Finale Ligure - anyone been?

Yes. went with MTBBeds. great setup, well run. £889 for 7 nights with breakfast each day and dinner on 5 nights, 5 days of guided uplifted riding. We did a couple of laps on the guides day off, you can get single uplift ticket up to Nato Base for 10 Euros. Trails are amazing, but a real mix, from fast roller coasters to rocky technical terrain, we averaged around 3700m of descending per full day. Finishing each day down by the beach with Gelato and cold beers doesn't hurt. I'm planning to go back again next year.

Yep, but a a family holiday so staying up the hill a bit from the beach.
I cycled up and then used trailforks to find a couple of routes down from the top. A guide would have been useful as the trails are sign posted but it's easy to miss a turn and end up scaring yourself on trail that's more difficult to what you were expecting (cavatappi)

yup. its awesome.

My group have always got an Airbnb for accommodation and then used Finale Freeride for uplifts. Most of the uplift companies (there are a fair few) are pretty friendly with each other, so if they cant accommodate you, they will pass you on to another.

The trails are great, as mentioned, a real variety. From flow blue to super tech rocky (Madonna is a banger of a trail). tho when we went last year, our friend broke his hips on a blue trail, air ambulance off the hillside and everything.... a very odd and unexpected accident!

Uplift is usually very efficient, so plenty of time on the bike, rather than in a van. It can get super hot, so check the time of year.

Most uplift companies will take you to a small restaurant for lunch, which is usually bloody good and only cost 10 euros (or thereabouts).

I haven't ridden many place (tignes, morzine, madiera, new zealand, various UK locations), but i would say Finale probably tops the list.

long story short, its awesome, get booked and enjoy!

Finale sounds cracking for some full fat endurotasticness, can anyone confirm or deny this rumour

Can confirm. Finale and neighboring areas are rife with trails, most of which are very good indeed. It is a totally different experience to the Alps, as its all van uplifts, and the riding is also different, but the town is amazing and as already mentioned, finishing each day on the beach is a nice change.

Rough cost?

Always sorted our own accommodation out, and uplift / 'guiding'. I use inverted commas, as UK H&S would have a field day - they are essentially there to show you where the trail starts & you are pretty much on your own. Might be different with a package situation where they provide the guiding themselves though?

The resort sets the prices - its 50 euros a day for uplift/guiding.

You'll definitely full fat endurotasticness @ Finale! Its quite an incredible place to ride. Lots of variation in terrain if you choose one of the uplift options that go a little further inland to the wooded areas, which reminded me of UK a little bit. The terrain close to beach is really rocky, loose and steep. Then you have places like roller coaster and Base Nato which are more groomed. Now the apres biking is pretty epic too! If you want to have a few drinks and party, then its tops. Plus you have a beautiful beach to relax for a day if you wish.
We booked accomodation and then arranged our own uplift (3 days with finale freeride, and a couple of days on our own + with another company). There are loads of uplift companies out there. We got a train from Nice to FL (nice, but took a while and awkward with bikes etc), but taxi back (expensive and scary!).

Yes it's awesome.

Tedious level of detail here, cost, logistics, chains, uplift, guides etc

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sorry-need-to-preview-a-post-ignore-me/

yeah, as per all the above, its excellent. just get yourself over there.

Just contact Michael (Cycle) Shiel who is sometimes on here (or FB, insta) and then relax. Excellent guiding, excellent accommodation, excellent entertainment and a range of amazing bikes to rent (Litevilles and e-bikes). Couldn't fault it. He used to do Lake Garda too which was different but equally good.

Fantastic in one word

Look up backcountryfinale.com
They will take you far away from the Nato base standard trails. Massive jacked up land rover takes you to where the minibus shuttles can't get to.
Also proper local family and friends run the op, with an uncle running a top class resturant up in the hills where we stayed at the back of.

Great riding and lovely place.

Note that it's a shuttle/guide type of place, rather than a uplift pass/marked trails/Morzine type of setup, and as such you need to budget for that.

Never heard of the place....

Almost bought a place up in Le Manie a few years back.

Been there countless times. Always in the van, staying either on friend's plot of land or garden or camping up high in the hills.

Never bothered with pre-booking shuttle days as a couple of friends are guides and another owned a bike shop/shuttle (guided for him for a month or so back in 2018).

Take a look over at Pietra (lots of trails been put in/shaped in the last two or three years).

Note that it’s a shuttle/guide type of place, rather than a uplift pass/marked trails/Morzine type of setup, and as such you need to budget for that.

Unless you really like riding up....

Although, most of the trails are accessible via not overly steep tarmac.

I currently live just down the coast, making the most of 'home working' opportunities. I go to Finale and make use of the uplift 2 or 3 times a week.

There are a lot of trails, that I've maybe only ridden half of. I've never used a guide because I have the time to explore. There is an official trail map (paper) which has a pretty good overview, but not all connecting trails. The online version is pretty rubbish to use on smartphone. Trailforks is ok in terms of coverage, but not always up to date, and the difficulty ratings are out of whack. I enjoy exploring, but if your time is limited then a guide would make best use of your time.

I always go with Finale Bikers because they're so good there is no reason to try a different company. I make reservations using whatsapp message. ATM they're running 6 times a day at same times and prices as the other companies. 9, 1030, 12, 14 1530 & 17. €12 to NATO base takes about 45min, €10 to top of Rollercoaster trails (Melogno) takes about 25min. Most companies do uplift from Final Borgo. If you take a trail down to Pietra Finale or Spotorno then you can easily ride back along the coast. The road is busy with normally slow moving traffic, and the distance looks intimidating on the map to an enduro biker, but it's fine.

Both start points are about 1000m above sea level, and from there most trails drop to 200-300m. If you are climbing adverse then you'll use the remaining 200m of altitude to coast back to the coast. If you wish you can add some altitude and find more trails.

The timing is such that you need to really haul to make more than two uplifts in a day, or always take the same handful of very direct routes. It's better to take your time, go a bit further afield, enjoy a coffee, a pizza, a gelato, and then a second run in the afternoon.

There are other destinations where you can pack in more descending and that have more spectacular scenery. But Finale has a wide variety of trails, the area is packed with good food and drink stops (it's Italy), it has a welcoming and inclusive vibe, and the prices are ok.

Pietra Finale or Spotorno

Or jump on the train for a few Euro.

Cafe Din - Melogno - follow Alta Via to Monte Carmo (~1300m) - trails down to Pietra with some smaller climbs to link the trails all the way to the beach - eat and drink in Pietra - train to Finale.

As I said. Just use backcountryfinale.com
They will sort you out for a day of riding and guiding, eating at some great local restaurants

and avoid any pedaling or trains back from Pietra!

Surely the best way if just on a riding holiday.

If you re after something a bit further out of Finale check out:

https://wildrockmtb.com/

Not quite ready for bookings yet though but next year should be good to go

disclaimer/ a mate of mine is part of this, Ive been out there twice and the trails are amazing... and you re unlikely to see anyone else on them...

Gotta say I'm impressed with y'all with the cash to drop on guides all the time.

That's one of the things I loved about finale was that there were maps and guidebooks and info all over the place so you could easily DIY.

Not like the job protection policy that seems to prevail in the Alps.

( Yes I know that trailfirx and Strava work in the Alps, but there isn't the free availability of maps and books like there is in Finale)

Never bothered with guides, just watch some YouTube videos to see things you like the look of, and of course all the EWS course previews from multiple years.

Then go to Ultimate Bikeshop and get on the appropriate uplift for €12 or thereabouts.

As someone else said, there's a cracking trail from just by the Fort beyond cafe Din, you ride up to about 1200m on Monte Carmo and then there's c20km and 1200m of descent all the way back to the centre of Pietra. Absolutely banging.

Aye speak to Michael sheila.

Cheers all - some really useful info on here

THe more you fellas mention this in various threads, the more i think of it as an option for family holiday for next year. Missed out on a 50th birthday trip this year due to CV19 so something like this would be epic for me and the boy, while Mrs Weeksy sits by the beach and sunbathes all day. Then meeting down at the beach at the end of the ride, well, it sounds epic really.

Unless you really like riding up

Its well worth hiring an ebike for a day or two (probably best with a guide to be able to link everything together without so much road/fireroad and to make the most of doing trails that wouldn't be possible/not be fun on a non ebike). There's some great ebike riding round there - singletrack rocky climbs around San Bernadino that take you away from the crowds at the popular uplift spots. Also loads of 'uphill flow' trails around Pietra Ligure and I'm guessing they'll be building new uphill trails in Finale for the EWS-E round later this year....it's not all about the uplifted downs;)

Very tempted to try and go this year with MTB Beds. It's been far too long since I've been away with the bike and any sort of long haul holiday looks sketchy as.
Anyone done it on their own? I'm solo as all my bike friends have family commitments etc.

Very tempted to try and go this year with MTB Beds. It’s been far too long since I’ve been away with the bike and any sort of long haul holiday looks sketchy as.
Anyone done it on their own? I’m solo as all my bike friends have family commitments etc.

Yes, I've done multiple trips on my own, for the same reason. Never had any issues, everyone is always very friendly and accomodating, and there is a shared interest after all. More often than not there are other solo travellers on the trip too.

Anyone done it on their own?

Not Finale, but another bike holiday yes.

Might be a good idea to go with an accommodation & guiding outfit where you'll be in with the same group all week. Though that's a double edged sword if you get any dicks.

Re shuttling.... If you only stick with shuttles and guides the chances are you'll miss out on lots of the stuff nearer the coast.

I know many of the guides never ride trails such as Briga, Andrassa, Amico (leads to Noli, recommended just to have a stroll through town, road back up to Le Manie and then Briga Right back into Finale) or even DH Man because getting a van plus trailer up there is a little tight.

Done few foreign trips on my own. I've always just emailed the company, told them my age, style of riding I like, always worked out well, common interests and all that.

Great information! I'm booked for September. Was booked last year...but well, you know. My girlfriend did a week in Finale with MTB Beds in 2019 and still hasn't shut up about it.

Hi Guys,

Sorry to hack the thread but anyone been to finale In early March? Is it decent weather?

I've had some horrifically wet days in Finale, they tend to close the trails nowadays when the weather is bad, March generally OK but more of a chance you'll miss a day

I'm just on my way back from Finale now. It's incredibly dry and dusty at the minute and at the risk of sounding spoilt it almost could do with some rain! It was 16 degrees and glorious sunshine for the entire time we were there last week so perfect riding conditions, I don't think I'd want to go in the summer when it's really hot. We had the same last year in mid feb too.

Unfortunately (for MTB, Italy's still in a drought so I'm sure the local farmers will be relieved!) rain forecast for next week and in to early March so it might not last...

I’ve had some horrifically wet days in Finale, they tend to close the trails nowadays when the weather is bad, March generally OK but more of a chance you’ll miss a day

Limestone rock, so becomes ice like when wet.

Thanks for the feedback. I've lived 2 years in Barcelona so I'm a bit accustomed to wt rocks. Not cool. The good thing is they dry quite fast. So while it would rain in the following days for the next weekend ( from 3rd of March) it's only sushine.

As I'll have only two full days of ridding I want to get the max out of it or at least to know better for future trips so would really go for guided tours.

The issues is, there are so many, and they all seem to have the same tours listed so how do you choose one?

To narrow things down I've eyed out the following :

Finale Ligure Freeride
Mtb Italy.eu
Flow School

I've seen Ride On Noli mentioned here and there but haven't received any offers from there.

What I'm aiming is for shared guiding but something that is not that crowded and keep the same momentum of ridding.

That being said I would really appreciate any feedback.

Just to hijack the thread a bit more, I'm going to be staying in Andora (not Andorra) which is about 30km down the coast from Finale Ligure.

Can anyone recommend any guides for that region? Not sure if I'm going to have access to a car or not so I'd prefer something based locally to me.

We have used Finale Freeride for years. Never been disappointed

https://www.finaleligurefreeride.com/

anyone been to finale In early March? Is it decent weather?

Can be anything... snow, or mid teens and dry. Quite likely to be ok though, and there will always be something to ride no matter what.

Limestone rock, so becomes ice like when wet.

There are different trails with different base rock. Trails on Monte Carmo / Pietra area tend to be drier and a good option if it's proper wet too.

Last question. Wound an aggressive 29" trail bike( Norco Optic) 65 degree HA, 140 mm fox 36, 130 mm SD Coil would do the cut?

Definitely be fine on anything marked blue on trail forks. Would be fine on the rest if you're ok riding said bike on something like Golfie too.

Last question. Wound an aggressive 29″ trail bike( Norco Optic) 65 degree HA, 140 mm fox 36, 130 mm SD Coil would do the cut?

Depends how good you are, obviously, but yeah. There's not really anything too crazy anywhere. I mean, it's all techy Enduro trails but nothing sustained bonkers steep or with massive drops or whatever. In fact, perhaps a short travel bike even helps for some of it, not least the pedally in between sections. I'm completely AMAZING though so please do bear that in mind. Also, there are loads of secret trails so there's probably some jumps / drops hidden somewhere.

Think the issue with March and weather is that the uplifts have an agreement not to run when it's raining. So if you get caught out you either have a day off or you do some* pedalling.

* a lot

Not sure what the reference of being amazing goes to but I'm decent with my bike. Mostly run all trails in bike parks with my DH bike so I can choose my line wisely but hope I don't get pinned down and beaten on hands after two days.

Not sure whay you meant with being Amazing, but I'm fairly decent, ride everything in the parks, except big gap jumps and >10 foot jumps , but this is on my. DH bike, which at 29" 200 travel f/r it's quite forgiving . The Optic is decent as well, don't mind to choose my line more wisely but still, don't want too feel dead after 2 days.

Hey guys! Local MTB Guide in Finale Ligure here, if anyone wants to know how it works in Finale Ligure we have done a simple mini-guide that explains the FAQ here:

https://www.localmtbguide.com/how-it-works-in-finale

If everyone wants help finding good bikes, good guides and just info here is our website where you can find our contacts:

https://www.localmtbguide.com/

Thanks,

The team of Localmtbguide.com

represents which language?

Oof. Good point Alpin.

Won't be using that company....