[Closed] mega avalanche bike choice

Done it 3 times once on an orange 224 once on a specialized enduro pogo stick and last time was an orange 5 with a 90mm stem and 685mm bars they came with the bike and I hadn't had a chance to change them, wish I had though as it was much fun.

Any trail\enduro style bike should be fine just depends on how competitive you think you will be.

Don't think I'll be that competitive this year due to work , do you think orange five would handle it does look like more xc on course

You don't need to be amazingly fast on the descents, you'll get held up by countless Euro xc boys.
Having legs to overtake folk on the flats and climbs is a much better tactic for riders that aren't at the sharp end.
It is rough and no doubt favours big wheels. I rode it on a 26" 5 it beat me up when the pace was high!

Was looking at nomad £6000 but it's no use in this country really bronson would be better

Don't think I'll be that competitive this year due to work , do you think orange five would handle it does look like more xc on course

dont worry there are some decent enough descents, but youll be fine on a 5
dual ply tyres, well serviced brakes and forks are a must, a dropper post is useful

Ye have dropper bike is in tip top condition thanks kimbers I no people do it on hardtails , love my five could be our swan song

What kimbers said. Big tyres will help more than anything else, and make sure your rotors are big enough.

Short of getting a bike with a bit more travel and bigger wheels for some fairly marginal improvement, your Five will be fine.

I am doing it on a ti switchback, I am totally sure it's the wrong bike though and would be better something that bounces at both ends.

I've been toying with setting the Avalanche as my mid life crisis goal (40 this month) but as I now only have a rigid swift it would mean getting a new bike for the occasion.

Given funds and the other incremental expenses involved a new bike would need to be a long term cheap 2nd hand build so I should probably start getting bits soon 🙂

Haha chomp that exactly it midlife crisis,
ye leaning towards using my orange, is tubeless or tubed set up better. Anyway cheers guys for input

How long are you going for?

If you're doing the full week, a 7" beast will probably be useful as you will get less beaten up and then be fresher for the quali and race day.
If you're just doing a couple of days, something smaller like a 5 will be great as most of the overtaking happens on pedally bits.

As mentioned above, dual ply tyres (tubeless) and big rotors on whatever you choose.

Still have a Commie Mini Downhill for sale which might be ideal for this sort of thing. Would let it go for £600 now: just not getting used.

Will be there for just over a week to get use to terrain, but apart for start of race which looks like a lottery and will probably be done on my bum away ,looks more xc anyway, was thinking of a nomad but don't want to get stuck with a bigger bike for next couple of years,

Trust me its not xc !, there are a few peddally bits but and some lovely fast sinhletrack but there's enough steep rocky dh to keep it interesting
The qualifier race I'd more of a long dh race

Have you ridden it few times kimbers, I've heard qualifying is more dh than race. Can you practice on both courses in week before race

did it in 2010 on a Prophet 4x with 160mm 36's, never felt under biked

Surely there's only one correct bike - The Nukeproof Mega!
Did it last year on my 26" 2012 Mega and it was grand. As others have said the qualifier is steeper and techier than the main race, tubeless/dual ply/Supergravity tires are worthwhile and xc fitness allows lots of overtaking in the main event on the climbs/road sections. My rotors were 180mm/160mm and had no braking problems (finished mid-pack in the main race). Orange 5 will be ace with big tires and a dropper.

i think ive done it 5 times b4! and im still crap!

you can practice it all week long, though exact lines and route isnt certain till race day
it really is a good mix of terrain, worth doing some uplifts b4hand and if you want to really race it youll need to be very fit and strong, you think that you get arm pump on a 4 minute dh run in wales?, an hour long dh run with the odd climb thrown in, starting at 3300 metres will sort you out
youll need to make sure you get infront of the pack at every turn.

and importantly, youll need to get lucky; lucky on grid placing, lucky on your overtakes, lucky on the snow,lucky that no one crashes into you, lucky on corners and lucky with mechanicals

So what your telling me is luck may play a part, I'm reasonably fit not pro level live in Snowdonia so get plenty of riding spent winter core training and balance and have around 60days cardio and Sprint work. But like you say it's down to luck

5 will be fine, I did It last year on my cannondale prophet with dual plys. If I do it again it will be on a HT!

So what your telling me is luck may play a part,

Managed to overtake 70 riders but still got a rubbish time and not in to the challanger race like I wanted/aimed to.

The Five will be fine. I've ridden it on a BFe, Ironhorse 6Point and an Orange 224. The BFe was really not fun, not even for a second. The 224 was a total pain on the flat, and anywhere requiring pedalling.

Dual-ply tyres, perfectly setup brakes, dropper post and sharp elbows are all you need!

I enterd the day entries went live but ended on the back row so that is not true what is written above.

The Five will be fine 2ply tyres help but not needed, I have never had anything bigger than a 160mm rotor on the back and have never had any problems in the last 7 yrs riding/racing in the Alps.