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My main top tip for the Aples, is take it steady for the first day or so (unless you’re very used to long, strep mountain tracks) as I’ve come across too many people who’ve broken themselves within 48 hours of arriving.
I’m going to ride tomorrow, as it’s the last day - will be riding the hidden Nyon trails in the morning & on the Pleney steeps in the afternoon. We have had a bit of rain & some very spicy new lines have been cut in, so I’m going to go & have a look.
@hobnob maybe I’ll see you, and mayyybe we’ll recognise each other. I’m on a gold transition sentinel with your old fork 🙂
Oh cool ok, I’ll keep an eye out. I’m on a Red Deviate Claymore.
If you like (very) steep natural stuff I’m happy to show you about a bit, might not be first day friendly however.
I've done 3 days based in Les Gets with a group, riding the non bike park trails mostly - couldn't tell you where we've been but it's been bloody fantastic. Lots of natural rooty steep goodness with some open singletrack, and some green/blue park trails as well. Was up at 2250m yesterday and we've done between 3200m and 4800m of descending each day. The forearms and thighs are feeling it today!
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Off to La Thuile tomorrow!!
I know exactly where that pic is taken and No, I'm not jealous at all.
Have fun!
For anyone there or heading out soon, Bec Jaune reopened this weekend. Best food and beer in town by far
Depending on how some work stuff pans out, I may be down for 3-4 weeks over August and September
Did anyone take part in the chainless race on Friday? Eldest placed 17th out of 100+ field - with no bake brake either...he is mad.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zS2j8mDX9MzKpQon8
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/zS2j8mDX9MzKpQon8 <
My tip for Morzine would be don't crash
I did !
Arm in plaster with a fractured scaphoid.
The medical centre is very nice ...
Oooft, heal quick..
Can anyone give me a pointer towards the Nyon trails? Or will I find them if I look?
Or will I find them if I look?
Unlikely, they are pretty well hidden. Easiest way to find them is onto the Morzine Retour, at the section where it very briefly joins the road, don’t drop back in, stay on the road & climb it up to Raverettes for some of them, and La Combe for the others.
The first are easier to find, as you get to the lift station on the left, you need to duck into the field (it’s electrified, with cows in), then drop into the woods on the left. Watch out though, there is electric fencing in the woods too.
@ta11paul La Thuile is amazing, hopefully be there one day this week. Have fun!
Unlikely, they are pretty well hidden. Easiest way to find them is onto the Morzine Retour, at the section where it very briefly joins the road, don’t drop back in, stay on the road & climb it up to Raverettes for some of them, and La Combe for the others. The first are easier to find, as you get to the lift station on the left, you need to duck into the field (it’s electrified, with cows in), then drop into the woods on the left. Watch out though, there is electric fencing in the woods too.
That’s awesome, thank you. I reckon I’ve got it on google maps now, kind of follow the red lines? How does the steepness compare to the off piste at Le Pleny? I’ve got a friend with me who’s less keen on the mega-steep.
@appltn I don't think those lines are quite right (at least, the lines i know are further left). I haven't been up there yet this season so don't know what newer lines there are, but was planning to head out on the bike a little later today , message me if you want to meet up and could ride a couple of the lines i do know (i'd say generally not as steep as pleney)
There are trails over by the right line, but the left one, there is a lift to the left of your pin, as the person above said, the easier ones to find drop in there.
In terms of steepness, they arnt as steep as the ones that drop off the Retour route to Les Gets, more in line with the stuff that drops off the Pleney black.
There are a few spicy sections, but not as sustained.
The Chavannes and Nauchets lifts in Les Gets broke my mudguard and my friends mudguards. Mine was an official Fox 40 one mounted to bleed ports, so not exactly a big mudguard and also not easy to take off trail side. The lift man was telling everyone to remove their mud guards (no muddy guards!). I'm sure I've not had this problem in previous years. So a cheap zip tied on one would have been better as this would flex out the way.
Was there last week for Mrs Readys 1st Alps experience. 4 days of Morzine / Les Gets / Chatel and then a day at LaBresse Bike Park on the long scenic way home (highly recommended - if you're passing!)
Found this in those woods I think, pretty much where the other blue that's not Family spits you out. Turn left, and look for an in.
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Starts pretty chill with some nice features. Then starts to get pretty steep with some big dropoffs into tight chutes. Then even steeper still down to the fireroad. There's one called 'back of Natalies' that was pretty spicy too.
Great fun!
Just got a message to say the Plenney is staying open until 7pm Tuesdays and Thursdays. A little bit of extra riding if the arms can take it.
i was there last week.
Bike park trails were ok, assuming you like berms, tables and braking bumps.
But the off piste stuff is utterly awesome. The steep stuff that you end up surfing down was such fun. Thankfully a buddy has been every year for the last 10, so knows a lot of off piste.
We went over to Champary twice and rode the WC DH track. I remember walking most of it 9 years ago. Either they have made it easier or i have improved greatly, as we did quite a few laps down it, without getting off.
But overall, was a great trip. The lifts just make the riding endless. Pretty tough on the bike tho, so that needs a good once over!
I’m out in Morzine at the moment but struggling to find any natural tech. Does anyone know any good enduro style loops? Would be great if anyone has a GPX they would be willing to share to get to know the trails outside of the bike parks. Could maybe use lifts to get out but get out the bike park on some backcountry Singletrack somewhere?
The Chavannes and Nauchets lifts in Les Gets broke my mudguard and my friends mudguards. Mine was an official Fox 40 one mounted to bleed ports, so not exactly a big mudguard and also not easy to take off trail side. The lift man was telling everyone to remove their mud guards (no muddy guards!). I’m sure I’ve not had this problem in previous years. So a cheap zip tied on one would have been better as this would flex out the way.
Same happened to me last year with my 38s mudguard and saw others with same issue this year. Even the short Zeb guard I ran this year snagged. I've got an old mudhugger which I also tried which snagged but the plastic is more flexible, I did break some of the fixing velcro on this too and the flex scratches the forks. I think next year I'll mod the mudhugger, apply some helitape to the rub points and cable tie it on.
@poshtiger here’s the strava activity from when we met up with @tfelotthgir the other day. There’s a great loop off the Nauchets lift in Les Gets (furthest south in the strava) and also a detour off the Les Gets to Morzine return that hits a Nyom trail (pretty much furthest east).
https://strava.app.link/yT5bzRpfmBb
Now that I've been and come home I can share my own best Morzine tips (a lot of these are repurposed from earlier replies).
1. Ask this forum for help - we discovered tonnes of great riding, great places to eat and drink and fun things to do so thanks to everyone and especially to @tfelotthgir for meeting up and showing us some trails we would not have found on our own.
2. The Pleny black run is amazingly fun and the best trail to build speed on. It was the one trail that I was able to get up to what I consider my fastest pace because it is just so well built and when the rest of the resort was a dustbowl it was still grippy because it's in the trees so much. I must've done 30 laps on this, just going for one more again and again at the end of each day.
3. There's a million off piste lines off of the Pleny black and blue. The gnarliest by far drops straight down the fall line from the point where the Les Gets retour and family blue split. I've never ridden a steeper, more sustained trail and it was terrifying and awesome.
4. Food: Bec Jaune (just re-opened), The Hideout, O Chalet Burgers, L'Etale (the Tomahawk steak was quite a thing), Kamado and Satellite Coffee for breakfast.
5. Swimming in Lac de Montriond after a day on the bike was awesome. We rushed there because google maps said it closes at 6pm but it turns out that's just when the lifeguards go home so no need to rush the post-ride beers.
6. The red and black runs under the Lindarets chairlifts were different from most of the other trails we found. The black was very low speed rocky tech and the red was a mellower and therefore faster variation of the same.
7. Chatel has the best bike park style trails that we found in the area. Don't be like me and ride the top reds before the lower trails though (we did this because we arrived over the mountain), a warm up on the lower blues would've probably helped me not to have my only OTB of the trip.
8. As @ready mentioned above, the off piste trail just off the other blue run from Pleny has these beautifully crafted wood & dirt features, it's worth finding them just to admire even if you're not planning to hit them.
9. BA left my bike at Heathrow and it didn't turn up for the first 2 days which was very frustrating. I was able to hire a Transition Patrol from The Woods which was great, but I later learned that La Pédalerie have a fleet of Hope HB916 this year which I would've loved to have a go on.
10. Keep your eyes open! We were able to join a blue flow party train with Andreu Lacondeguy, queued for the Pleny lift behind Vinny T and look at Paul Aston's new Sunn inspired bike outside a bakery.
A group of us are here this week. After last nights rain the whole place is a different animal. Tyre choice for dry hard packed are almost useless this morning. Had an off and spent the rest of the morning looking for a torx T8 to replace a bent lever.
Mostly I’m out of my depth here. I have shortish (140 up front 120 back) travel trail bike which is perfect for my home trails but doesn’t handle the braking bumps very well here and after riding 3 days of them I’m battered. To get the most out of trails I would recommend something with 20mm more travel is better. Good excuse for a new bike 😊
For me the best trail is the black going down to Lindarets which is very much like what I ride at home.
Mostly I’m out of my depth here. I have shortish (140 up front 120 back) travel trail bike which is perfect for my home trails but doesn’t handle the braking bumps very well here and after riding 3 days of them I’m battered. To get the most out of trails I would recommend something with 20mm more travel is better. Good excuse for a new bike
/bragging time start
I spent 10 days on a steel hardtail with SPDs, and I thought it were great and I were lucky....
/bragging time end
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/1754/42703118472_5598f490de_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/1754/42703118472_5598f490de_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/284wDnj ]Sanderson Breath Les Gets[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt[/url], on Flickr
Beat me- I've had 2 trips with my Sugar1 80mm up front & barely 40mm out back & v brakes! Luckily the braking bumps were not that bad compared to when I last went with more suspension. At least I had an advantage on any climbs & the flats and even managed the road route from Morzine to Avoriaz. Had a go on my mate's Scott Nitrous- was far better suited to it!
@asbrooks I've been now on a 130/130 Santa Cruz 5010 (never again), a 160/160 27.5" Enduro bike (Cotic Rocket) which was great, and this year on my 150/140mm Cotic Jeht with 29x2.5 tyres.
For me the Jeht was perfect, the bigger wheels I think made more difference than the ~20mm travel per end that I lost because the rollover for the braking bumps, drainage channels and roots etc. just made things a lot more pleasant and faster as a result.
Everyone is different, I'm nowhere near as 'gnar' as most of these thread replies would suggest everyone else is and still had a whale of a time!
@asbrooks I always found that it wasn't worth swapping tyres after a night of rain, was just a matter of leaving it a couple of hours to dry out and everything (mostly) was back to normal. It's amazing how fast it all dries out there. Or at least it does when the sun comes out.
Just to save me making another thread I've got a few questions about flying with bikes;
What do you with your helmet? Will easy jet let me take it on as carry on
Do you pack as much as you can into thebike bag?
Are things like Allen keys allowed in the bike bag?
First time flying with a bike if you couldn't tell!
You can stuff loads of gear in a bike box, for example a shoebox with your Five Tens in stuffed with allen keys and various tools. Bulky riding gear like knee pads can be used to pack the voids. Jerseys and shorts packed in carrier bags to keep them oil free, just ram them in there! Also pack your choice of duct or gaffer tape so you can do up the box again on the way home.
I've always had a Troy Lee full face which comes with a perfect bag with a pouch for passports, boarding passes and stuff. Not sure what other people do but my helmet is the one thing I wouldn't feel comfortable about squeezing into a bike box.
I’ve taken a helmet on as a carry on summer and winter and never had a problem. If there was, then I’d just wear it for the flight.
The weight limit for bike bags is officially 32kg. I think as long as you’re not taking the mick, ground staff are a bit flexible about this, but I’ve always been under.
Officially it’s bikes only in bike bags, but again I’ve packed stuff in dry bags in with it, and never had a problem. But again I’ve never been over the limit.
Allen keys, tools are fine in the bike bag.
I’m also quite sceptical of how much padding needs to be around a mountain bike in a flight bag. Fair enough for a feather light road bike, but what’s the point of a bit of pipe lagging around something that you’re going to spend a week or two throwing rocks at in the Alps?
. Not sure what other people do but my helmet is the one thing I wouldn’t feel comfortable about squeezing into a bike box.
What kind of box are you comfortable squeezing your helmet into?
<chuckling>
Be careful if carrying helmet as non-paid carry on. One our group’s bag wouldn’t fit in the little bag size checking thingy. He had to pay £48 to get it in the flight
Just to say that I tried a little off piste, off the side of the Pleney Black yesterday. Admittedly I’m carrying a shoulder injury and not riding at my best - but damn, that was steep! Had to walk some of it. Oh the shame!
And the queues at the Zore lift and at Les Lindarets were the longest I’ve ever seen in a bike park. (But obviously 14 July in france was always going to be busy).
what’s the point of a bit of pipe lagging around something that you’re going to spend a week or two throwing rocks at in the Alps?
Because you want it to to get there in one piece so you can spend the week throwing rocks at it 🤷♀️ Does depend on your bike bag but lagging is cheap, light and stops all the bits grinding/bashing against each other as it makes its way though the terminals/flight
What sort of cost do you come up with for a weeks trip. I keep promising myself a week but it looks like it would be close to a grand? Accommodation looks expensive unless you can hire a apartment with 6-8 mates.
@TheBrick yeah I reckon about a grand would be ballpark. I've driven and flown and either way it was about the same. Flying is better for solo, driving better with mates.
Bear in mind you'll need a few quid over there for food/beer as well.
@TheBrick we looked at all options, in the end we decided on a catered chalet as we reckoned the cost of food and drinks in these places adds up. Lunch was usually a picnic from Carrefour or Spar. Unless we were over at Lindarets or Chatel where you are a captive audience to what is available.
I reckon a grand would be getting off lightly. I reckon closer to £2k for a week.
I hadn't considered food having not really been to a ski area (except once with work to Andorra but I was on expenses so didn't pay to much attention). I will have to find a way to make it work some day!
This is where I make my annual recommendation for Riders Refuge. After years of slumming it I started going with them and I've been back about 6 times. Big breakfast and evening meal every night means you don't have to spend any time in the supermarket, the kitchen, or expensive restaurants. Just fend for yourself on the staff day off.
I can't wait to get back there. Going to miss out again this year.