dean Downing.

The Yorkshireman put his professional cycling career to bed in July when he rode his last professional race for British UCI Continental cycling team NFTO Pro Cycling at the 2014 Sheffield Grand Prix near his home town of Rotherham.

While the 39 year-old may have hung up his professional cleats, he certainly won’t be climbing off his bike any time soon if this film is anything to go by.

Continental - Dean Downing - This is Winter from Continental Tyres on Vimeo.

Grand Theft Auto cycling-down-skyscraper stunt 2

You'll remember back in January when we reported on a glitch in the new edition of video game Grand Theft Auto that allowed players to cycle down the side of skyscrapers.

You'll be interested to know that in the new, updated release of the series' fifth instalment that glitch hasn't been rectified. And in the Playstation 4 and Xbox One version of the game, players can now undertake that feat in first person mode. This means that you can now essentially experience exactly what it would feel like to ride down the side of a skyscraper. Hold your breath.

Collectif Parlee

Do you ever struggle to convince your non-cycling buddies of the romance in a bright, early Sunday morning club ride?

Well, now you don't need to, because French-Canadian gang Collectif Parlee have condensed the glories of a crisp 7am ride with your friends into a short film. Four longer videos are due to follow this teaser-length clip.

Collectif Parlee --Épisode #0-- english sub from Thomas Rinfret on Vimeo.

Guy creates $30 LED frame lights

With the long nights getting longer, we’re all well aware of the dangers of not being seen while we’re out riding.

Arizona, USA, resident Taylor Voss decided to do something about that issue when noticed how poorly the reflective tape on his wife’s bike frame performed.

So, going one better than a reflective bike frame, Voss settled on creating LED strips for his wife’s bike, making the top tube, down tube, and seat tube glow in technicolour glory.

If you like what you see, Voss has created an Instructables page - which you can find here - showing you exactly what he bought in terms of components and how he put them together.

Buying all the bits only set him back $30.

Safety(Party) Bike Lights from Taylor Voss on Vimeo.

BMX LED show

Sticking to sticky lights for a bit, here’s Mr Voss’ concept expanded into to a full-blown, Tron-esque performance piece.

BMX World Champion, Adam Kun, and BMX artist Rob Alton are the riders in the video, which apparently only shows the systems - which works through wirelessly controlled and fully programmable music and light tricks.

According to the system’s creator, YouTube user Joe303 of Dancing Bear Productions, this is only the system’s first stage, and he’s “begun research and development to take the system to the next level.”

If you like what you see, you can hire the system to perform at your own events by emailing Joe303, here.

Best of the UCI’s Indoor Cycling

If you haven’t seen the wonders of artistic cycling and cycle-ball, prepare yourselves.

Here’s a great montage released by the UCI demonstrating the skill and artistry involved in both disciplines.

For those of us who never even learnt how to pull a wheelie, the incredible bike-handling skills on show here are a wonder to behold.

Eight-time Artistic Cycling World Champion David Schnabel shows off

In case we’ve only whetted your appetite for artistic cycling, we’ve got a little bit more to satiate that new hunger rumbling inside you.

Meet David Schnabel. He’s an artistic cyclist from Germany, and has been crowned world champion in the sport eight times - including six in a row between 2008 and 2013 - making him arguably the best-of-the-best.

It’s no wonder, then, that the human ability-celebrating YouTube channel People are Awesome have decided to release an entire video showcasing the German’s amazing ability.

Bike surfer

Now that we’ve all seen bicycle acrobatics in the safety of a gymnasium, how about a bit of on-road acrobatics? Sound safe?

This fella has decided to ‘surf’ his bike down a reasonably busy road somewhere across the Pond. While he seems to be handling it in a rather graceful manner - an illusion which is no-doubt helped by the driver’s choice of music - we can’t help but question the young man’s sanity.

Dutch bike-on-car collision

No video round-up would be complete without a little bit of roadside drama.

Here we have a Dutch cyclist colliding with a car. First appearances suggest that the cyclist, who doesn’t seem to slow himself down, collides with the car that’s pulled across the cycle lane, apparently on purpose.

But, the incident is cleared up in the comments. YouTube user, and cyclist in question, Dutch Bicycle Cam, puts the incident down to his poorly performing brakes.

You fear the worst for him as the driver rummages inside his boot - has the red mist descended and is he looking for a jack or some other tool he can improvise as a weapon?

But no. Happily, both the cyclist and driver were very understanding and courteous about the entire incident. We can’t help but wonder how something like this would have gone down in Britain.