[Closed] BIking in Barcelona?

You could ask someone in [url= http://www.foromtb.com/forumdisplay.php?41-Foreign-Bikers ]here[/url] (English) or if you feel a bit braver [url= http://www.foromtb.com/forumdisplay.php?125-Catalu%F1a-Catalunya ]here[/url] (Castellano/ Catalan).

Cheers will give that a try. Anyone else?

sorry can't be of help, i've not been riding there but i'm interested in peoples suggestions too (we're planning on visiting in the new year). wasn't sure whether to take road/cx bike or mtb

No worries. I have to say it looked pretty promising for MTB. There's some great looking trails on the videos on that site I posted, and the whole area around Vallvidrera is a national park - it's nice hilly woods and appears to be riddled with little paths and trails.

I did see a guy on a decent MTB come out of one of the trails but didn't manage to stop and talk to him (not speaking Catalan being the main problem).

My bike guide book suggets Montseny, also have a look at here for the BTT centres.

http://actiunatura.catalunya.com/es/distribuidora.php?id=17&pag=1

Thanks Mackem. Are those BTT routes waymarked? Can't seem to find maps on that site.

Yeah, waymarked, pretty sure there was a better site with them, i'll have a dig around.

ah, here we go...

http://www.turismedecatalunya.com/btt/index.asp

Nice one thanks again - do you have experience of the BTT routes generally? Waymarking generally ok, decent routes etc? Or very variable?

Sorry, no experience of those routes.

Hi, first post.
I've been reading this site for a while,but I thought I'd offer what I know about collserola.so I signed up.
I've been living here for 6ys,mtbing for about 4 of those.ridden road bikes for about 15ys.
there are some nice dh type trails.most are a bit short.and steep.so the fireroad ride back up is pretty long.
there are some man made jumps and step downs,step ups, on some trails,but they are not easy to find as anything built gets taken down as soon as it's found.
I ride on my own so I've chanced on them,or watched youtube/mpora videos and tried to see where they start or end to get some idea of where they could be.found most of them (I think).there's some dj stuff near the cosmocaixa.at the end of a pretty steep sandy trail that goes down from the carretera de las aiguas.there's a lovely long section from mas guimbau(les planes)called the chinese wall.as some squatters put a chinese dragon where the trail starts,and coincidentally where their house is.once you get to the bottom of that there's some lovely flowy singletrack.
A nice descent is the one that goes from the crest of the road that goes from horta to the cemetery,there's a bridge,instead of taking the fireroad go left.at the bottom you can link up to the bmx track between monbau and mundet.green line.Its nice,but for me the jumps are too big.

there's a few bikeparks,though I've never been.
one is la poma,just outside bcn,its on the web.
another is la clau,both are quite near but I can't be bothered taking the train to get to them,and I don't have/want a car.

trails are pretty rough,steep,really loose.quite fun.not much maintenance, so they tend to get quite narrow.and I'd advise 3/4 tops as your arms get pretty scratched.
735mm bars,but they still got scratched with 685s.
an ok shop is probike,expensive though.so crc for me.
the rest are generally worse.

In general, shops here have been a real impulse to learn how to do my own maintenance/buy everything off the web.
probike have a guide they publish with a map,but it's all xc/sunday afternoon stroll type stuff.I don't think I've ever used it.
Its mostly xc here.few people with trail or dh bikes.I've seen a few stinkys,but as it's really hot just about all year round I don't think its much fun pedalling them up a fireroad for an hour.
I've got a hustler and quite a few cyclists ask me if its a dh bike..
you'll find mostly xc hardtails riding down with their saddles up.
It's really all very conservative,crank up the fireroad,bomb down the fireroad.spds,100mm travel,v brakes.looks like the shandro flashback bit on the collective..
Not many people at all off the fireroads.

I can point you to/show you some trails if you want.I usually go out 1-3 a week,depending on how many times I take the road bike out.rides are about 5-6hours long.

hope it helps.

Hi emanual, thanks for the reply - very helpful.

I am back in the UK now but I am planning to go and see my friend again, and will definitely take my bike with me so your offer of meeting up would be great. Do you have an email address?

My friend lives in Les Planes actually I think, good to know there are some routes around there. Did you know some of the routes in the link I posted above? Looks like some fun DH type trails and there are maps/videos/route descriptions on there - I am not a hardcore downhiller but I do like to ride some downhill type stuff on my Pitch.

I had my car with me when I was there, but I would probably fly with my bike next time - I suppose I could rent a vehicle to visit the bike parks though. I think La Molina is also not far away?

[url= http://video.mpora.com/watch/VfByRPOCU/ ]vid[/url]

[url= http://video.mpora.com/watch/9IGsqEaWS/ ]vid2[/url]

I think all the bikeparks are reacheable by train+short ride.
If your friend lives in les planes then just ride up to can castellvi/can balasch,the ride down the chinese wall trail.
at the end of that,cross the road and go down then left.towards the tennis club (that you can't see) just below the radio antenna/ex civil war aa battery.
I'd advise against going out on fri-sat-sun as it gets pretty crowded.
Be careful of chains,the fireroads are closed off by chains.sometimes theyr're hard to spot against the pale earth colour of the trail/road or are behind a corner.so can be dangerous.

Best thing is to buy the walking map and have a look at that.
But I'd be happy to show you around.email in profile.

trail conditions are quite variable sometimes,dry dusty and muddy on the same ride,not much drainage in some places,so dunno what tyres..

here's a few more videos.
http://mpora.com/mountainbiking/tag/collserola/
emanuel.

Nice guide emanual, I was wondering what Barcelona was like to ride in.
If you ever find yourself over in the basque country drop me a line and I´ll take you out on some of the trails round here.

thanks sunnrider,its actually pretty nice,though I bitch about lack of maintenance,but most of the big stuff gets sorted out,eventually.
I ride to the trails from my house,near the sagrada fam.takes about 30mins,or you can put the bike on the metro for free.
the trails are really empty,esp on weekdays.I sometimes put up a hammock in summer,to escape the heat and there's just nobody on the singletrack.
likewise,drop me a line if you're round these parts.

any stwders in or around bcn?I might be becoming less antisocial in my old age(31).

Grum - I've been try to pm you. Can you drop me a line? (Can't see you addy in profile and have lost yours)
Jane

Thanks again everyone, really helpful. emanual I'll definitely be over again at some point and I'll get in touch, cheers.

Bunnyhop - just replied. Thought my email was in my profile but I'll check.

evening and sorry for the hijack

emanuel, i'm in sants, mostly go out in maresme on a weekend but often commute over the hill from st cugat. Fairly clued up on collserola but willing to see what you know. Let me know if you want to meet, email in profile.

hi raindog,
I go to the maresme(dosrius,orrius,la roca) on the roadbike.never been on a mtb.
Some parts of collserola I know pretty well.would love to go on a ride,I can keep up with most xc if thats your thing.
I go on weekdays though.from 3-4pm.usual loop takes about 4-5hours.more if I bring a hammock and a book..
and thanks for the spelling!

em.

canIbearaindogtoo,
tried to mail you but it bounced back.