Juan the chips must protect you. All the kit I suggest and others is what I would normally have in the garage anyway. When you go out for a ride you take what you need ride and go home. We go for 1 or 2 weeks with 10 to 12 days of riding. If I was going to do Dh and xc in a weekend I'd at least take some different tyres. If I was going uplifting for a weekend I'd take a couple of sets of tyres.
Alpine bike shops are poor. They are converted ski shops with a bit of stuff. The worst selection of brake pads mechs etc I have seen. At prices that make rrp in the UK seem cheap. If you want choice you sometimes end up hqvi g to leave the area drive for miles to a bigger town. As said before that might be fine after a weekend but if you are losing a day of holiday you paid cor that's not fun.
Last couple of trips I had a good load of stuff and was happy other people were back and forward to multiple shops trying to sort stuff out. Losing ride time.
As for time and descents on the bike if I did helvellyn for example twice on a sat and Sunday then another big mountain mid week that gets me about 5000m max of decent that's doable in a day I the alps. In my younger days we could be out for the full lift day which is more decending than I could do at home by a long way.
Ride within your limits, remember you're there to have fun. I've lost count of the number of testosterone fuelled crashes I have seen out there from 'lads riding holiday' mentality. Guys eying up and being egged on to try stuff way past their pay grade - normally one guy has made something by blind luck & the unfortunate one spending the rest of the week hobbling around off the bike.
Very true.
Guys go out there, get pissed on the first night cos it's all the lads away, go out the next morning, jetlagged/hungover and end up riding like idiots and breaking themselves/the bike.
Any normal spares you'd take while out MTBing anywhere plus stuff that's expensive or difficult to get. Mech hangers are the classic. Spare brake pads, couple of cables, a few spare chain links. If you've got anything proprietary or specific to that bike then take it cos you can bet that no shop will have the widget for your obselete 2010 thingummybob. Most other breakages can be avoided by actually paying attention to the bike before you get 10 minutes into the first descent.
Very good insurance that definitely covers you for MTBing coupled with an EHIC card.
It goes without saying that there is a huge variety of riding in the Alps and no two holidays will be the same. We did Les Arcs for two weeks (including trips to Tignes, La Plagne and La Rosiere) and managed well over 30,000m of descending without really hammering it - some will do more, some less.
In that time, in a group of 6 we had zero punctures, no tyre damage, some fork servicing, a few brake pad changes, no cable damage.
It was very dusty so I got through a lot of lube.
Out of 6 of us we only had one catastrophic brake failure, and that was the one guy who didn't have shimano brakes.
None of us had FF helmets but it depends on where you go, I guess.
Another thing for your list - an IGN map of the area you are riding - we found them invaluable unguided. You can get them over here but you an also get them in all the French supermarkets.
Here is a video of some man made bike park stuff which shows how rattly it can get - it's only a small portion of the available trails though.
http://www.pinkbike.com/video/154753/
Here is a video of some man made bike park stuff which shows how rattly it can get - it's only a small portion of the available trails though.
Nice skills in the air there. It would be a nice track of they sorted it out but as one of the few DH tracks in the tarentaise valley it seems to get a hammering and no work done 🙂
Sounds like you had a good trip Wallop that repair bill sounds like a good one. My spares strategy is mostly based around what can fit in etc. If it's a group of good mates willing to share it's better and you can get a fair bit between you. Echoing what has been said above if your bikes not well set-up or looked after then you are asking for trouble. However the random blowup/rock strike/is that meant to happen moment does strike us all 🙂
Also from the other/previous threads if you taking guiding make sure the company is in a position to offer it as certainly in France the guiding police seem to be warming up again. Loosing a day to mechanical is bad but loosing it due to the guide not being up to "Local" regs would be worse.
I took 4 sets of pads for 10 days riding in alpe duez. They are still in the packets.... Nothing broke or wore out all holiday, though the tyres are now a bit tired. (2.5 ST minions). Prices in bike shops were the same as here.
Nice video . What bike you got there @wallop
By the way.. No one seems to be suggesting bike lock. Do they have facility for this?
I chucked one in but chalet had a lock up before that either van or lock up or inside chalet. One to check before you go
Oh god, that's not me on the video - sorry!
I'm a girl. I can't ride quite like that, sadly....
@mikewsmith ... I assume its fort knox safe these chalet to keep bikes.
@wallop LOL.. Too late now. After watching it countless times..my mind is set you are that video 😛
Cba reading all this but personally my tyre choice would be 2.35 swamp things or similar as its bound to be wet at some point.
😆
We ended buying locks out there - we just locked our bikes to the tree next to our tent.
In terms of bike-abuse, I reckon a day on the brake-bumped, blown-out horrors that are some of the PDS man-made runs are worth a week+ on the flowing, more natural trails to be found in the area. Mid-late season, some of the trails in Morzine / Les Gets / Lindarets feel like sitting on a bike attached to a fatigue-test jig. Perhaps that's the main reason a lot of people are on 160mm+ bikes, yet going not-that-fast-really.
(Ok I may exaggerate a bit on the bumps and it depends a lot on what you're into, but the DH runs there can get a bit dull/tiresome to me as a 'non-DHer' with an average 140mm trail FS bke - brakakakining bumumpsss to berm - rollers - brakkinining bumummmps to berm etc. There's loads of other trails that are steeper, techier and way more fun and in many ways a lot easier on the bike and body if you stay on)
I've had wrecked fork dampers and ended up with a squelchy (newly tuned from mojo) shock within 3 days there. I've also ridden 12 days of 10-12hrs a day across the Alps away from most of the bike runs and not needed any spares at all, just replaced a tired BB toward the end when I had the chance for a fair 25 Euro inc 'tool hire'.
If you're driving out, take the basic spares but don't stress about it too much. As others have said, just don't go mental on day 1 and save the big stuff for the latter part of the trip and you'll be fine.
Swamp things on the summer.. Seriously? 🙄 Was leaning towards minions dhf 2.5 ST front.. 2.35 60a rear. Or advantage 2.35 front/rear. ... Mostly doing singletracks first few days and getting more technical .
..i knew i gonna bring locks 😉
Minion DHF ST front, Minion DHF 60a rear for me.
We were lucky though - didn't see a drop of rain for the whole two weeks, apart from one night. By the end of the holiday we were almost complaining it was too dusty 😆
for exploring trails in more remote areas,
not for the uplift, more bikepark like stuff...
this turned out to be my list..
a well serviced bike and kit,done before leaving to the alps !
generally 2ply tires
in my bagpack,
first aid kit
pretzel head torch
extra layer,beanie
brakepads 2 sets..
2 lightweight spare tubes
necessary tools only
duct tape, cable ties,pump,chain link (sram or connex)
IGN map..of course
in my car
rear mech!,cables,new chain,more brake pads,spare tyre tools,grease,
and a spare seatpost,
strange i know, but a broken one spoiled once three days of riding, couldn`t get one with 30.0mm dia in the tarentaise valley..
@wallop. My choice of tyres as well.. You running 2.35 both? The 2.35 advantage is a bit bigger thought just dont know how it is
@accu. Exactly the kind of situation im trying to avoid, its not easy for myself to get a holiday break as everybody else.. every hour counts... only to be ruined by that kinda thing. reminds me bringing my spare seatpost.. Still i cant picture out how your seatpost broke unless its a really nasty crash.
wolfenstein - MemberSwamp things on the summer.. Seriously? Was leaning towards minions dhf 2.5 ST front.. 2.35 60a rear. Or advantage 2.35 front/rear. ... Mostly doing singletracks first few days and getting more technical .
It does rain in France ya know. I remember seeing pics a couple of years back of one poor sod's alpine holiday, it had rained for weeks before and the trails were a sea of mud. I'd have been glad for hillbillies never mind swampdonkeys.
But you can judge that closer to the time. I had trouble with dust, no problems at all with wet.
Oh aye, which brings me to another thing to take- extra sunglasses. Because if you're a knobber like me, you'll break a pair at lunchtime on day one and then lose a pair on day 3, and spend most of your holiday either wearing clear glasses and squinting, or wearing no glasses at all and trying to make pearls with your eyes.
"end of springtime or early summer" "swampthings - seriously"
ok dont listen to the fella who lives there for 2 months every summer. summer doesnt arrive til the end of july.
if youre taking two sets of tyres the spares should be a mud tyre, but you buy some minions if thats what you want.
no crash...the upper plate which helds the saddle rails down broke..and the bending screws damaged the threads on the post...complete fail..
never thought that this could happen
One post earlier was about obscure parts? It's not just ones we might think are obscure!
On of the most random issues i've known was a friend whose 20mm adaptor popped off his Hope hub when in transit. As he was transporting his bike in a carboard box, and it was thrown around in true Ryanair fashion, the adaptor dropped out....somewhere...
He rode for two days with an adaptor fashioned from a bit of plastic pipe. Only found a replacement from a UK guide with a set of hope wheels he wasn't using. Them Italians don't buy/sell/use Hope, it seems!
Swamp things on the summer.. Seriously?
Yes seriously, it's called summer rain, heavy thunderstorm for a few days. If you get cuaght in it you'll be happy to have mud tyres.
@wallop. My choice of tyres as well.. You running 2.35 both? The 2.35 advantage is a bit bigger thought just dont know how it is
2.5 on the front, 2.35 rear. Worked a treat apart from on the uber-dusty steep bits!
Cheers for that" swamp thing tyre recommendation" is this applicable as well during middle of summer? Or does anyone know whats the weather over there after the megavalanche?
SRAM power links
2.5"dual ply tyres
200mm rotor up front 185 at back
Spare brake pads ( -although I have never gone through a set yet out here)
Mech hanger
Rear mech
Bleed kit
Fresh arms for when you are half way down te run.
A buff so your head doesn't get sun burned through your lid or when on the lift
Bigger balls
More skills
Medical insurance ( usually not necessary unless you take your "big balls" but leave your "more skills" at home.)
Enjoy it but don't let bravado fool you into thinking you can do something you can't. It usually ends up looking bad.
You could run Muddy Marys, fit them and forget them. 90% of the time unless its raining that hard and that gloopy theyll be awesome.
From July mid to Sept last year I would run swampies for 1/4 of the time. Plus the DH stuff off piste is very loamy and they grip like hell.
If this is so.. I think i will lean on continental baron (black chili) on this fit and forget. But most likely will be there around june
June last year was rain, mate went in early july rained daily for 10 days
So when is best time you reckon.. I dont mind rain really.. Just not everyday 🙄
Also what lottery numbers and next years national winner.
It's a mountain region with weird climate. Anything that close to mt blanc can be unsettled. I've seen dry and torrential conditions in June July august and September. That's how I came to own a fox race/boil in a bag top.
Must dig out the videos from many years ago of sliding down les gets in deep mud.
And boy when it rains it rains. Most settled weather last year was last 2 weeks of July and early aug. but who knows.
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Yep when it's wet....
Mud tyres in Morzine are great when it's wet. On the more rocky trails it can be not such an issue
There a few Julys ago. It lashed down most of the time and on the less rocky trails, it was like riding on butter., very sloppy, very slippy.
We've gone further round since then, to St Foy with the White room, then to Les Arcs with Trail Addiction then St Foy under our own steam. No such weather issued in that area and trails (especially around StFoy) seem better equipped to handle the wet anyway.
Weather is crap in the pds. If you choose somewhere further south it is much more stable. In my last four summers the only place where I could have done with mud tyres was the pds. I had a Larsen on in 2 alpes, before heading up to a typical pds quagmire.
We picked the last two weeks of July, it was bone dry for us. I'm not being smug, I think we were very lucky.
6 summers in the Alps and a mud tyre has never even crossed my mind. Even when it's wet (which isn't often), it's not muddy.
PdS is definitely wetter / claggier than the Tarentaise though.
