booked for my second Alps trip in summer went to morzine last july on a spech enduro and came off alot.
This year Ive built myself a 456 summer season with 150mm bolt thru forks specialy for the job and its made me a mutch better rider,
question though will it be good enough for les arcs or should i try and get a full susser, its amazing down hill here in UK and 7 stains havent gotten in her way.
What sort of riding you going to be along? Trail or DH? A group of us rode around la plagne and les arc last summer and a hard tail was totally fine. Id personally prefer a full sus for DH riding, bit I know folk who've done a week of DH in moraine on a lt hardtail.
What sort of riding you going to be along? Trail or DH? A group of us rode around la plagne and les arc last summer and a hard tail was totally fine. Id personally prefer a full sus for DH riding, bit I know folk who've done a week of DH in moraine on a lt hardtail.
i've done 2 wks in les arcs on one of these [url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/shows.php?id=photos/2003/tech/shows/eurobike/bike2build/gt_moto]
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i had dual ply dh tyres on it too. Did a wide variety of the singletrack, and the dh course. Was fine if a little tiring. I would now, if possible choose a FS tbh as i would be faster and less beat up.
depends i guess on what your riding in les arcs. Trail Addiction took us down some sweet rooty technical stuff tho.also that bike is a very stiff 4x bike with 130mm up front. Less forgiving than something like a 456 i guess.
well group im going with are not full DHers but when in rome we'll try all the courses. Ive learned from last year dual ply tyers so many punctures. after watching videos there dosent seem to be much that tough and as long as it dosent have morzines terrible breaking bumbs which destroyed me I think my HT will be fine after all the great riding shes done this year it would be a shame to leave her in garage. plus theres less to go wrong as repairs in resorts are pricy
good to hear my arms were in tatters week after morzine. this might all change though if a good looking full sus winks at me though
might be good to get a more recent opinion on the braking bumps tho.
I took a 120mm xc focused HT out with me last year intending on doing mostly trail riding but ended up doing everything but the blacks in Les Get/Morzine area .. sure i was a little slower , sure i was a lot sorer than others , but by god it was fun ..the robo warriors will all look at you a bit odd on your way up but you will be laughing at the bottom of the run.
If you want to go silly for a day hire something but other than that id give the 456 a holiday ! it would never forgive you if you did not take it with you ! I will be doining it again this year !
i have ridden at les arc's twice, 1st time on a 100mm merida hardtail.
it was still very good fun. 2nd time was on a 36'd sub zero, which was fantastic. dont think i would have ridden any faster on a full susser.
tbh is got knocked offline on the dh course pinning it on the ht
We spent a day in Les Arcs on 100mm XC hardtails (Scale 30 & Kula), it was damn good fun keeping up with those full sussers, yes I was outside my confort zone! The riding Gods were with us that day.
Braking was difficult in some parts, some sections were very rattly. I swear the bike spent more time in the air than on the ground from skipping from rock to rock.
Will I be taking the HT again, probably, but the Sale 30 won't be, it was a little 'tired' after a week in the Alps.
456 with 150mm forks, should be great fun! Envious..!
question though will it be good enough for les arcs or should i try and get a full susser,
I think the question is: Will you be good enough?
Went round the ALps a bit this summer and the Les Arcs area is the only one I'd have wanted to ride a HT I think. Quite a lot of buff/loamy trails. Not many braking bumps.
I'd still pick a FS personally though.
You are going to one of the best areas for riding in, so take a bike that will allow you to enjoy it to the max. A FS will leave you less tired, save your sorry ass now and again and if you want it will allow you to do stuff thats just a bit too hard on a HT.
A friend of mine is a guide out there and ran a hardtail for many years. You'll be fine.
I took a hardtail and was completely knackered after a couple of days. Its the relentless nature of the bumps and standing up that takes its toll, was average around 16,000ft descent per day. Theres no real way of preparing your body for it either. I ended up going back to the chalet at 3/4pm rather than 5pm like everyone on full-sussers. I was trying to go quite quick though! deffo taking ful-sus next time.
Did Les Arcs on a HT last summer, was very tiring for the first day or so, but that may have something to do with going before the lifts were open! One friend on a full sus found going downhill all a bit too easy although he had been riding for a long time. Everyone enjoyed it though, regardless of what bike they were on. And all the guides had HTs partly as it was easier for uphill but mostly because they are easier to maintain!(illustrated by my HT never being tinkered with whilst someone's shock went kaput on the first day, a new one couldn't be sourced and he likened it to being on a pogo stick for the rest of the week)
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