Bike
Trial Biking
Fabio Wibmer shares the inspiration behind urban ride edit Wibmer’s Law
The hustle and bustle of a busy city. In the middle of it all are Fabio Wibmer and his bike, pulling off an urban ride like no other. He’s in his own world and he only follows one law – Wibmer’s Law.
Fabio Wibmer only knows one way to escape the stress of everyday life, and that's getting out on his trial bike and riding. Living in a city and riding a bike presents many a challenge to the everyday commuter, but not to someone of Wibmer's talents.
For his latest video project, Wibmer's Law, the 24-year-old Austrian takes to the cities of Vienna, Linz, Graz and Innsbruck and turns them into a personal playground, dealing with everyday dangerous situations and the chaos of city life.
Watch the behind-the-scenes documentary:
47 min
The making of Wibmer’s Law
See how Fabio Wibmer and his crew film sequences that should end in a crash but turn into outstanding tricks.
The clip sees Wibmer get into plenty of scrapes as he goes through the city on a route that eventually takes him further out of the urban centre to a more peaceful place where he can finally enjoy riding his bike without the chaos of the built-up environment.
All in all, Wibmer’s Law is a display of speed and airtime, combining perfection and power.
Going down into the city
© Philip Platzer
Spot selection
Vienna, Linz, Graz and Innsbruck offered breathtaking filming spots for Fabio as he looked for a seemingly impossible line. Austria's great alpine outdoors in Vorarlberg also features in the video.
"We invested a lot of time and know-how in selecting the locations,” says Fabio. “I had a very clear trick list in mind and we found the spots where they could work out.”
The hustle and bustle of city life
© Philip Platzer
Sorry for interrupting the meeting!
© Philip Platzer
Some unusual bike parking here from Fabio
© Philip Platzer
A piano near miss
© Philip Platzer
A full bag of tricks
Fabio's latest selection of tricks, some of them captured on camera for the first time, involved some meticulous planning. These are working cities and no one was going to stop for a film crew of cameramen, technicians and extras getting on with their business. Some of the tricks were done hundreds of times before everything was captured properly.
“When we’re on the road for a video, nothing is done without the camera rolling,” explains Fabio. “Imagine if you send the trick but it’s not on film… that’s just not possible!"
Lunch time
© Philip Platzer
"Something funny happened… or rather, not so funny. One of the moves was a real challenge, especially when it came to timing. After about 200 attempts, we managed one perfect trick. But the camera has a recording error. So frustrating – we had to start from scratch!”
Wibmer adds: “If something gets in my head, I get it done – even if it takes forever!”
The shooting of Wibmer's Law took about 35 days, but this was spread out over a year. The main shooting was done with a Lumix GH5S on a Glidecam, as well as two Sony A7III cameras. GoPros as well as drone cameras were also used.
95 percent of all tricks were dreamed up by Wibmer
© Philip Platzer
Go out and ride
When life is too hectic, work too stressful and the city too loud – log off, jump on a bike and write your own laws. We don't recommend it has be Wibmer’s Law, though that’s a fun one to watch.
