I’m a total newb to this and wanting to do it next year soo…, what bikes did people run for this? Guessing 27.5 is the most popular wheel size? Many on 26 or 29?
Anything you’d change about your bike setup if you did it again? More / less travel?

Cheers!

Been a few years ago… Whatever you are most comfortable on. Pick some big rocky lakes rides and some long wooded descents and see what feels best.
Best bike depends on your strengths, weaknesses and ambition. Bigger bikes for survival while watching the field pedal away from you, shorter travel lighter if you can make the tech and avoid punctures etc.

Been to the alps before?

If I was to go now I’d take my blur ltc with 160mm up front and beef up the rubber.

Mrs Rickmeister did it on a 2008 Orange 5. The only change from standard were a set of Maxis dh tyres and wider rims.

Bike did fine, she was great and she finished well. Happy days.

Its a mix of full dh Enduro Gnarpoons to one person riding an old Trek ht with 80mm forks.

I reckon, just ride what you have, know it really well and then make it as reliable as possible.

Its a great event. We were there for the week and it was worth it to get into the groove as it was a bit different.

wheelsize is fairly irrelevant (isnt it always?)

most important is that your brakes are working well and you have dual ply tyres

beyond that well set up suspension and a dropper post are a good idea and make sure you are prepared for lots of arm pump

Been to the alps before?

Yeah a week in Morzine 12 years ago. Did Iron Bike two years ago, so a few 3000 metre descents. Spend about 6 weeks riding the bike park in Whistler too, so I know about arm pump lol 😆

Good to hear a huge mix of bikes though.

and you have dual ply tyres

This

Wheel size doesn’t matter,( the fastest guy I know was on a 29er) just make sure they’re strong and well-tenisoned.

Go As said beefy dual plys are a necessity. And good functioning brakes, I added some uber-bike finned pads and 2 piece rotors and they were faultless all week.

Not bike related, but I’d also recommend finding comfortable elbow-protection.

woodster – Member

Wheel size doesn’t matter
It did in *2014, winning combo was 26″ wheels in 650b frame.

*It was stupidly muddy.

did it in 2010 – on a Cannondale Prophet 4x with Fox 36’s 140mm/160mm front

Done it twice, both times on (different) Cannondale Prophets. A bigger bike might be more comfortable over the rocks, but this was fine.

I used 2-ply 2.35 High Rollers the first time, Exo 2.5 Minions the second. both tubeless, both absolutely fine – I’d go with the latter again.

I didn’t have a dropper on either occasion. Didn’t matter the first time as nobody had one, but the second time I definitely lost out on the pedally bits, so I’d make sure I had one next time.

I’d also want better brakes. I got massive fade towards the bottom the second year and had a huge crash.

I’ll probably never get around to riding the Mega again, but I’m so glad I did. What a race!

Yeah I imagine a dropper is key!

Dropper, heavy duty tyres, 200mm brakes with fresh pads are a must.

Duel ply tyre on the rear, keep cables neat and out of the way in case of tangles with other riders. I prefer narrower than the current trend for bars as overtaking is hard enough.
Take clothes for every type of weather. Had to buy some winter gloves last year as my normal gloves were freezing up, whereas this year overheating and dust were the theme.
Spare mech hanger and some downtube protection from rock strikes. I use an old tyre but still have a big dent from an errant rock.
In my opinion a big bike loses too much time on the flat/climbs compared to being quicker on the descents, especially with traffic. I also found that I preferred a bike with a high BB for pedalling through the rocky bits.

Wheel size doesn’t matter

It did in *2014, winning combo was 26″ wheels in 650b frame.
*It was stupidly muddy.

Yep, I remember it well. Frame and forks seized solid with mud.

160 Covert for me, chainguide, dual ply tyres and dh tubes. Didn’t have a puncture all week, some people get away with single ply, a mate tried his luck and got 3 flats on race day. Ruined it for him really.

My next bike will likely be 140mm, and I will happily race that, again with big heavy tyres and tubes

The guy next to me on the start line was on a singlespeed hardtail..

Wheel size is pretty irrelevant but intetestingly I saw very few 29ers. Majority obviously being 26

Good point on the chainguide, I wouldn’t go without one. 165mm cranks helped as well I think.

2014 does sound grim.

You really don’t want/need a big bike.
I took two bikes out there with the idea of riding the quali on my Patriot and the race day on my 301.
I took both down the quali course back-to-back and compared times on Strava. I was slightly surprised to find that I was a good bit quicker on the 301.

140 to 160 trail bike is the Goldilocks spot I think.

Yes, dual ply rear, ideally run tubeless, is a good idea… but then I have never been able to get away with anything less in the UK either. Overall, it’s no more brutal than a typical Lakes descent, it just goes on a lot longer.

Most of all bring as many spares as you can. Both me and the mate who I went with snapped rear mechs, and he snapped a shock mount.

Commencal meta V3 here
Usual set up but I got brakes serviced before I went (should have also fitted a 200mm rotor to the front)
Tubeless tyres where fine, none of us had punctures, I was on standard Hans Damfs
Fitted a chain guard, I managed to smash the bottom roller on that and bend my rear mech in the quali run
I was on SPD’s (XT trail) but flats definitely more popular
Dropper post definitely an advantage, there is a horrible flat/slightly uphill section above the bottom lift station

Take as many spares as you can, it’s not cheap if you need to buy anything for example inner tubes where 14 euros each

Main thing isn’t the bike but you, the rocks are big, the run is long and intense and the altitude will get you
I thought I was in reasonable shape (for me) before I left but the quali run did me in properly, racing that distance flat out at that altitude (and heat, it was low/mid 30’s this year) in full body armour and full face is hard if you have never done anything like it before!

I didn’t do very well, but enjoyed it and would like to go back in a few years, but I’ll be better prepared physically next time

As above a bike you are comfy on and big tires, I punctured twice in the quali this year and once in the race, lesson learned for next time. Great race.

Oh yes, forgot about the bash guard and a bell.

I’d want a 160mm enduro bike if doing it again.

And did anyone mention dual ply tyres?

Right. Dual ply tyres, dropper post, 200mm discs, frame protection, spares.

Another thing a mate of mine mentioned are solid pedals. He is on flats and mentioned that pedals get hammered heavily.