The directors and riders of "Chainsmoke II" traveled the globe for 18 months scouting new locations and riding opportunities to make this film a truly unique mountain bike video. What type of footage did they return with from this expedition? How about Marla Streb trekking through a remote jungle in Thailand. Try grinding up the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho with Killen and Randolph. Or John Kirkaldie and Nathan Rankin tearing up a DH course at Mach 1 in New Zealand. Or perhaps your fancy is tickled by watching Brian Lopes float 60-foot moto-style jumps at a secret Nor Cal location. Not to be outdone by the American- Chris Kovarik and Michael Ronning launch it over a moving train on location in Cairns, Australia. What ever your style of riding- this video will definitely have you hitting your rewind button.
Submitted by
redrook
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland Date Reviewed: October 29, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Great soundtrack, Good to see what it used to be like, and see how far the sport has come in recent years.
Early footage of Kyle Strait, and great stuff from Brian Lopez.
Weaknesses:
Feels quite old now. Some of the camera work is a bit shakey on the high speed downhill runs.
Similar Products Used:
NWD, Kranked, Virtuous, Collective, etc etc
Bike Setup:
Kona DJ Hardtail, Brodie Damien 08.
Bottom Line:
Awesome soundtrack, really gets you into what your watching, and the attitude makes you wanna get back out there.
Good to see how far the sport has come. Makes me glad about the direction it all went. No longer can downhillers get away with xc helmets and lycra.
The colours throughout are quite strange, it feels like you are watching something out of an 80s comic, very bright and in your face, but that must be the way it was mastered. Lacks the sophisticated, polished feel of films like Kranked 7 and Seasons.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jared Kamp
a Racer
from Idaho Date Reviewed: March 12, 2004
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
supergo?
Strengths:
XC, downhill, freeride. Awesome footage/angles. Stellar riders. Couldn't believe the price for a film of this quality!
Weaknesses:
Had some strange transitions, maybe you've got to be a producer to appreciate.
Similar Products Used:
most all the mtb flicks out there.
Bike Setup:
which? Stumpjumper HT, Santa Cruz Blur, Monkey Single...
Bottom Line:
Not really sure why the last few entries have been negative so I had to throw in my two cents worth: I've seen a lot of bike films but this has been my favorite so far, maybe bacause it features more than just a couple aspects of riding!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew
a Downhiller
from Leysin, Switzerland Date Reviewed: July 31, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Bernuse und das Geld Trail
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At:
Some store, i forgot...
Strengths:
It's well done up, obvious effort has gone into the film, probably remastered and all of that shizz. I love the parts they are in the chopper trying to keep up with the downhillers, and when they raise the cameras to match the height of the dudes when they hit a jump, good production call.
Weaknesses:
Short and expensive, i mean come on its like only 30 or 40 minuiets long, what kinda of crap is that man, i paid almost 25 bucks for this and all they can give me is half an hour, o well, non refundable so whats the point of complaining.
Similar Products Used:
Other ... movies
Bike Setup:
Spacialized BigHit highly upgraded, but what does my bike have to do with anything.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line, Yeah i see it right down there, what about it?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from IL Date Reviewed: June 17, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Palos
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
jenson
Strengths:
some good cinematography and a few cool moves.
Weaknesses:
pretty much the same thing as the first chainsmoke. nothing new here. the film didnt flow well and there was no direction. nothing all that big, the music sucked. how about no record label sponsorships in the future. pretty much what it comes down to is you've seen it all before now see it again only a little bit lamer. big disappointment.
Similar Products Used:
chainsmoke, double down, new world disorder, road fools, some other bmx videos
Bike Setup:
two wheels and a frame
Bottom Line:
MUCH better movies out there, don't waste your money on crap. i only got it because it was on closeout at jenson(wonder why). in any case, it was disappointing. if you saw the original chainsmoke then you've seen chainsmoke 2. spend your cash on something better, like anything. boo-URNS!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joel
a
from Pleasanton, CA, USA Date Reviewed: June 12, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Stix'N'Stones @ Northstar
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
Had some great cinematography - but had no flow or substance. Highly anticipated - yet a grave dissapointment. Troy Adamitis would be upset!
Weaknesses:
lousy sound editing - nasty jump cuts in tunes, you could totally tell where all the shortened music cuts were, B.lopes section in end was boring after all the hype. Too much build up and much lack of execution. Segmentation and sequencing was poor.
Similar Products Used:
Sprung Rocks - has the right feel and tempo to be watched anytime!
Troy Adamitis made a huge statement with Chainsmoke - It changed the way people perceived mountain biking, and got others pumped to try - I always thought MTBking was an elitist sport till I saw the O.G. and It's got me hooked since. Chainsmoke 2 was a dissapointment - BIG ONE - I would have been okay if it was a free handout but I paid full retail and it wasn't worth it - It did not live up to it's expectation and you think that the sponsors and producers would have learned after Taylor Congdon's "bragging rights" abomination !!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan Denehy
a Downhiller
from Fairfield, CT Date Reviewed: November 16, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
NSMB.COM
Strengths:
hmmmmm, the camera work is good and so is the opening scene, thats about it
Weaknesses:
If you only like downhilling and cross country then you should buy this, otherwise don't waste your money
If you are into urban, dirt jumping, north shore, trials, and that kind of thing, DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE!!!!!!! it is strictly a DH and XC flick. The DH riding is just guys bombing down fire roads and is really boring. The XC riding is, XC riding. The dirt jumping and street riding sucks, because the camera angle changes every half second so you never actually see somebody land anything. don't get me wrong, this movie was extremely well made and well shot, but it is strictly a DH and XC video and nothing more.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Toad
a Racer
from Athens Date Reviewed: May 22, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At:
Fox
Strengths:
SOem decent parts
Weaknesses:
Simply dissapointing
Similar Products Used:
All the other videos
Bottom Line:
Not worth the 24 clams I dropped for this DVD. The music is ok. The locations are ok. The riders are all good. And there is some really good editting. Too much actually. If you want to show racing, show some racing. Leave the cheezy crowd noise at home. If you want to show what cross country racing is like, show a guy killing himself up a climb and then show someone hauling down the last half of the mt snow cc course or in some steeps of WVA. Those guys have some skills. Lets see it. THe cc portion of the video is horrible. Marla is not bad. Yeah, she rides in exotic places. Big deal. As far as jumpin... show the take off and the landing. Seeing a guy in the air means little to me. Bottom line: Let the riding speak for itself. Put more effort into showing some good riding and less into making riding look good. It is just too choppy.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andre Sanches Da Rocha
a Downhiller
from Rio, Brazil (but now in San Diego) Date Reviewed: March 9, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Anderson's Truck Trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At:
Bike USA (now performance bike)
Strengths:
This video kicks mad ass! It's as good as the 1st one. Great soundtrack, makes you want to leave the room and hit the trails!
Weaknesses:
As any MTB video...could be a little longer.
Similar Products Used:
Headliners, ChainSmoke I, Headliners 2, DoubleDown...etc etc
Bike Setup:
GT I-drive 4.0 Avid Disc, XTR drivetrain, RockShox Osylo w/TULIO, mavic X something disc wheels with XT disc hubs. Rock Shox Vanilla. Tioga Dh factory tires.
Bottom Line:
BUY IT!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dillon
a Cross Country Rider
from Atascadero, CA Date Reviewed: February 15, 2002
Favorite Trail:
What?
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$666.00
Purchased At:
K-Man Cyclery (805)461-8735
Strengths:
The one strength that makes this video stand out from the rest is simply because it's better then the rest.
Weaknesses:
Try and count how many time Lopes pulls a "flatty" and the skate park footage was a little dull.
Similar Products Used:
No MTB video is similar to this one. Burn your Bender hucking garbage and pick this one up now!
Bike Setup:
Which one?
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that this video blew me away. It's a perfect mix of rider talent and a powerfull filmer/editor. The diversity of CS2 is amazing. It captures the finess and speed of downhill, the dedication of XC, the art and skill of jumping and Marla half naked! Anyone with a bike needs to have this. I also think there should be an encore debut at the next Interbike in Vegas, complete with the drunk Australians yelling in the back. Oh yeah, that truck in the video is unbelievable too! Congratulations on a fine video.
(Was that Lopes sitting shotgun, he looks kind of short???)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Doug Rusho
a Racer
from Rochester, NY Date Reviewed: February 6, 2002
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Park Ave Bike Shop
Strengths:
Choreographed music, incredibly powerful footage
Weaknesses:
not enough cross country
Similar Products Used:
Chainsmoke 1, Kranked 1,2,3, Search for the holy Grail
Bike Setup:
It's a T.V.!
Bottom Line:
A must have video. The footage acompanied with the music will give you chills. Some of the closeups combined with unique sound effects and slow motion filming truly portray the power of mountain biking. Lot's of real world race footage and international locations. The one main XC scene including the "roadie" intro is amazing although I think most of the footage is Short track XC. Being a XC racer my only complaint is the lack of other amazing XC scenes. Chainsmoke 1 had an almost equal distribution of all types of riding which made it one of the best videos. Regardless, this video is absolutely amazing. Buy it, watch it, and get pumped to ride!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Zak
a
from Paso Robles Date Reviewed: January 21, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
Bike Shop
Strengths:
Chainsmoke 2 is one if not the only movie that shows the true class of mountain biking. There is no Bender freaks hucking themselves off cliffs or skidding down a hill. The movie shows some of the best XC film footage that I have seen in a long time. The film will definetly amp you up to go ride. The filming in all the different areas of the world is great even if you don't like racing. The DVD is a must have in any household. One time through this movie will get you out and on your bike. The first Chainsmoke was cool with the helicopter but this movie has the truck.
Weaknesses:
The only weakness is that it ends. I can't stop watching it.
Bottom Line:
Buy this movie. You have to check out the DVD.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a
from SLO, CA USA Date Reviewed: January 16, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
local bike shop
Similar Products Used:
Headliners, Transcontinental, many motocross films
Bottom Line:
Chainsmoke 2 is simply the best MTB film ever created. I can’t get enough of it. The film takes the viewer all over the world and shows the home turf of all the top downhill pros. The cross-country action is amazing. It seems hard to make XC even interesting. This movie makes XC look fast and furious. The Fisher team must be stoked with the footage. The soundtrack is the best I have heard. I am sure it all depends on your music preference but this film is not full of a bunch of roar rock or cheap punk. It has a rhythmic blend that flows the viewer through the entire movie with acoustic, rap, metal, techno, and rock. It will get you amped up to be on your bike. The DVD is a must have. It has a ton of extra footage and special features. There is a 10 minute section of outtakes that is as good as the movie. There is also an extended truck section. That off road truck goes fast enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. Overall, you can’t go wrong with this movie. It has the perfect mix of downhill, bmx, cross-country, jumping, racing, and even a bit of touring in Thailand. I have shared it with all my friends and I have not heard one negative comment.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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