Morzine advice - non DH expert

chrisw333

Hi following my previous thread a bit more advice if I may.

Planning a summer family holiday to the alps this year - 3 familys with kids. Had been looking at various resorts, but the person orgainising it has found a cracking deal on a chalet in Morzine and I'm not complaining.

it's a family holiday, but we're going for 10-14 days, so I hope to get 4-5 days of riding in if I'm lucky + any family XC riding we can manage.

I'm a not expert rider, but having been riding for a several years and am comfortable on red and some black trails. I'd say the rocky sections on the MBR at Coed-y-brenin are towards the upper end of my skillset (I think really just the Cain section), but the rest is no problem at all. I may take some courses between now and then, but working off that sort of skill level.

I have a 26" Giant Trance and am contemplating driving and taking the bikes (with maybe hiring a bigger bike for a day or so) or flying and just hiring a bike when there. If I take the Trance will prob put better brakes and bigger tyres on

So, my questions are:
Any recommended trails to begin with, given the limited skill set?

Is it worth driving and taking the Trance for the easier stuff (would prob then just do 10 days in Morzine if we drive) and maybe hiring a bigger bike for a day or so or just hiring when there?

Any recommended hire shops? Are family bikes readily available for hire too?
Any family trails recommended?
Am I going to kill myself?
If driving how long is the trip and any suggested stop overs?
Any other general advice?

Thanks folks

deantyler

Hi its worth driving in the summer, you never know when you may need the car!
Its takes me about 15 hours from sunny Birmingham and i do it in one go along the tole roads.
As for beginner routs i can only recommend the passports route which is the orange line on the lift map! There are children that do the passports event so i'd recommend that.
You may only die if you ride down a run called Air Voltage in Chatel! some big big features down that one!
If you want to hire a big bike you will be looking around £100 a day and there are plenty of bike shops to chose from.
Hope that helps:)

gregwari

Hey - long response below

1. In terms of ability, sounds like you'll be fine riding any of the green, blue or red downhill trails. I've not ridden any black trails personally but I've ridden all the green, blues and reds in Morzine and Les Gets and it sounds like we're at a similar level. Its the same as the UK in terms of trail grading systems, but to be fair there doesn't seem to be a vast difference between the reds and blues. The trails tend to be steep in places (it can take a few runs to get used to that) and there are jumps on most trails but they're either rollable or have chicken-out lines. Main difference to the UK, you'll ride downhill for 10-20 mins at a time and you'll experience the joy of braking bumps slowly hammering your body to a pulp. If you want to see a map of the trails etc, google "Projet1_Mise en page 1" or PM me your email address and I'll send you the Morzine/Les Gets trail map. The trail map shows a few green trails that may be suitable for adventurous youngsters but bear in mind these are easy DH routes, so if your kids are only used to cycling in your local woods, they may be a little steep in places. The greens out there tend to be a mix of fire road and singletrack trails not dissimilar to a UK blue graded trail. Have a look on youtube using the trail names, there's loads of videos as a point of reference. If you're keen to cycle with your family, just ask any of the bike shops for advice or try the tourist office for advice - most people are genuinely happy to help.

2. Bike wise, the Trance should be fine if you ride the reds and blues. This will be my third year out there on a meta 55 (140mm travel) and it's an excellent bike. As you said, make sure your brakes are in good order, and I'd bank on needing to replace brake pads after 3 full days of riding, especially if it's wet. I'd check your fork and shock are in a descent state too as they'll take a pounding and change your tyres to something like Schwable Hans Dampf's or Conti Barons or Rubber Queens. I would say get full on DH tyres but it may limit you for more pedally days with the family. For what it's worth, I run RQ's (2.2 on the back, 2.4 on the front) and they were fantastic last year.

3. You can hire bikes, there's loads of places in Les Gets and Morzine hiring everything from xc hardtails to full suss bikes to DH rigs. There's loads of choice too, you could opt for anything from a low end Kona to a carbon Scott DH rig and everything in between.

4. You won't kill yourself either! I'd suggest though that you take insurance out for yourself as a trip in a big red helicopter is expensive (should the worst happen while you're riding). Also, if you have space in the car, take an open lid for your family days out plus a full face helmet (if you have one) for days out by yourself. A full face isn't essential but as you'll mainly be hammering downhill, it makes sense to wear one if you can.

5. It took us 11 hours last time to drive from London to Les Gets, using the Eurotunnel. Make use of the toal roads, it's a long detour if you try and avoid these. Some toals are payable on card, others you'll need Euro coins.

Have a good one

chrisw333

That is all great advice and I really appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

fielonator

Have you thought about hiring a guide for the day? I can't remember what we paid a few years ago in Les Gets but it was excellent. The local singletrack routes were nothing short of epic, and being shown not only the way but how to ride them properly the fantastic. We had 2 days with our guide, Jamie, and I can honestly say it's changed my riding.

We were riding a mixture of carbon hardtails, short travel full susser XC bikes and a few AM hire bikes. All coped well with the terrain, even half a day at the bike park, but something bigger would have been more fun. The hire bikes will have the brakes on back to front too, something worth thinking about.

craker

I did it on my mid-market hardtail a few years back, I could keep up with my mates who were renting the real deal (though I was plenty shook up at the bottom). Biggest technical issue with the bike was keeping the tyres soft enough to give me some form of vibration damping whilst avoiding pinch flats. I had alot of pinch flats.

If you factor in the £100 / day rental cost of a downhill bike, just spend that money on some Stans and go tubeless.

UH DH

The amount you spend on a hire bike out in the Alps, you might as well just buy one in the UK, ride it out there and sell it on when you get back.

Bear in mind that unless you go at the start of the season, the bikes will have been ridden hard for weeks by people who probably have a low skill level. A lot of the DH bikes out there are rented by people trying out a bigger bounce bike, so will have hammered it to see if they like it.

Also, remember that any damage the bike sustains needs to be paid. Break a rear mech, and you're paying for it, and so on. In theory, seems fair, but again people have been riding it for weeks before you, so when whatever part finally snaps, you're left with the bill.

If you plan on riding maybe one or two days, you should be able to get away with it. If you want to ride more, I'd still say grab yourself a bargain on one of the forums or ebay, especially if you're driving out. Get a bike, get it checked at the bike shop, go ride. Get home, sell, unless you've fallen in love with it or something.

Traveller_Joe1

We took the Eurostar to Geneva and hired a car for the last 50 mile leg to Morzine - there are lots of other transfer options available though.

It is worth noting that in France, all drivers must carry high-visibility reflective jackets for every passenger, and one warning triangle in their vehicle and be accessible from inside the car - not stored in the boot. A new legislation came into force in France, that all drivers (excluding mopeds) must carry a digital breathalyser or an unused breathalyser kit in their vehicle. Luckily we had read up on the laws/legislation for driving in France. Our friends however, didn't - fortunately they got of with a warning...but I'd advise doing your research - http://www.aiglonmorzine.com/index.php/summer/mountain-biking

Have a great time I'm sure you'll fall in love with Morzine as much as we did!

Joe

chrisw333

Traveller_Joe1 wrote:

We took the Eurostar to Geneva and hired a car for the last 50 mile leg to Morzine - there are lots of other transfer options available though.

It is worth noting that in France, all drivers must carry high-visibility reflective jackets for every passenger, and one warning triangle in their vehicle and be accessible from inside the car - not stored in the boot. A new legislation came into force in France, that all drivers (excluding mopeds) must carry a digital breathalyser or an unused breathalyser kit in their vehicle. Luckily we had read up on the laws/legislation for driving in France. Our friends however, didn't - fortunately they got of with a warning...but I'd advise doing your research - http://www.aiglonmorzine.com/index.php/summer/mountain-biking

Have a great time I'm sure you'll fall in love with Morzine as much as we did!

Joe

Thanks Joe

bluechair84

Take inner tubes! 9E a pop when I was there a few years back...

UH DH

A spare mech hanger too. It's a pain in the arse to find the correct one in Morzine, and expensive. Brake pads as well. A lot of shops sell Brake Authority pads for around €20, and they're rubbish.

robwhill

craker wrote:

I did it on my mid-market hardtail a few years back, I could keep up with my mates who were renting the real deal (though I was plenty shook up at the bottom). Biggest technical issue with the bike was keeping the tyres soft enough to give me some form of vibration damping whilst avoiding pinch flats. I had alot of pinch flats.

If you factor in the £100 / day rental cost of a downhill bike, just spend that money on some Stans and go tubeless.

Don't run tubeless in the alps man! it is big mountain rough! Spend a quarter of the money on a set of dual ply high rollers and be done with it!

Also - don't forget the altitude. Tyres that you normally run at 30-40psi in the UK are going to be rock hard at 20psi when you are up the mountain!

I raced megavalnche last year, which is not a massively rough course by alpine standards, but the amount of people messing around with sealant on the track side was laughable. I didn't have a single flat in a week's worth of riding with the trusty high rollers and I am no featherweight!