In Whistler we got caught by a trailside photographer. The photos were useless, never mind the lack of skills; I looked like I’d been dressed by colour blind nerds: neon green bike, red FF lid, blue & white DH jersey, camo shorts and a bright yellow camelback rain cover. Since seeing the photos I’ve started to ‘co-ordinate’.

819’s and UST Rubber Queens run tubeless with wheel milk. No problems over last 18 months, ridden Alps/Pyrenees & faultless.

My tip: don’t run your lever under the bars. I did. In theory less likely to get broken in a crash. I snapped 2 levers on 2 different bikes on technical climbs; my baggy shorts caught lever on the up stroke & snapped the lever off. My levers now sit on top of the bar.

I got a nice new helmet Buff courtesy of ST new subscribers deal. Wore it under my helmet last night: perfect.

Thanks all for the info. Good to hear about Sticks Pass.

Ignore: Double Post

I’ve never seen the attraction of a detachable towbar. I always felt that a towball was a bit of an incentive for the guy behind to leave an adequate gap! More so would it encourage those parking behind to be careful or [/i]they ,rather than I, would suffer the consequences.

I have a tailgate and when dropped it will foul the towbar. I only fit the towbar when transporting bikes. Was nervous about using a fitting that just ‘clicks’ into position but I’ve done in excess of 4000 miles carrying four bikes and it hasn’t fallen off yet.

I’ve got a witter remove-able tow bar on a Mitsubishi outlander. Went for dedicated wiring loom fitted by dealer as car was still under warranty. In fact once I requested dedicated wiring loom price between the dealer & independent wasn’t significant.

The tow bar has worked (I’d didn’t detach) carrying a Thule 4 bike carrier with approx. 60 kg of bikes .

24inch wheels on a 13inch Kona 120 supreme (FS 26inch wheel frame). All parts came off 24inch hard tail ( including 165 mm cranks) added old marzocchi 100mm forks. Seemed to work well for 12 yr old. As he grows 26inch wheels will go on.

Snowcard. One of our party faceplanted & broke his nose (rock through front of hos FF lid)in Les Arcs couple of years ago. In resort Doctor stitched it up. Claimed costs back from snowcard without any hassle.

Me too. I was thinking on the way home if my regular buff would be too hot under my new helmet tomorrow, and lo-and-behold the omnipresent ST (I assume) has answered my prayers.

squirreling around between redlands & pitch hill early sunday am.

I’ve not see anyone saying that in this thread. I do think there is a good argument that wearing a helmet for road cycling has no net benefits. Any benefit from the helmet is outweighed by other factors. Most likely risk compensation by both cyclists and drivers in my opinion..

You’ve patently never had an OTB moment in heavy traffic, skidded off in the rain or hit a mini that pulled out in front of you, resulting in a full face plant on the tarmac. Last incident was a friend who was 17, not wearing a helmet and incurred brain damage.

The benefit of wearing a helmet is outweighed by nothing, other than if the helmet you were wearing was 1) dangerously radioactive 2) lined with razor blades 3) made of glass. What are the downsides of wearing a helmet in an accident?

Moreover, as with many transportation related injuries, cycling injuries are often to the head; such injuries account for approximately 30% of admissions to hospital for cycling related injuries

source: BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f2674 (Published 14 May 2013)
(This is also the Canadian study that states overall there was no reduction in cycling deaths where mandatory helmet law was introduced, taking into account the improvement of road safety & general uptake of helmet wearing across the cycling community as a whole)

If you’re a libertine, stick to the argument that its your inalienable right to do something stupid without state intervention. But don’t try to argue that in the event of a cycle accident a helmet would make no difference to your physical well being.
If you’re going to argue in favour of helmet compulsion, it might be a good idea to understand the argument of those who are against it. Have you spotted anybody actually making the (strawman ) argument you suggest they are?

I’ve never argued in favour of compulsion. I’m stating that it’s inexcusable in a public environment/forum to argue that wearing a helmet in an accident will have no net benefits. By all means it is your right to ride helmet-less but you have a responsibility to not convince others to take greater risks with their lives than they otherwise would.

If you’re a libertine, stick to the argument that its your inalienable right to do something stupid without state intervention. But don’t try to argue that in the event of a cycle accident a helmet would make no difference to your physical well being.

I plot a route in memory map. Export to GPS (Garmin Vista HCX). Via menu go to routes and see your route listed. Click on route. Click on navigate. I tend to use the yellow back ground with pink line indicating route, or the topo map showing the route.

Carry the pack: I was the ‘mule’ in whistler for our group as I don’t like riding without spares: others were happy to use spare gear cables/tubes when needed. It meant we carried on riding. You’re using the lifts, it’s not really an issue. I wore my camelback with pressure suit & leatt neck brace.

I rode the Vall d’Allos bike park last year (video of the blue, red & black runs):

I was on an Orange 5, got rattled about a bit, but trails were nice. Sort of DH-lite. You’ll have the place to yourself, unlikely to be a bike in front of you when you hit the lifts and the trails should be dry & rocky.

Definitely worth a day trip, but that’s all. There are plenty of other non-park trails to ride and usually the local tourist office will have info sheets with VTT routes.

On campsites in Switzerland & France: 2 x 1m 13mm chains and 2 squire gold-standard locks to secure 4 bikes to tree (must be relatively thick trunk). Further 2 cables and locks snaked through wheels & forks and the Thule tow bat mounted carrier.

The campsites I stayed at tended to have perimeter fences. This said on those campsites there were numerous other bikes dotted around, not locked up, so hopefully thieves will always target other easier to thieve bikes.

I’ve got the Thule Euroclassic bought from: Freeborn with fourthbike adapter. Its a lot of £ but is easy to fit and the bikes go on without too much hassle. My cars nose weight is 100kg so 19kg bike rack plus up to 60kg of bikes is fine. The tilt option allows access to my hatchback.

It took 2 DH bikes and 2 orange 5’s to Chatel last week. I used to have four bikes on the roof using Thule 591 roof mounting. I used a folding plastic step to put the bikes on the roof. The roof mounted bikes always felt more secure but I needed to fit a roof box, hence the towbar rack and fuel consumption was horrendous with bikes on the roof. If fuel was cheaper & I didn’t need a roofbox I think I’d prefer them on the roof.

Well……. 😳 Its big. I measured my torso repeatedly and I came well within the recommendation for M/L. I should have ordered small. I think it may actually be useful for when I’m on family rides when I become the mule. Still its touch & go whether its on its way back to Amazon.

I did look at the enduro but I’m afraid i got tempted by this price. If it’s too barge-like I’ll have learnt my lesson and send it back. Practice vs theory.

its longer, so sits flatter to the back. my hawg is shorter & fatter and when full sticks out quite a bit, like a sail. In Whistler fellow riders commented I was literally sailing over the jumps. Also I like the thicker belt to hold it closer to the body.

Trail Addiction, Les Arcs. We had 90% occupancy on the Chalet. We divided our group into 2; A & B. Trail Addiction put other unknown riders in our groups. They (the strangers) then moved between the two groups depending on whether they found the riding too leery or not leery enough.

Bagneres du Luchon end of July followed by Font Romeau. But I’m staying off the tarmac.

I’ve got the Thule 929 Euroclassic G6. Bought from Freeborn This is £20 cheaper than I paid 12 months ago.

Putting bikes on is simple as the arms are all re-moveable (it still takes longer than fitting bikes on the roof). I have the 4th bike adapter and have carried 4 bikes down to the Alps. It locks on the tow bar simply and packs up relatively small for storage(fits in my boot). Its rated to carry up to 60 kg of bikes with the adaptor. I have stood my 80 kg on the carrier and its not slipped.

Its a lot of money but you get what you pay for & the fuel efficiency saving compared to carrying 4 bikes on the roof is remarkable.

I’m just about to sell my daughter’s Kona Shred 2-4. She’s had it for the past 3 years (shes now 14).The only changes I made was a bigger ratio cassette and hydraulic disk brakes (the unused cable shifter/cable disc shifters will go back on). I toyed with the idea of sticking a set of 100mm forks and a 26″ wheel up front. I’ve had a longer stem on it recently to accommodate her growth. I’m building up a small frame with 26″ wheels for her to replace the Kona.

The shred 2-4 is not an XC bike and is burly enough for any 10 yr old. My daughter’s ridden in the Alps and various UK trail centres. I think with something like a 100 mm fork up front it would be great.

Compilation of our crashes. Warning: concerns some ripe language

At whistler there’s a drinking tap at the bottom of the main lift. A couple us acted as donkeys carrying packs for spares. Everyone else drank at the lift & left waterproofs cable tied to the bike racks.

Like Mikey74 I too can not be bothered with the Alps this year…. Whistler instead! (in August – like Mikey too)! When you going?

I’ll be taking a bike designed for a bike park to a bike park. It’s been before and my only upgrade for ages is some new Saint brakes.

Might get a rental for a couple of days XC too?

Jealous;MP you’re back at BBB? If you get the chance bag Mark H to guide you. We had him last year and he’s a fantastic guide/rider/laugh. Tell him high from the ‘weapons’ he had to put up with in 2012 (a bunch of loud mouthed cockneys). We’ll be back in 14.

Old photo, as in preparation for Chatel in 3 weeks, the bike’s in bits: forks/shock at J-TECH, wheels at LBS, brakes dissembled waiting new hoses and a TI shock in the post.

thanks for the heads up; a butt fender & bender fender for me.

. The resort trails get boring after a day
That’s a weird one. There’s too many trail on the Les Arcs side to ride in a day, sounds like you may not have been shown quite a few

I meant the official way marked trails: so if you’re there without a guide and relying on Red10, black 8 etc you may soon get bored.

We went to Les Arcs with Trail Addiction for 2 consecutive years. The resort trails get boring after a day or so but the stuff over La Plagne is beautiful. Really technical, steep, fast & flowy with some fantastic jerry built north shore courtesy of the locals. But without a guide you won’t find it, or rather you won’t be able to ride seamlessly from top to bottom.

I camped here for a week: camping-savoie-mont-blanc-lanchettes.com?[/url]

Its in Peisey-Nancroix. Cycle down the road to the ‘lobster pots’ lift (there’s also a trail option). That’ll get you to the Les Arcs lift system or La Plagne. The end of Le Varda would put you above the campsite.

The campsite’s very nice. As a family we stayed there; we cycled and made use of the lifts to access Les Arcs trails. The trail ‘Barry’s Bollock Buster’ spits you out close to the campsite and some of the hidden single track on the La Plagne side will bring you down to the back of this campsite.

I’ve got a minion fixed with a tubeless repair kit 2 years ago on the Snowdon descent. The tyre has since seen duties in the Alps & Whistler without any issues.

Few years back at a red light in Hackney; I told a postie he’d been driving his van way too fast (he must’ve been doing 50+ in his big old bedford van). When the lights went green he ran into the back of me (buckled back wheel). Police turned up, but just my word against his, they couldn’t do anything.

Note to self: keep your smart-arse mouth shut.

I’m about to stick a set of 160mm coil u-turn lyriks on my brother’s orange 5 for his Alps trip next month. May even try them on my 5 when I get them back. Its not just the travel, burlier forks help the bike track through the rough stuff better. Yep, climbing is a PITA but descending is the payback, as long as the terrain warrants it.

I think its going to be a Pinarello stockist. I also heard a rumour Orange as well? We shall see. Whatever form it takes some bridges will have to be rebuilt with the bike club.

12th to 28th July. Know me way round the main Paradiski area pretty well. Really want to do more of the backcountry stuff again this time hence the fortnight and two bikes each.

2 weeks and 2 bikes, now that’s just plain greedy.