French & Swiss Alps 2012

[patches]

So, the brake options are,

1 - Hayes Stroker Trail (currently on my Glory)

2 - Juicy 3's with GoodRidge conversion (will take off my Trail bike)

3 - buy another Elixir 5 (only have 1 on my xc bike)

 

Whats the Vote?

Im leaning towards the J3's

 

What would Daft Vader do? haha!

 

Just today on a ride he told Brent that he can fix his brakes (Elixirs) for R897 (ie. a Goodridge conversion).

 

As for me, I'm going to go with my Juicy Carbon Goodridge's (basically Juicy 7's with carbon levers and Goodridge hose upgrade). I'll take my stroker trails as a backup set, as well as 2 spare sets juicy, and 1 spare set stroker trail sintered pads.

Edited May 1, 2012 by patches

[Guest Omega Man]

What would Daft Vader do? haha!

 

Just today on a ride he told Brent that he can fix his brakes (Elixirs) for R897 (ie. a Goodridge conversion).

 

As for me, I'm going to go with my Juicy Carbon Goodridge's (basically Juicy 7's with carbon levers and Goodridge hose upgrade). I'll take my stroker trails as a backup set, as well as 2 spare sets juicy, and 1 spare set stroker trail sintered pads.

 

Kay. Just remember. The tracks are looong. And steep. The Les Gets main line is over 4 km long.

[Capricorn]

what with oh Mega Man saying, and given my recent good experiences doing this: change that dot 5.1 to dot 4 RBF 600 by Motul. U wont be sorry. At all.

[Guest Omega Man]

Went for my visa appointment on Monday. I must have made a good impression cos they giving me a 3 year multi entry. Woop woop. R600 already saved for next years trip.

[LanceB]

I came back from Switzerland yesterday. The bike culture is tremendous.

 

But, in the canton of Bern they are really lobbying for a total ban on MTB riding.

 

The hikers are unhappy. Switzerland is a small country and nearly everyone is an outdoorsy type, so huge competition for space, or rather: the politics of space, as they call it.

 

Best riding is around the South and French areas it would seem, MTBers are valued there.

 

Weather varies wildly, as mentioned. 26 Celsius one day, rain the next. Massive temperature changes when the wind is on, it drops staggeringly low even in only a hundred or so metres, especially if you are riding through an exposed (to the wind) area.

 

Food is of a very high quality at supermarkets, better than what you could get at Woolies, and nearly all organic. If you shop at COOP, you can significantly drive down your daily costs.

[Guest Omega Man]

Webcam pic of the Les Gets Jump park from this morning. You can clearly make out the tracks.

[Super_mil]

So far I count 5 hubbers making the pilgrimage this year:

 

Myself & Peach (9th - 23rd August)

Super_mil & his bicycle gang (14th - 28th August)

Omega Man & his bicycle gang (late June - early July)

DaveMD (not sure on his details)

 

So who else is spending part of their winter riding ski lifts, and endless trails?

 

Myself & DaveMD are on the same trip. I hi-jacked a spot onto his trip infact. Got me a new rear shock for the Gambler, still need to do the GoodRidge conversion on the Codes and new hoops going onto my existing hubs

 

Going to be awesome.

[Beer4Recovery]

Stoked about this thread. Will definitely consider doing this.

 

One question, do you guys take your own bikes or rent bikes, and how does that whole procedure work? (packing/cost/flight/customs?)

[patches]

Stoked about this thread. Will definitely consider doing this.

 

One question, do you guys take your own bikes or rent bikes, and how does that whole procedure work? (packing/cost/flight/customs?)

 

We're all taking our own bikes. Omega Man is a veteran at this and I'll follow his advice... Take my bike to an lbs and get them to bubble wrap and pack in a cardboard box. I'll also shove as much of my kit and clothing in said box to get it to 30kg (the limit on Emirates).

 

The remainder of my clothing/gear will be in my 7kg carry-on. I might have to wear 2 pairs of shorts and 4 dh Jerseys

 

If one was to fly with another airline the limit would be 23kg, and unless you're running a WC spec 16kg bike, you'll probably have to pay for excess baggage.

Edited May 3, 2012 by patches

[Peach.]

Looks like im going with Juicy 7 levers and J5 Calipers with GR hose conversion.

then we all using the same pads, Ill take 4 sets of sintered

we can also take 1 of my J5's as a spare brake

[Super_mil]

...we can also take 1 of my J5's as a spare brake

 

Just incase you make friends with another tree.

[patches]

Just incase you make friends with another tree.

 

haha! He does like them trees! And there will be plenty where we're going... except these ones are cuddly wearing their big red jackets

[Guest Omega Man]

Stoked about this thread. Will definitely consider doing this.

 

One question, do you guys take your own bikes or rent bikes, and how does that whole procedure work? (packing/cost/flight/customs?)

 

You definitely want to be taking your own bike. There are rental bikes but they are VERY Expensive. Last year my bike never showed up and I was forced to rent one for 2 days. it cos 90 Euro a day to rent a GT fury DH bike. You can get cheaper rentals but expect to pay over 75 Euro for a decent DH bike. You can get freeride bikes for around 60 Euro. Plus the bikes are as ridden as a street hooker so they aren't in great shape by the end of the season.

 

It's only worth renting if you are kinda popping in for 3 days whilst on another vacation or something like that.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Omega Man

[Guest Omega Man]

48 sleeeeeeeps!

[Guest Omega Man]

Looks like im going with Juicy 7 levers and J5 Calipers with GR hose conversion.

then we all using the same pads, Ill take 4 sets of sintered

we can also take 1 of my J5's as a spare brake

 

I've invested heavily when it comes to brakes. I've squeezed that mastercard and bought Hope V2's. You'll understand why when you get there.

[patches]

I'm considering squeezing the mastercard too