Good evening.
I'm looking at doing a week's mtb holiday, was looking at these two companies- BV seems bit more pricey. Any comments from people who've been on either of these appreciated- thanks!
I'm more up for hardcore XC singletrack with tech stuff to challenge rather than full on DH all week…
cheers!

Hello,

I have been to Les Arcs a good few times and it is fantastic for riding.

Both Bike Village and TrailAddiction have excellent reputations.

I haven't been with BV myself but having been with TA i can say that the riding sounds right up your ally. Great singletrack riding, the guides know THE best trails in the area and will cater for exactly what sort of riding you want. The majority of their riders are like yourselves who want to still do gravity assisted stuff but steer away from the big DH courses. I know that BV are a little more xc orientated but do offer from what i have heard great holidays too. TA chalets, food and staff are 2nd to none too. Whoever you choose enjoy, its phenomenal out there.

TA seems (judging by all the body armour they seem to wear) to be a bit more FR orientated – i've seen their groups and they are predominantly FR FS bikes. BV is a bit more XCy i guess, but don't think they its not techy – super tight techy trails… beautiful. 130mm HT or FS would be perfect at BV i reckon.

TA will use more uplifts, BV have some, but you work for your enjoyment (which i like)

They're all great, I'm sure

(see here for more detail and bitching)

FWIW, I've been with trail addiction twice, on my own both times. Bloody great. Fully robocopped up since I'm a kack rider not used to really long & fairly rocky trials and didn't want to get hurt. No real need for it I suppose but had one biggish fall that would've hurt quite a lot – got up & laughed it off.

I'm not fit, so the lifts/minibus were a godsend for me.

(edit) – in the 2 weeks I've spent there, I rode the "DH" track about 3 times

nice won, cheers.
i'll have a look at those.

Den

Depends on the time of year you want to go……

During July and August for out and out xc-biased riding (ie LOVING the climbs, loving the lycra) which is certainly not to be knocked if you like that side of biking, then BV have the edge i would say. Mainly because of the kind of clientelle they attract in those summer months apart from anything.

However before making your decision you should defo take a look at trailAddiciton's backcountry weeks in June and September. TA backcountry weeks are quite different and attract people much more like yourself. A lot more biased to big mountain epics including a fair bit of climbing too on most of the days.

Been with TA twice and going for a 3rd time this summer. As they basicaly do lift oreintated stuff, it does comes across as a bigbike fest, but most of the trails are technical singletrack – just gravity fuelled.

Both TA and BV seem to have a good rep, so it depends how much climbing you've got a desire to do.

As FRaddict says, TA also do the backcountry weeks too.

bike village was ace.

lovely people, amazing trails and some of the best food i've ever eaten.

Another vote for BV here – great people and great riding…

I've been to BV and would agree with the comments above. There were lots of climbs but every one of them was worth it for getting to the out of the way trails. The BV food is excellent- take the packed lunch option and you won't regret it. You also get fab cakes freshly baked for when you get back and lots of good food and wine at dinner.

Generally the guides ride hardtails which I guess indicates that it's not predominately DH riding. It also makes it easier to get round the switchbacks, of which there are loads.

We're going back this year and hopefully doing a lot more training to make it easier on ourselves.

They're not the only option. You could try: ChillChalet who offer great accomodation and MTB guiding.

i went on the seb rogers alps photo course last year
i will post some photos later to give an idea of the riding

initially i was "worried" about the level of riding, i'm the most technically able rider; i freely admit this.
i'm a cross-country type rider. have a stumpy full-sus

i wore pads for the first couple of days, but they're not really necessary

TA do cater for all types, from full on nutter to XC puff (i come in the later. :D)

the TA bunch are very friendly and will not overly push beyond your limits, that said the guide will give helpful advice and how to improve. (by the end of the week i was getting much better at switchbacks … and there's plenty of them)

much of the riding is: take the chair lift up, ride down. whilst i might be an XC type person, i don't mind cheating and getting a lift up

there are also some all-day epics where a group is taken via mini bus to a start point before cycling back to base

non-riding partners are welcome, the wife went and did her own thing during the day whilst i was out and about

driving down is easy

i was so impressed with last year's gig that i'm going back again this year … though this year I'm going for two weeks, the first to seb's photo course again and then the second to ride

The White Room in Sainte Foy also do back country weeks and I have nothing but praise for them.

Never been with Bike Village, so can't comment on them.

But have been with trailAddiction several times and never been disappointed. Some of the most enjoyable days' riding I have ever done have been with tA. Back country days are so much fun!

I've been with BV twice and enjoyed it having made use of the lifts and my own legs to access trails. I particularly enjoyed riding the stuff that you just can't access by chairlifts as it was very quiet and in good condition for that very reason. Riders from almost the entire MTB demographic (except full on DH) have been on the trips at the same time and they seem to do a pretty good job of catering for everyone – one group spent the week almost entirely on the lifts as that is what they wanted to do.

You'll probably enjoy either company but from what I gather from comments and the groups I've seen out when I was riding there TA is much more freeride/lift orientated in general, but not as a rule. Obviously that is driven by the guests though, if they had a week of full on XC riders who didn't want any lifts then I'm sure they'd cater for them too. But generally that doesn't seem to be the case. So if you're going alone I'd plump for the company that seems to fit into the kind of riding you want to do. You might want to contact them and see what kind of riders they have going out the week(s) you are interested in as that might swing it for you.

Not claiming to be an expert and I'll happily be corrected if wrong.