Product Details

• Format: Dual Disc, DVD, Miniseries, Digital Sound, Limited Collector's Edition
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002IFNYOE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,544 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Warm up to a video montage of the architecture, canals, and little shops of Venice. After you find your legs on a gradual climb, you'll get your speed fix by riding along a quiet highway overlooking the Ligurian coast near Bracco. These two sections lead to a brisk riverside run in Valstagna along the River Brenta. The fast pace of these flat to rolling sections will be the perfect setup for the killer climb that awaits you below the mountain village of Rocco. Finally, cool down to a photo montage of the behind the scenes activities of the film and riding crew, and the places where they stayed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Simply Mediocre, December 5, 2009

By 

Benjamin Hughes (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Global Ride: Speed & Power in Italy Virtual Cycling DVD (DVD)

I bought Speed and Power in Italy from the manufacturer. It came with a coupon that said that I could get a free DVD if I wrote a positive review on Amazon. Keep that in mind when you read the other reviews here. If I did like it I would have no problem giving it a good review, but I would also feel obligated to say that I was being compensated.

First, they get the basics down pretty good. There is some beautiful scenery here, and the rides that they chose are excellent. Every ride starts out with a Google map and a description of the ride. In those regards they did a good job here. Unfortunately they did not do as well with the execution.

I would have preferred if they chose better weather to film. Some of the time the riders are in arm and leg warmers, and the weather looks dreary. If I am going to ride vicariously I want perfect weather conditions!

Another problem is with the pacing. They seem to be driving the car at a constant speed. It would be more realistic if they went slower up the climbs and faster down the descents. They way they filmed it, the descents are painfully slow. Some of them look pretty steep, and there is no sense of exhilaration as the car rolls down at a slow pace. The camera work itself is generally good, except there are more than a few times that you can see reflections out of the side windows. Roll the windows down next time!

They have a good premise for these films, and I would be a repeat buyer if they were executed well, however if this DVD is like the others they are not worth the price.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars next best thing to actually biking in Italy, October 27, 2009

By 

Tony (Sonoma County CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global Ride: Speed & Power in Italy Virtual Cycling DVD (DVD)

I'm an avid cyclist fortunate enough to be living in Sonoma County California which has some of the best rides to be found anywhere literally just outside my door. However when it rains and I cannot go out for a ride I find myself on my indoor trainer watching a cycling DVD. Recently my daughter for my birthday gave me the cycling video "Speed and Power in Italy" produced by Global Rides. This video is the next best thing to actually being in Italy and cruising their country roads which I think is every roadies dream. Beautiful scenery, scenic mountain passes, mild grades, straights, rollers, sleepy little towns and at the end a killer climb and backed by awesome music which seems to get you into the mood. This video is the perfect tool to help with your training on the dreary rainy days when you wish you were out riding. Give it a try. I highly recommend this video as an addition to your cycling DVD library.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful scenery, hardcore workouts, July 29, 2009

By 

Mark Dalrymple (Leechburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Global Ride: Speed & Power in Italy Virtual Cycling DVD (DVD)

I just got my first DVD of the Global Ride Italy series ("Speed & Power"), and I have to say it's really nice. The DVD is in two major parts.

The first part is an hour long tour of Italy from a biker's perspective (and speed). There 3 or 4 distinct stages covering different parts of the Italian countryside, along the flats and in the hills. The idea is that you're on an indoor training bike (wind trainer, rollers, spinning bike, or in a studio), and pacing your workout based on what's happening on the screen. Going up hills, blasting through tunnels, and coasting downhill. I find the scenery fun to watch even when not on a bike.

There are four audio coaching tracks. Three individual coaches from different countries, and one "group session" that was recorded live. You can get that "surrounded by people" feeling without actually having to leave home. If you don't want a coach, you can play just the music.

The coaching voices are on the left channel, and the music on the right, so you can dial in your mix of voice and beat. That gives you five end-to-end playthroughs before repeating. The American coach gives you a pretty tough goal to shoot for during the last stage, so it won't get boring anytime soon.

What's pretty neat about the Global Ride DVDs is the second part - they have an additional section after the cycling: this DVD has a thirty minute or so Pilates workout. Previous Global Ride DVDs have also had Yoga and hand weights. If you've never done Pilates you can see what's involved before you go to a club. It's kinda cool that they acknowledge there's more to bicycle performance than just time on the bike.

The quality of the music, video, and coaching is very high. It's obvious a lot of time and attention went into the details.