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We are heading off the the Alps for three weeks soon - hooray!
Have packed things like brake pads, tyres (wet and dry), disc rotors, rear mech, saddle (you never know), gear cables, lots of lube (fnarr fnarr).
Likely to be riding almost every day (usually do 2-3 rides per week) so will I need creams or ointments?
Are there any obvious medical supplies I could pick up here (still smarting from paying 20euros for a neoprene bandage in Morzine two years ago)?
Basically, what have I forgotten? Any ideas gratefully received, ta.
🙂
Don't they have bike shops in France? 😉
Rear mech hanger
We spent 3 weeks mainly riding DH in the Alps last year, I'm jealous.
Your bike could easily take a year's worth of battering in a week. One thing I should have taken was some fork oil for my Pikes, which developed a bit of a leak. A quick lower service would have been useful, or at least injecting a bit more lube would have helped.
Spare tyre(s) maybe? There's a reasonable chance of riping one, though miraculously we only had one flat between 2 of us the whole trip (and that was a drawing pin in Arc 1600)
If you're taking a spare saddle and rotors you probably have most things covered....
Oh yeah, you'll want to take 3 week's worth of Thatchers or other decent cider, there's slim pickings on the continent.
Anti inflammatories
which bike are you taking Lapierre or Cube?
there have been lots of threads similar lately use the search function
I assume you have more mech hangers than you could ever possibly need already packed? Small, light, and sometimes very hard to find in the correct size. If your wheels aren't something boring, spokes, again just because they can be hard to find in unusual sizes/shapes.
Loads of your favourite antihisthamines.
Ear plugs.
Tweezers.
Bar end plugs.
Favourite grips.
A small piece of paper with "I am a lucky, lucky sod" written on it, for emergencies.
Cheap sunblock.
Spare sunnies.
Anti inflammatories
Yes, got diclofenac and co-codamol. Should grab some more antihistamines though.
which bike are you taking Lapierre or Cube?
Erm, sold both - taking Mondraker Foxy and Lapierre Froggy.
Rear mech hanger
Keeping my fingers crossed it will arrive in time.
fork oil ... cider
Good shout on the former, can't stand the latter though. Maybe a bottle of whisky.
there have been lots of threads similar lately use the search function
Yeah I saw a couple, but I was originally just going to ask about arse cream (which I haven't seen mentioned), but then I wondered if there were more things I'd forgotten for a longer trip.
Ear plugs - got
Tweezers - I will look for some, perhaps I shouldn't ask why
Bar end plugs - OK
Favourite grips - packed already
A small piece of paper with "I am a lucky, lucky sod" written on it, for emergencies - good idea
Cheap sunblock - very good idea
Spare sunnies - already packed
Arse-cream - depends how much sitting down you think you'll be doing?
tools
spare rear shock, every trip we go on somenone does at least one, 2 week rd trip normally equals at least 3.
and id recommend one of these
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Especially when you head south where the sun shines in the alps, saves putting a tent up etc
Erm, sold both - taking Mondraker Foxy and Lapierre Froggy.
oh....ok, I'm really happy with my stereo, just having a few problems with handling. I presume you didn't like the Fritzz.
I presume you didn't like the Fritzz.
Actually I did really like it, but I didn't really look closely enough at the geometry before bidding on it - and it turned out to be a bit too short for comfort.
Probably would have been great in the Alps though, with all those chairlifts.
I was a bit worried that I was turning into one of those serial bike swappers that you see on here, but I'm pretty sure I've finally worked out what I need from a MTB and got a couple of "keepers" now.
2 mech hangers. In my experience it's entirely possible to lose an entire day of your holiday trolling every bike shop in the PDS for a replacement, and then being charged the earth for it - won't make that mistake again!
Zip ties and Gaffa tape. Good for fixing the bike or yourself!!
Got zip ties aplenty, will try to dig out the duck tape!
Have been umming and ahhing over 1 or 2 mech hangers - will probably get two just to be on safe side.
From 4 years of all-summer Alpine-guiding experience, I'd suggest trying to take a spare fork and spare brakeset between the group.
I've seen a couple of knackered forks and a few knackered brakes. Never seen a knackered shock and only seen one or two broken mech-hangers despite the hysterics about them whenever anyone asks the question!
Re. medical supplies, take some ibuprofen and paracetemol - can be a pain in the ar$e buying simple stuff like this in France as supermarkets/corner-shops aren't allowed to sell it. If someone gets any kind of serious injury, expect to leave the pharmacy with a bill for 200€+ (they love giving you every possible drug and splint) but your insurance should cover it, so who cares?
Having just come back from Italy I went through the same pre trip question. Here's what I did....
Serviced the rear shock (Mojo - it hadn't been done for just over a year) & fork lowers (myself)
New rear wheel - the freehub was on it's way out & turned out that it wouldn't come off (to be replaced) so a new wheel was needed
Stripped, checked bearings & re-greased suspension pivots
Swapped my tyres to a set on Maxxis Minnon dual ply DH tyres & corresponding DH tubes
Fitted new brake pads & checked if the brakes needed bleeding (they are quite new so didn't need it)
Chopped a bit off my seatpost to run it very low
I took the following spares: -
6 tubes (I ended up giving most of these away - I was amazed at how many people turned up with few spares)
4 sets of brake pads (I went through nearly 4 full sets in total, so brought back 2 pairs unused)
Tyres (pair)
Spokes (at least 8 - some front, some rear wheel)
Mech Hangers (I have somehow managed to end up with 4!)
Derailleur (rear)
Bottom Bracket
Gear Cables (2)
Brake lever clamps (I seem to have a habit of breaking these)
Any spares you buy there will cost close to double the UK price (I learnt this to my cost when I had to shell out nearly £50 for two pairs of brake pads in Switzerland last year)
Not sure if you're diving or flying, but if flying take some time to pack your bike carefully (I took off all of the following & packed them carefully: rotors (packed between 2 sheets of stiff cardboard), rear mech, mech hanger, pedals). I made sure I put pad spacers in the brake calipers. I used plenty of bubble wrap & some pipe lagging from the DIY store. I also strapped my knee/elbow pads to the bike.
Sometimes the problems you get aren't the ones you expect - on the trip I was on one of the guys had problems with the rear wheel thru-axle coming loose - at one stage he had to get somebody to ride behind him to check it was staying in place!
I've also been advised in the past to consider using an appropriate threadlocker to secure the various bolts of the bike to stop them being shaken loose (not actually done this - haven't had a problem)
Oi Steveo, stop reading STW and get that bike sorted for Iona.
Thanks for taking the time to share your advice guys. Spokes now added to toolbox.
We're staying with you for our last four or five days as it happens Stevo.
We're staying with you for our last four or five days as it happens Stevo.
In that case, you're sorted then - we can sort you out with just about anything in an emergency!
Looking forward to it!
BTW, having posted above that I've never bust a mech hanger in 4 years of alpine guiding I did, of course, bust my mech hanger the very next day... 🙄
If you are going by road take anything that will fit in.
I'd be taking a spare fork, shock, brakes, all the unique bolts/nuts/fixings your bike uses, bars, tyres, wheels, pads, bb, frame bearings, extensive tool kit. A spare whole bike wouldn't be a bad idea.
A mate once spent the day searching the shops for a mech hanger for a transition, got one which didn't fit, then spent the next day finding a dremel and making the hangar fit.