skills day first … 1-2-1 with Jedi, then a long weekend in the Alps on the Yeti!

we stayed here for the Passportes … great Hotel, close to the main lift 190 Euros for 2 night B&B for 3 sharing a triple room, spacious and comfortable. Breakfast was continental but really nice buffet style.. loads of fresh stuff. The owners let us use the facilities in their spa & sauna room at the end of the second day without any problems so showers etc were available.

Hotel – Hotel Igloo
Address – 270, Route de la Combe à Zorre,Morzine, 74110 France
Phone +33450791505
Fax +33450790165
E-mail – info@hoteligloo-morzine.com

Rocky Mountain Element 70 MSL for me

had a 575 before … loved it but too much travel for what I needed. The rocky climbs and decends better IMO … and it super light.

Hi Simon

didn’t realise you’d delivered her yourself when I last emailed … well done!
don’t think your getting ahead of yourself … my daughters 21 and it comes up very quickly and needs budgeting for in a big way :?

When can she get a bike of her own and what type is best ?

… turns into Dad, can I have a car? … + cost of any repairs … oh and insurance … then gone are the days of the ‘1st car fixer upper’
a Clio then a Mini

bless her :roll:

…. but still remember that first second she popped out and wouldn’t change a thing … congrats again

ps … I can probably pick the Rocky up this weekend if its easier .. drop me an email when you get the chance!

on a fairly recent skills day with jedi we were discussing my habit of getting too much weight over the front. Turns out that my controls were too far forward (as in further under the bars) … when I adjusted them the difference was amazing … simple but effective fix. My current bike has a steeper head angle than my previous 575 and only 120mm travel but its much more controlled headed down the steep stuff. I also used to hang too much over the rear which took too much weight off the front .. leading to a lack of control and over reliance on rear brake …
Obviously DH bikes are designed the way they are because they do that paricular job better than a normal trail bike but for the average joe with a trail bike I think controls set up and rethinking your technique (or getting someone to rethink it for you)has a lot to do with it.

Rocky Mountain Element 70 MSL

me and two friends did it this year … rode the event on the saturday in baking sunshine + you get a free lift pass for the second day but your not part of the event.
The whole event is lift assisted (except one had temporarily shut when we got to it forcing us into a pretty gruelling climb). The trails are pretty good ….. some steep stuff if you opt for the downhill sections but all ok. Event is super organized, loads of good free food and even got free beer!!.
Despite the fact that its all lift assisted… its a long old ride and after a few punctures etc we only just made the last lift at Morzine at 6.30pm (we started at 10.00am)
We stayed in great hotel in Morzine but actually started from Les Gets. Best of both worlds as no queueing for the start in Les Gets, where we left the car … but lots of apres ride in Morzine when we got back.
You do spend quite a bit of time in lift queues but theres lots to see and a fantastic atmosphere.
It sells out really fast when registration opens so you need to be sat at your computer with all the details of your group at hand and be prepared for their website to crash due to volume of entries.
It was our first Alps trip and I would highly recommend it … you don’t have to be super fit as the lift take care of most of the climbing but its a long day in the saddle.
Our hotel in Morzine was about 500m from their main lift and the owners let us use their showering facilities after we’d checked out on day 2 …. lots of other mtb’ers staying there too … 90 Euro per night for a good sized room for 3 with great facilities and a very nice breakfast (though not a good old fry up!)

Great atmosphere, well organized and breathtaking scenery … perfect.

Rocky Mountain Element 70 MSL ……. don’t come up that often but managed to one off here a couple of months ago ……. head angle sounds a bit steeper than what your after but took it to Cwm Carn last Thursday and it was brilliant. Had a 575 before and found it had more travel than I needed.
It builds up pretty light at around 26 lbs .. just normal xt stuff.

…… just need the fitness to go with it but a great bike ….

thanks benjiM

Has anyone tried one with a full sus that has the front shock mounted under the top tube … something like a yeti 575 or a rocky element, 2010 stumpjumper etc?
I atempted to fit my 575 on a mates saris 2 but there didn’t seem to be any way of getting the top tube to fit onto the rack … wouldn’t go through the gap between the linkage and the top tube.

Its got a fridge in it … a big one & full of beer

…. and its a sanctuary that the kids, mrs and even the dog doesn’t like

…. theres even a bike in there somewhere!

he was robbed!!

wasn’t it in Monza that they only gave him 1/2 points

hhhhmmmmmmmmmm!!!

yep, would agree they do … and when your stationary it seems much worse … don’t really notice it when riding … but probably like OP .. mine had a bit too much.

Hi

Bought my 09 ones and they had a bit too much wobble. I gently tightened the allen bolt that secures the lever to the main body and it reduced it quite a lot.
I think pre 09 ones might be the same … its an allen bolt from the top, nut underneath.
Dont overtighten otherwise the lever binds but a slight amount made a big difference.

steve

would like to add another +1 to the 1-2-1 session with Jedi.

I’ve never been that confident when my wheels leave the ground but after that day I was chomping at the bit to go and practice what I’d been taught … subtle changes that make all the difference and a real ‘do it at your own pace’ style …

…great day, well worth it

no, definately not! … bordering on cruelty.
We’ve had a number of border collies and they can run for england but 17 miles is just way too far even if he did stop at every watering hole.

mikewmith – got back last night … might try a bleed and a bigger rotor on the back … it was just a bit of a shocker as I hadn’t realised there was a problem until it was a bit late! … made for some pretty ‘interesting’ decents though
oliverd1981 .. thats exactly what they were doing … one minute nothing and pumping like crazy .. 10 min later back and feeling fine.
Will try changing my braking … was my first alps visit so some of those downhill tracks with mahoosive berms were a bit of an eye opener.
we flew as well so maybe that is an issue.

thanks for all the advice everyone.

Thanks lads …. looks like its a fluid change then.

will try and ‘man up’ too :D

oh iv also heard lib tech are a good way to go for an all round board, any thoughts on that??

cheers dad ill just spend my own money then -.-

On the plus side its good he’s seen the light!!!

your crazy, skiing is and looks better than snowboarding depending how well you do it! just feel like a change

wow ……. thanks to everyone who’s posted

to be honest I wasn’t sure anyone would reply … this is brilliant.

I’ll go through it with him and let him make up his mind …. with some gentle advice as suggested.

as for the money … he can spend his own this time around!!

thanks again everyone.

pretty sure you can … you just need a reducer headset if the F5 has a 1.5″ headtube.

OK .. thanks all and binners, thanks for that vid … appetite is suitably re-wetted .. sorry OP, didn’t mean to go off at a tangent.

My first time too ….. think I’ll keep the granny ring on!

have a great time .. can’t wait!

I’m doing the passportes this year, first time, with a couple of mates …. the reports on here give a really mixed message ….. I’m not a downhiller by any stretch of the imagination but I’m looking forward to at least something a bit more scary than lets say … the black at Whites level ……. otherwise we might as well have stayed in UK and saved a bloody fortune!!

tell me its a bit more interesting than fire roads and kerb drops :(

My 5.5 evp …….. much missed (at times!)

You’re a brave man putting this up on the forum ……. never seen so many ‘piss takers’ in one place :-)
As another who’s 50 this year I know what you mean though .. try inclined bench pressing or inclined flies … anything that will build your muscle back up in the upper part of your chest … should stop the moobs heading south!
As for the gut …… core exercises are the only answer to flattening your stomach …… loads of different ones but basically its like pulling your belly button towards your arse …. hold it for 20 sec then let it out … repeat for the rest of your life!…… or until you really don’t care any more :D

best of luck

Thanks all ….. That mega chalet sounds like a good laugh … needed to keep it fairly cheap so, taking your advice, spent this morning ‘ont tinternet’ having a good look round.

Places seemed to be selling out fast but managed to get a triple room in a hotel in Morzine for £165, which for 2 nights including breakfast seemed pretty good.

never done this one before ……… can’t wait!!

thanks to all …..

thought the WD40 idea might be a bad one. SRAM do a fork oil thats pretty cheap so might try that with a bit of innertube to start with until I can get my hands on some of that wet suit stuff ….. that even looks good as well.

brilliant, thanks again everyone.

FROGLEEK

just rerad through it … thanks that was really useful ……. may rethink the driving bit though!

great …

lets hope as many sign the online petition as possible

Hi
I’ve had 2 carbon versions without a problem … 2.25 tyre fits fine even in the sticky mud.

CRC have some bargains in their sale .

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=66083
rp23 version is another £50 cheaper.

great bike …

sorry then chaps ….. I stand corrected! :cry:

sorry deanfbm …… didn’t see the rim tape.
still think it would be better with stans rimstrips though

Hi
no disrespect to deanfbm but if you just buy valves and sealant it wont work on flow rims as they are not UST …… you will still get leaks from the spokes etc.
for the flow rims you need stans no tubes rim strips and some sealant. The rim strips are narrow (the width of your rim) rubber bands with the valves built in (imagine slitting an innertube all the way around and then narrowing it from both sides until its about the width of your rim …. looks pretty much like that). The strip fits into your rims and when you add the sealant (once the tyre is fitted) it forms a seal between the rim and the tyre.
try a youtube search for ‘stans no tubes’ .. theres usually quite a few vids on there that will talk you through it. You can also go ‘ghetto tubeless’ which is cheaper but a bit problematic if you want to change tyres.
lastly …. give it a go …… I did and would never go back to tubes … I got so sick of punctures and pinch flats …… 1 year on and never had a flat since!

thanks all
will give it some more thought before any rash decision …… didn’t realise it only went to 10mm either so thanks for the heads up

steve

pistons won’t go back unless you let a tiny amount of fluid out. Then they will go back easily (should).

well I don’t normally use any hence the request for advice .. I guess I’ll try some of those black rubbery ones then at least it won’t cost me as much in rims … do you need one or two?

thanks chaps …… not going to dry is it so my fast rolling Bontrager XR1’s are out! :(