Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)
  • Alps riding
  • astura
    Free Member

    Big year for me this year, im planning a trip to the Alps – iv wanted to do it for a few years now, but def going to do it. I have a mate who has an apartment in Chatel, i wondered if anybody had been there, what is was like?

    What kind of preration riding do i need to do before i go? Or, is there anywhere you recommend in this country to get my skills up before going??

    I have done all major trail centres in wales, not too many in the UK – just cannock and Gisburn. I have also had a play on a couple freeride parks to get my drops and jumps in not massive at all

    wysiwyg
    Free Member

    Theres loads of tracks to all abilities in chatel, just dont come moaning when people overtake you on serpentine 😉

    Who are you going with? Chatels not that rough, lots of smooth tracks and lots of rooty steep.

    Oh and big drops and gaps

    enigmas
    Free Member

    I’d recommend getting on some uplifts at a proper uk dh centre, they’re the only places where you can get used to riding steep, long runs all day long. It’ll also build up you’re resistance to arm pump, which you’ll get a lot of in the alps!

    Gawton, Antur, Revolution, innerleithen are the sort of places that are good, depending on where you’re based.

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    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    I’ve done about 10-12 trips over the years, first one we were way out of our depth 🙂

    I’d suggest a guided day or 2 if your new to an area, it can help to get the of the land and get the best out of your time (things like knowing which lifts to get where and when you need to be back to get home) add in showing you some good trails and probably being able to suggest some more. The piste map for Morzine/Chatel is one thing but there are more trails than you can shake a stick at in the woods.

    The Portes du Solei area are a bit different to others with a lot of DH tracks out there some hard some easy. The easy ones can be crazy fast so even a small spill can hurt! If they are busy and your not up to speed if can get a bit intimidating if your not ready for some of the big groups.

    The rest of the riding can be like riding proper mountains in the UK just a lot lot longer and being able to be back up top very quickly.

    My Alps prep that worked the best was riding the big lakes stuff a lot.

    Depending on what you want to do and your bike I’d take a look at brakes and tyres. Upping rotor sizes and fitting big rubber can be one of the quickest and easiest changes that will help you out. Even the bigger XC days tend to use lifts so a lot of the pedaling goes out the window.

    I know a lot of people here mock the Storm Trooper look but it can be worth it, a Full Face and some proper armour isn’t a bad idea if your going to spend a long time going down hill a lot. Your there for a holiday you don’t want to be sitting it out from day 1.

    hazza123
    Free Member

    I went out with a bunch of mates this/last year (2013) and all we did was rode in chatel and les linderets (sp?), linderets is if you take the chairlift to the highest point in chatel and then head over the back and up the other side again, easily my personal favourites tracks wise, more singletracky and natural, and I was on a Scott Gambler.

    What bike will you be taking? as someone has mentioned about arm pump, but set your suspension up right and you should be fine. I found it better when I had my 40’s on a harder compression setting so they don’t go into each and every braking bump in the place, this being what gives you the arm pump the most.

    As for preperation, if you’re not fit already, try and do so, same with strength, you get worked a lot on the bike out there and it’s worth being able to control the bike more and making the most of it. Try and work on wrist strength too, I used one of those nutcracker type things before I went to try and help.

    Also, take a fair amount of spares, stuff is expensive out there, people particularly mention brake pads and stuff but I only went through 1 pair that were already 3/4 / 1/2 worn down before we even went.

    astura
    Free Member

    I have just purchased a Marin Quake 7.3, im going with my mate who is on a Alpine 160.

    This is good stuff, whats the best time of year to be out there, is there a way i can catch it not as busy as peak?

    wysiwyg
    Free Member

    Try and find someone to tag along with, tow you into stuff. Theres always someone to get to know in the bar/lift queue. Its always busy, obv national holidays are worse. Chstel queue is always long until everyone leaves to get to morzine/before they arrive

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    It’s generally busy from the lift opening to closing. Avoid the passporte weekend as it’s rammed.

    timidwheeler
    Free Member

    We went this summer, it was excellent. What do you like to ride? If you like cross country there is a really good guide book which shows lots of routes utilising the lifts. If you like downhill,the bike park is your place, you can download a map, just Google it.
    Enjoy, we had a great time.

    astura
    Free Member

    I like a little cross country, to be honest i love everything other than road. Good advice guys

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    The riding in Chatel is excellent, the three blues are the place to start (one has a 10ft+ gap on it too!). The red which runs off the road from the mid point (top of first lift) is good. Search out rides such as Col du Coux on here for directions. Rest of PdS has some good stuff, e.g. around Linderets, Crossets and Morgins.

    Guide is worthwhile but at €250 a day you’ll want to be part of a group I’d imagine.

    As for prep thats hard to get in terms of trail centres as nothing is as big as the Alps. A skills session with UK Bike Skills (@Jedi on here) will be well worth it

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    mikewsmith – Member
    Avoid the passporte weekend as it’s rammed.

    Seemed okay to me. Far less busy than ski season. Passportes is also a great way to be introduced to Alps riding and the Portes du Soleil in general as it’s all neatly marked and takes in all the key areas, with good lift access all the way. Do one of the days officially and spend the rest of week playing. I could spend days playing in Chatel alone.

    coolhandluke
    Free Member

    bike bigger rotors, 2.5 dual ply tyres, maybe tougher rims, brake bleeding to perfection, low saddle, rotate bars clockwise about 10 degrees to account for the lower saddle. Although everyone says a set of brake pads a day, I’ve never worn a set out in a week but it’s certainly worth having a spare set with you, not in the chalet, in your bag, SRAM power links, usual riding tools.

    you elbow and knee pads, (a small off could ruin an expensive holiday), get a power ball and strengthen your wrists up, get used to one finger braking, get some waterproofs.

    Last time we rode at Chatel, it lashed down, it was like riding on butter!

    superfli
    Free Member

    Heres a couple of GPX files for non bike park stuff around starting in Chatel:
    Col De Cou
    http://www.adrive.com/public/pwHx44/Chatel-Col%20De%20Cou-Chatel.gpx

    Chatel-Morzine-Chatel (very steep in places!)
    http://www.adrive.com/public/3JcuRk/Chatel-Morzine-Chatel_Singletrack.gpx

    Go to Morgins for some excellent rooty DH runs

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    Went through a set of pads right through to wearing the backing plate, roughly in a day. Were Kevlar, but I’d still go with Kev and change them every day over the horrid squealing of sintered that I was hearing from everyone else.

    I went with single ply but reinforced sidewalls (i.e. EXO Minions and HRII, 2.4/2.5). Generally great for that kind of stuff though dual ply perhaps better for full on DH. Only thing is while the sidewalls were reinforced the top of my rear got holed big time. From the size of it I don’t think dual ply would have helped though. Other than that, running tubeless on chunky AM rims and running great.

    Big discs yes. Learn to one finger brake yes, but also feather braking and just deal with having to go a lot faster as otherwise the brakes will boil and you’ll have no choice but to go fast anyway (or just crash) 😀

    Spares definitely worth it to avoid huge costs in French shops. Lots of pads, one or two mech hangers, maybe even a spare mech if you’ve got an old one lying about that may work. Powerlinks etc. If you aren’t flying you can take loads more and can take CO2 carts, track pump, even spare tyres etc.

    Trust me, the amount of wear and tear after just a few days doing Passportes was incredible! Tyre, pads, headset, pivots, fork seals, rear shock bushing – all needed doing when I came back. Though one day was biblical in rain and mud though.

    Bloody good fun though and first time I’ve really felt the Nomad got a full work out.

    dangerousbeans
    Free Member

    the three blues are the place to start (one has a 10ft+ gap on it too!).

    I have just purchased a Marin Quake 7.3, im going with my mate who is on a Alpine 160.

    Is there any riding out there for bimbling folk on hardtails whose limit is around red Scottish route standards?

    Really fancy the Alps as a destination but any thread I read seems to suggest that if you can’t blast UK black routes and DH trail centres then there’s no riding for you in the Alps.

    jameso
    Full Member

    Chatel’s great.. I think a lot of riders feel they need to become gap-jumping freeriders to get the most out of the alps on first trips but if you don’t do that stuff in the UK already, save thinking about it for the latter half for your trip or just give it a miss. All you really need is bigger brakes and tough tyres, some protection and spares and the rest is just like a really good day in the UK, there’s just more of it and you tend to find your pace after a few days out there.

    Is there any riding out there for bimbling folk on hardtails whose limit is around red Scottish route standards?

    Loads! : ) I’ve ridden through that area on a hardtail and a rigid 29er and really enjoyed it. There’s everything from WC DH to XC red-grade stuff in beautiful surroundings. I like to stay off the main DH runs (well, after a day or 2 of chair-lift fun) and look for more XC trails, they can get full-on techy or be really nice easy rides but they’re always quieter and feel more alpine. Get a good guide or do some route-planning and you’ll find some amazing riding.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/67338272@N05/sets/72157631189677422/ – some alpine XC mincing on bikes more suited to CTC touring.

    torsoinalake
    Free Member

    dangerousbeans there is plenty to do.

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    Did Morzine/Chatel on hardtails (a Soul and a 456 between us), and survived. It’s not all stormtrooper kit DH stuff. Loads of “lift-assisted XC/enduro” too (although I’d take a FS next time).

    Plenty more all across the Alps and Dolomites, but may need a bit more “seeking out” or investigation, and map work.

    Slovenia back on the shortlist for this year. More DIY than looping a chairlift and Panoramique/Serpentine.

    edit: guessing that some of my rides were variations of those posted by superfli. Col de Cou was good – scenic, and essentially beyond the ski area boundary. Morzine switchbacks stank of burning brake.

    timidwheeler
    Free Member

    We used a newer version of this book, which we bought over there.

    Amazon have the updated French version if you’re good with languages.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    @dangerousbeans – there is plenty of riding out there for hard tails including those blues. Last time I was out there was a guy on his Soul and his girlfriend on a Hardrock. The trail addiction guides used to ride Dialled Alpines (although they are all on NukePoroof FS’s these days). That being said the vibration alone will get to you I would say take your own bike and rent a AM FS for a couple of days at least to allow you to enjoyably ride some of the other stuff. Decent brakes are more important than rear suspension, up to a point.

    @deadkenny – definitely too much brake dragging 😉 I’m very much in the mincing category and I’ve done a weeks guided riding on a single set of pads.

    I would thoroughly endorse the bike wear and tear point though, it’s essential to check over the bike every evening – the ground is hard, and with riding all day the vibration just shakes stuff loose.

    chunkymonkey1982
    Free Member

    I went to the alps for the first time last year for a week and did the PdS. I’m not a down hiller, and of average biking ability. Cycle around surrey hills and the welsh trail centere mainly. I found the week good fun, but hard work after the first few days. Went on a full sus, and still suffered from arm pump, have since realised that my forks were probably a little too stiff. If i was to go back i would:

    – Only go for a long weekend. Its more then enough before you get really knackered.
    – Get a lot of practice riding the bike you are going to take, I ride a hardtail mostly. Wasnt used to a full sus, and it was not properly set up.
    – Go with people that want to do the same riding as you. I went with some wanna be DH gods and was dragged to the DH stuff, was scary as and not enjoyable.
    – Dont go the PdS weekend, its early in the season so there is the chance thet it will be really wet, as it was for us last year. also its more expencive, and busy that week.
    – Get some skills coaching to prepare for the different terrain.
    – area is vast and there are all sorts of trails, i would try a bit of everything. I like the natural stuff mainly.

    Managed the whole week on one set of pads. In fact i have not changed my pads for over a year, dont know what that says about my riding (or lack of)!

    It is doable on a hardtail, and dual ply tyres are not 100% necessary. Half the week i was running hans dampfs with no problems, changed to dual ply minions when i got my first puncture in the dampfs.

    Have fun!

    dangerousbeans
    Free Member

    there is plenty of riding out there for hard tails including those blues

    😀

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    Trail grading, at least in the PDS area, seems to be based on spinning some kind of wheel of fortune device and allocating a colour depending on the result of the spin.

    Personally I don’t think Serpentine is a green. It’s steep, long and pretty unrelenting. Nothing technical on it, but physically it’s tough for someone expecting a green trail.

    On the flipside the black run over in Mont Chery is a blue at best. And the main Pleney black run is more like a UK red.

    My advice would be take the first run down any new trail nice and easy till you get a proper feel.

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    and especially take the “swiss superhighway” bit nice and easy too. really easy path with a few stones, and several flat tyres before even starting the first proper bit of riding for the day.

    Panoramique is easy. Serpentine i recall being pretty steep and bermy. UK trail center red equivalent. If anything was relentless, it was braking bumps.

    Nice bit of riding along the ridge on Mt Chery, and then round the back. Worth the uphill slog.

    Think the colour codes for the XC type trails is just colours chosen not to conflict with the trail centre / DH parts, and nothing to so with ski centre type grading? Les Gets Black is about as green as they come.

    legend
    Free Member

    rotate bars clockwise about 10 degrees to account for the lower saddle.

    I’d ignore this bit, your bars should be setup for a standing position so saddle height will make naff-all difference.

    …… although suddenly I have an idea for a marketing based product for dropper seatpost users!

Viewing 26 posts - 1 through 26 (of 26 total)

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