have you looked at the Commencal Absloluts on ebay? A short one would probably fit, they have gear hangers and some of them are pretty cheap.

I doubt deux alpes will be mobbed by spectators for the tour. It’s a pain to get to and most people seemed to be stopping around Bourg d’Oisans and up towards Alp d’huez.

Also, I got the impression that there was loads of places to stay in summer, the resort in pretty busy with skiers/snowboarders as well as mountain bikers and there was loads of chalets that seemed to be rented out. Another option might be the cabins at Camping Les Cascades in Venosc. We arrived at the campsite the morning after an Alp d’huez finish and the place had a fair bit of room.

Most people ride DH bikes there, there is not much alpine singletrack. Its really good though, loads of trails, plenty of variety and usually reasonable weather.

It will be a ball ache to get to on public transport, I would seriously consider the rental option (at least from Grenoble)

not to keen on the Scott voltage,

Why not? its like a little chameleon and tough enough for anything a youngster will throw at it.

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030[/url] by ianvincent[/url], on Flickr

Another one that might be worth a look is the Commencal Ramones 24, but not sure if there will be many on Ebay.

If you are looking at a jump/4x bike, the identity Krisis sl looks ace (but probably pricy). The commencal absolute might also be worth a look and will be cheaper (and more likely to find its way to ebay)

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1367459/

Quite a few local ones on Pinkbike but you will be stuck with a single speed!

Valnord is open till mid September. La Molina is open on weekends in September. Both have pretty tech stuff, especially Valnord if you get shown the off piste by the ( very friendly) locals.

Other good options would be switchbacks dh or freeride portugal near olhao in the algarve.

Campsites are some of the most expensive I have ever used, e25 for 2 people per night. Hotels are apparently a similar price! Lots of people just wild camp at the park ( or sleep in their vans) and no one seems bothered.

And, by the time of the wc the upper lifts will be open. Not featured on the vid but the trails off the cubil lift are some of the funnest in the park.

I doubt if it’s as good as whistler but there is no bears and he likes the attention he gets from the locals :-)

If you are coming from the western side of France, I would also recommend a day at ax les thermes on the way in to Andorra. Pretty good little park with a more enduro feel to it. For xc, the area round font romeau and les angles is pretty good (marked trails as well as uplifted stuff). Leave Andorra towards Spain and head for puigcerda.

The track for the Andorra wc should be mega. The terrain they intend to use is steep, rooty and rocky. Really looking forward to seeing what they have come up with.

This might sound counter intuitive, but bike parks are good for this sort of thing.

Most have easy green/blue runs that are ideal for kids and being all down hill they will probably love it. Most good parks also have loads of other things to do when not riding as well so it doesnt get boring for them. The fact that everything comes back to the same place means that adults can alternate runs on their own or one can go with the kids while the other rides solo. There is usually quite a few kids around as well for them to play with.

Valnord is excellent for kids, excellent blues and greens and loads of peripheral stuff like rope slides and go karts. Deux Alpes is similar but has even more kid friendly trail options, and loads of english kids of similar age at the campsite in Venosc.

I have been taking my lad to bike parks since he was 5, he always has a great time, especially as pedalling was optional :-)

Just stay away from the busy resorts like the PdS as they would be potential carnage.

@IANV tiewraps leave sharp edges, maybe cut them off on the inside of jnrs swingarm, could be a nasty leg scratcher!

Its an old photo, that has changed now

Mine

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Untitled[/url] by ianvincent[/url], on Flickr

Junior’s

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bighit grom[/url] by ianvincent[/url], on Flickr

Better shock on this one now.

Tailgators or similar are great. You can unhook them at the top of the hill and let the kid rip back down under his own steam.

I liked bolts so it would be a bit hypocritical to slag it off on purely environmental grounds. It does seem like a rubbish concept though.

Is it so much different from remodelling the landscape to make a MTB trail centre?

Its more like riding off road on a penny-farthing or some other unsuitable bike.

Yes, its not like its a big thing and last year mine got used a fair bit.

Andorra is really good, Valnord is the better of the two parks but granvalira/soldau is pretty good as well. I am pretty sure it will be busy on the wc weekend but it will be a laugh. The new wc course runs from the resort down to massana so it might be possible to ride if they keep the other lifts running. All the tracks are dh ones but pretty much everything is doable on a trail bike. Longer singletrack stuff is available but I have only done a bit and a vehicle uplift or local knowledge/might be needed.

I gave my son the choice of whistler or Andorra this summer. We are there for the wc as well!

Lac Blanc is not REALLY that busy. I went on the opening weekend and the queues were probably 15 minutes for the lifts. Last summer, on weekends the queues were much shorter and if you go when it’s pissing it down (like I did 3 weeks ago), there’s no queues at all

when I went, it was raining and the queues were 15/20 mins minimum. Thats a very long time when compared with anywhere else other than the Planey. Its is also a long time when you consider the length of the runs.

Its a nice little park and would be enjoyable if not crowded, but the queueing did my head in.

Maybe a link to the current Murdoch divorce? An angry Rupert would definately be a big deal for dave.

Lac Blanc is really busy (weekends are mad).

Which way do you intend to drive, if you are dropping down to Grenoble and then back up, there is a fair few small parks really close to Grenoble; Villars de Lans, Les 7 laux and Chamrousse.

Without realising it ianV seems to reinforce everything thats been said by the pro guide people….

I know what I said but I still think the area is rated more highly than it deserves. Even though I didn’t have a guide, I rode a lot of footpaths and unmarked trails so I think I have a reasonable feel for the area (if not the mythical trails that I obviously missed) if it is the only place in the alps that someone has ridden it will seem amazing but, there are a load of places that I thought were better. Pds is not one of them though.

Something like a Kona shred 24/Scott voltage 24 frame with upgraded forks would be perfect. Am sure there will be some second hand, somewhere.

Decathlon have a new bike called the subsim tasty, the better one has gears and looks like a decent bike (Bmx/Mtb cross) but £450. Available in 26 and 24″.

If you wanted to go 26″, a small original chameleon would be good. Might be a bit big though.

Would another resort be better? Always assumed Les Arcs would fit the bill.

After lift accessed flowy singletrack rather than DH.

I usually ride on my own and have spent a fair bit of time travelling around France. I have to say I dont think Les Arcs/St Foy deserves the amount of worship it gets on here, but it has some decent riding if you follow the purple lines on the IGN maps (the stuff down towards Seez was the best I found although I didnt head over towards La Plagne). You would probably get more out of the area with a guide but if you look, you will find stuff for 3-4 days without one.

The site in Bourg d’Oisans is handy for the funicular and the shops.
The lifts close at 5 (i think) and the funicular at 7 (again I think)
If you are staying for 4 days riding, its cheaper to get a week pass (you might be able to flog it in the camp site and recoup some extra money)

Have a look at Deux alpes/Alp d’huez as an alternative venue. The riding is really good if a bit more DH (but not especially gnarly). Everything is marked out and there is loads variety. The grande russe side (alp d’huez/Vaujany/Oz en Oisans is massive and lifts are pretty cheap. Camp at Venosc, camping le cascades (cheap but cool)

To go to briancon, I would go Calais>Reims>Grenoble on the autoroute>Bourg d’Oisans on the n65? and from there the d1091 through la grave and serre chavalier. N roads take loads more time and IME will double the trip time compared to an autoroute (and this is in a Bongo, so not gassing it on the motorways)

Acid and Slipknot would be an interesting combination 8O

Windwave do it.

Go through the rmnp from Denver, stop at winter park for riding and a bit of walking. Fruita for riding, walking, hanging out. Head for Durango (gunnison and crested butte also not far away) stop at ouray for the hot springs en route. Then through monument valley towards vagas.

If it was me, I would take the lighter bike. There doesnt seem to be much in the way of permanent dh tracks and as I understand it, lots of the better descents require a fair bit of additional climbing.

Clear all the jumps on the first two straights of the Bradford BMX track.
Be able to do those mid air “nose down” things that BMX racers do.
Whistler (possibly next year if my son overcomes his fear of bears and love of Andorra :D )
Get much more comfortable on gaps and doubles.

If I had to choose one of the three to go it would be the Media museum. Its a bit crap in comparison to the others, and I live in Bradford.

A Thatcher museum though would be a travesty.

Its just the Davos World Economic Forum without the wannabes, but in Watford 8O

Who’s the rider? Commentary is awesome!

Claudio Calouri, Scott team manager and the guy who built the Champery track. Commentry is indeed awesome “sorry for going so slow there!” :lol:

If I was a member of a shadowy and influential cabal, I don’t think Watford would be my first choice destination for planning world domination.

Couldn’t they find any extinct volcanoes or caves guarded by voodoo priests and piranhas?

Not being able to sue the NHS? Just think where that would end ? Public services already have too much leeway to dodge responsibility

I was not saying that the NHS should not be accountable, bad/dangerous practice could have some criminal recourse. What I was meaning was removing the incentive for legal bottom feeders to consider the NHS as some sort of cash cow. Commercial radio is full of adverts encouraging people to make claims against the NHS, the bill was £15bn or so last year and I bet in 90+% of the cases the medical service was doing its best to help the patient.

And anyone who chooses to do something that potentially puts them in a position of hurting themselves/getting hurt: sports, crossing the road, picking up heavy objects etc. Of course don’t forget anyone with a hereditary illness that was caused by their irresponsible parents choosing to procreate. :roll:

No one I know in France has one, even though they are anal about carrying documents/Hi Viz jackets etc. I’m certainly not going to bother.

What Hayes pads are you looking for

Stoker aces, fine to get hold of here but well nigh impossible in the resorts.

We ran schwalbe 24″ tyres on our girls bikes [Stinky JRs] in the Alps till they got onto 26″ wheels

The fat alberts? If so were they any good? they are certainly not cheap.

I need some decent 24″ tyres for my sons bike but cant find any :( Anyone know where I can get single ply, 24″ highrollers or similar?

Brakes are a minefield for me; each bike has different ones so I will probably just suck it up and buy at the resort if needed (might bring some hayes for jr’s bike though as they are less easy to get hold of). 8 pairs though is mental, I went through 3 sets in 4 months last year.