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Bob, to be fair, for an old guy, GW is quick. 😛
Bob, to be fair, for an old guy, GW is quick.
I don't doubt it.
But he seems to think everyone else is riding the same way as him all the time.
Back to the point in hand. A Blur LT with 140 travel and 160mm forks is not going to be at all difficult to ride in the Alps. Thats shed loads of travel (more than DH bikes not that long ago) and more travel than 50% of the bikes ridden out there. Its well man enough for the job.
Must live nr the Surrey Hills then....
Im hard as **** so only ever go out there with my hardtail. But to be honest, its only cycling, use what ever bike you have, itll be fine.
Start looking now- pick up a secondhand Patriot, SX or Bullit frame. Ride, sell it after you get back.
I wouldn't rent. I've seen a rental bike and the amount of agro it gave the fella. **** that.
Don't know why GW is taking exception to some comments on here, they make sense. When I'm out in France I get progressively quicker while i'm out there and my confidence grows as i'm riding much more often, by the end of the week I try things that I wouldn't otherwise try at home. This is pretty much the reason why you see chalet lads (and lasses) in plaster as they too get confidence quicker than their skill levels can cope with.
Now i'm not sure what any of this has to do with bike choice as I think we're getting off topic.
I stand by what I've said before. To make the most (IMO) of the time you're out there the bike you've got with some small mods (such as tyres, bigger rotors, shorter stem etc) would be perfect. If you intend to shuttle the Plenney, then yes it's still possible but you won't be enjoying it after a couple of days.
Cheers all. In summary:
Ride as fast as GW by buying a shedded big bike and maybe take the Blur as well for a laugh.
I have to say, that THE best days I've ever had on ANY bike, were those on a 160mm travel AM bike in Verbier last August.
What was interesting though is that I was a lot less tired riding down a 20km descent (see the video at the end of this post; it's not me but it is the descent in question) on this bike than I was riding the DH on La Flegere in Chamonix. They are about the same length, but it was position you were forced to adopt on the steeper track in Cham that made the AM bike uncomfortable after a time.
With a DH bike, you can keep your weight more centred on steep terrain (where it should be). It's harder to do that on a steeper trail bike - again, not impossible, just felt uncomfortable after three runs (each one takes about 15 minutes!)
GW in answer to your earlier question of 'why would you try stuff in the Alps that you wouldn't do at home', I personally think the answer is simple:
Hubris
On holiday, in the Alps is the last place I would try to 'push the envelope'. It's bad enough getting home broken when you're only 15 miles away, let alone when you have to be repatriated by plane!
What you need, is my GT DH weapon....
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/gt-it1-downhill-bike#post-3292246
"buy a 2nd hand bike, use if for a week, then sell it for what you paid"
This, ^ or a patriot / SX type option - just get it early enough that you can get it setup and running how you like it.
I've never felt over biked in the Portes du Soleil - and that includes taking a 9" travel DHI on some epic lift assisted tours. - Your Blur LT might be ok, but then you, and the bike might (oh and the trails) suffer. You see a lot of people looking uncomfortable on shorter travel bikes even on some of the tamer runs, conversely, to me, winching a big bike over some of the XC terrain has never really seemed that bad.
I'm running an SX trail with singlecrowns now - just 'cause it's enough for what I do, but it was sure better to go big to start with
But he seems to think everyone else is riding the same way as him all the time.
thank god that isn't true or there'd be a worldwide shortage of back tyres! 😉
I ride local DH such as Cwmcarn on a 125mm/160mm bike and went to Morzine for the first time last summer, didn't feel underbiked but it was clear to me I could have pushed harder and been more comfortable with a bigger bike. In summary I felt pretty beat up at the end of each day and found my frame was pretty much cracked in half when I got home, next time I'll take an old beater.
The other thing to consider is that the average DH bike is pretty much indestructible. I've seen people wear out their Blur-type bikes very fast in a week of Alps riding - linkages, brakes, wheeel bearings, rims, forks/shock - a friend of mine spent the thick end of £800 refurbing his bike after an Alps trip. It was [i]utterly[/i] shagged.
OTOH, I've replaced a rear mech on my DH bike, had the fork serviced, and obviously put new tyres on it. A total of £200 in 3 seasons of riding (call it 6 weeks of Alpine abuse in total), which, added to the original cost of about £800, makes it pretty cheap in my opinion. It's stupidly heavy, and years out of date compared to a brand-new bike, but good enough for my abilities.
Why do folk who've never ridden DH (or a DH bike for that matter) over here think they "neeed" a DH bike for riding in the Alps?you'll ride exactly the same way over there so if you're not a DHer here you still won't be there even if you spend a fortune trying to "look" the part
I would expect they want a DH bike because they don't habitually ride 10,000m of vertical descent every day for a week when they are in the UK, and they want a bigger bike to cope with the demands of so much descending.
Most of them probably aren't as bothered as you are about "being a DHer" or "looking the part", they just want to enjoy their holiday as much as possible.
My LTc took a weeks riding with no issues whatsoever. Would have preferred to have Lyriks on rather than Revs, but it was still great fun.
Rode pretty much everything but tried to avoid the breaking bumps as much as possible which was quite difficult.
I went last year and all of us rode 130 to 160 travel bikes. One actually had a hardtail. I don't think it really matters what you ride as long as your happy with your bike.
I ride an enduro fsr with fox36s up front but I had bombers on for the alps and they worked brilliantly for the whole week. The one thing I did do for the trip was fit dual ply 2.35 tyres. I didn't have one puncture all week and I rode downhill runs all day every day.
We had a blast and our bikes didnt stop us hitting the jumps, riding the north shore or blasting down any trail we could find!!
yes a DH rig will beat you up a little less and will be a little stronger but if you dont ride one at home i dont think you need to worry about it out there. Enjoy your trip this year and by the end of it you will know what you want to do for the next trip. 😀
[img] https://plus.google.com/photos/114252723336930542804/albums/5693878007048767249 [/img]
[img] https://plus.google.com/photos/114252723336930542804/albums/5693878007048767249/5693880164733774626 [/img]
sorry i was trying to upload a pic from morzine but it seems i cant do it because im a computer noob
Interesting thread (in amongst the 'banter') I'm off to Morzine for the first time next year and was wondering if my g-Spot would be up to the job
(It's now got a layback and a slightly longer stem)
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there you go pease
ahh thanks. how did you do that?? i must have been close??!!
i wanted to upload this pic as it shows us having a right old grin me on the enduro and my mate on his ellsworth. dont need for big DH bikes to have fun in the alps 🙂
geetee 1972.
(see the video at the end of this post; it's not me but it is the descent in question)
Do you know who the rider is that's filming?
He looks radsicawsum who ever he is. 😆
"i wanted to upload this pic as it shows us having a right old grin me on the enduro and my mate on his ellsworth. dont need for big DH bikes to have fun in the alps "
pease- and likewise, you don't need to go to the Alps to ride wee jumps like that 😛
He looks radsicawsum who ever he is.
Mate whoever he is he is so rad to the power of max I came three times just watching the video 😆
Are you going again this year?
Take the Blur, you are used to it. I've ridden there on my Reign which was fine. Most of the riding is not full DH anyway, by all means rent one for a day or more. Riding a DH is fun and a new experience as they have a different feel and motion. Friends rented both DH and long travel AM in Les Gets last year and the bikes were decent quality although not top of the line brands.
A Jedi day is an excellent idea (I took a session in Dec) and far better use of your money than a DH bike. Also buy spare brake pads and some body armour, I rode most of the time in my normal lid but a full face is a good idea. A chain device is a good idea too. The bike will get beaten up relative to normal UK riding not least as with the lifts your doing so many more runs than riding up.
For an AM excursion go for lunch in Mont Caly, one very French place with stunning views. Accessible from Les Gets with red or black options back to village
Have fun.
i didnt want to get into this.. i know you dont have to go far to have fun and there are bigger jumps and cooler people than me in the uk 🙂
i just wanted to share my thoughts on something that lots ask. all i was saying is that it doesnt matter what you ride out there or anywhere, as long as you have fun. that pic is us having fun.. no more no less...
and i still cant upload pics hahaha
I'll use this opportunity to plug the Bullit frame and Boxxers I'm selling 🙂 email in profile if interested for pics etc.
Are you going again this year?
Not sure if I'll still have a job in a few months so not booked yet. 😥
Stu - been there myself in 2009 (made redundant three months before the birth of my first son!) Fingers crossed for you mate. If the worst does happen, just make sure you keep riding the bike. It will keep you sane, but hopefully it won't come to that.
The Blur LT is absolutely fine for anything in the PdS IMHO, except in my case, perhaps, the Champéry WC in the wet: I would've like about 5 deg less head angle. Having said that I cracked the bottom bracket shell on the 2nd trip.
Not sure about someone who posted above about Pikes dying on long runs? Mine were fine each time I took 'em out there.
Braking bumps are the death of speed of the shorter travel bikes though - you just get thrown around all over the bloody place.
AndyRT:
We bought a full guide when out in PDS last summer. It is called Portes Du Soleil 53 MTB Routes. It is really good and grades all rides on difficulty etc. Also a section on bike parks.
I think it is printed by Vtopo, website listed is www.vtopo.com, maybe you can order one from there. If not buy one when you get there..
Hope that helps
Simone
Also found this one but it's from 2005 so not sure how current it would be.
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&cp=8&gs_id=n&xhr=t&q=bike+fax&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1680&bih=869&wrapid=tljp1325763067461012&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=852349790521604160&sa=X&ei=JIoFT9SgCcKu8QOY58HIAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CIQBEPMCMAQ#
I rode in the alps on my heckler a few years ago and it was ok, rode it last year on my bullit and was better, hopefully going out this year with a 224 and think that will be the right bike. However we only tend to do the DH runs hence the DH bike! Plus I ride my DH in the UK too so its not like its going to waste.
I like the idea of getting a (cheap 2nd hand) bigger bike to go out there as it means you don't have to mess with your UK trail bike as stuff can easily get broken in and enroute to the alps! More suspension and bigger brakes made the 2nd trip far more enjoyable for me as my hands and arms took a bit less of a beating. As a result I could rider faster for longer compared to when I was on my trail bike.
Who knows if you get a DH bike you may well use it a fair bit in the UK too!
I get GW's point, if you don't ride DH in the UK there's not much point buying a DH bike for a short trip to the Alps? You'll know if you're hitting stuff fast / hard enough to need a proper DH bike already.
I've been to Morine a couple of times and tbh the worst part of it are the 'proper' DH runs, all the good stuff is away from the braking bumps and crowds - having said that a few runs there are always good fun.
But I've never wished for a DH bike there - tbh jumping on a DH bike that you're not totally used to isn't as much fun as you think. Better off on something that I'm used to that would suit the hardest riding I'd do in the UK, add bigger rotors and tough tyres / wheels and take off any pimpy parts that you don't want to see accumalating 6 month's use in a single week.
A beater SH 160mm bike with reliable brakes and suspension would be my ideal choice, chuck it on the lifts and don't worry about abusing it for a week or 2.
A very timely thread as I'm heading out to Morzine in August. I rode the Mega course in Alpe d'Heuz a few years ago on a Specialized Pitch and just about survived. I now have a Stumpjumper FSR and am planning to take it - pleased to see 140mm is sufficient as was weighing up the options of acquiring a used DH bike rather than abusing my Stumpjumper
thanks jambalaya, kind words 🙂
the blur will be brilliant bike, suggestion get a dropper seatpost this will transform the geometry into a semi d/hill rig and give you more room to manouver.
Bear in mind that you may end up riding more of the DH stuff out that than you intended to because it's so easy and fun.
As others have said, you will get a battering on your Blur riding the main Pleney and Chavannes runs. It may also feel a bit hairy on some of the steeper off-piste stuff (which is the best riding in the area) if you are not already a pretty confident rider.
This, ^ or a patriot / SX type option - just get it early enough that you can get it setup and running how you like it.
+1
First time I went out I built up an old Big Hit just before I went out and it was all wrong for me. Too soft spring, frame too small. Last year I was on a 180mm bike I'd already owned for a year and felt much happier.
Next time I will take a proper DH bike and a 160mm AM bike.
AndyRT - I picked up the PP book when I was first out there but to be honest we never used it. We just studied the map, asked questions of Chalet hosts and bar owners about the best stuff. Would recommend sharing a guide for a day if your budget stretches, we did that in Les Gets and rode some stuff we'd have never found otherwise. As a nice AM detour I suggest lunch at Mont Caly, it's a small village above Les Gets with stunning views and a great "locals" restaurant with excellent food (it was described by a regular guest at our chalet as one of his favourite places in the world and one sunny day we were there I would agree). Access via Les Get lifts (quieter sdie) and a pleasant flatish ride along the mountain side which is a antidote to all the downhill crash bang wallop). You can ride back to Les Gets lift system via an easy Black trail or Red/Blue options.
The only reason you need a long travel bike in Morzine is to cope with the horrendous brake bumps.