I have been to Morzine twice with my nukeproof mega am and I guarantee I would have been absolutely fine with the trance x, too.
You can always rent a proper downhill bike for one day or two on site (average price 60-70eur) just to see the difference it makes.
If you like good company and a bit of adventure, I strongly recommend going there for the passportes du soleil weekend: places are tight and got fully booked out a couple of hours after sign up was open. I did it last year and I enjoyed every one of the 115 km of trails i covered in a single day, including the beer at the refreshment points and the 15 chairlifts :)
I strongly suggest Morzine as the base as from there you can choose to explore either the les get or the chatel side of the mountains, all reachable in less than one hour of lift assisted cycling.
Best way to get there is fly air Lingus to Geneva and either rent in a car or take one of the many shuttles.
I would go there again this year, family and work permitting...
For other tips and tricks on the place feel free to pm me.
I arranged the MAD trip to Morzine last year and it was a smashing success... (this year scrivo is organizing a trip to Souze d'oulx)
I don't know what trails you were doing in Morzine that a trance could cope with but you couldn't have been doing the good ones ! You would have to crawl down everything on a Trance, the rental dh rigs are muck..go back to switchbacks , Don..
Hey Richie, I have done all the black runs in Morzine, Chatel and most of the ones in les gets. (many of these runs are on youtube)
All easily rideable on the mega although, sure, a dh bike would be faster and more enjoyable. All the red and blue ones are IMHO bug fun on a Trance X.
Every jump has a chicken run that can be used and is clearly marked a few meters before the obstacle. I don't rate myself as a dh rider but I have enjoyed all jumps below half a meter height
I have found the black and red runs equally great fun, although not as challenging.
The passportes du soleil track avoids all black runs and mostly uses blues, greens and reds. I have seen people doing it on hardtails... And again, you call always rent any longer travel bike just to get a sense of what difference it makes on more difficult runs.
Morgan, Declan and paddy came with me last year: I think they all enjoyed the runs even on shorter travel bikes, if you want a second opinion you can ask them!
From what I've seen, most of the trails there are well rideable on an XC bike. Out of all the main trails, Champery is probably the only one I can think of that you'd have difficulty throwing an XC bike down. If you're talking about off piste though, there are definitely a few trails on the Pleney side that would be lethal on an XC bike.
The only thing is, you're not going to get up as much speed and your body will take a bit of a battering but if all you have is the Trance it's definitely still worth going. Thinking about it, it's nearly the perfect bike for the Passportes du Soleil (1000m climbing for 6000m descending! )
Been there twice on a 100mm hardtail and had a blast both times so I wouldn't let the lack of a DH bike put you off. My hands had a few nice blisters by the end of both weeks but if you're going for a long weekend you won't have to deal with any of that!
while I agree theres plenty of trails for short travel machines and even 100mm hardtails but why bother going if not for the full on DH bits, if you only have a long weekend take advantage of the ski lifts and the absolute savagery to be found. I know Don and he would hate it on a Trance, he would not be able to go as fast as he would like to, Les Arc or Sauze would..the first time I went to Morzine i was on a DH bike, a 224..loved it but thought maybe the next time I would bring a short travel and ride more trails, but that was a serious mistake, I brought a patriot with 140mm travel, still had fun but when you see what a dh bike can do over there , the 3rd time I went back with the 224..if I had two weeks and 2 bikes it would be perfect, like I say i know Don and he would hate to be held back..the runs he would be up for would kill the Trance. I personally would not go back to Morzine without a DH bike but then I ride my bike all the time and a weekend of just pure downhilling and drinking beer and rocking back up on a chairlift appeals greatly to me..I would love to take my new Giant Glory there for a weekend..maybe I will, trust me Don, if the breaking bumps don't get you being overtaken by a screaming Brit will !
You're right about the DH bike alright, if I had the money I'd definitely be over there with a full on DH rig. Seeing those feckers getting to float effortlessly over the braking bumps always pissed me off! But when all you have is a 100mm hardtail, you have to make the most of it. I was thinking similarly about the Trance, that it'd still be a great holiday. Thinking about it though , despite being biking for a good few years now I've never really tried out a DH bike (or even a full sus for that matter) so I'm not the best person to be comparing the two!
What I'm saying anyway is that nearly all of the full on DH runs are doable on a hardtail. You're hands will be in bits, but once you're riding them aggressively I think you can have nearly as much fun as you would have on a DH bike and it definitely wouldn't be a weekend wasted. I got the below helmet cam last time I was there, admittedly it's not that fast and a DHer would fly by me but it should illustrate the point that you can still have a great time on the trails there no matter what bike you're on. I'm heading again this year so maybe I'll borrow a full sus off one of the lads for a day and see what it feels like, maybe that'll change my mind but we'll see.
Just one additional note: Registrations for the Passportes du Soleil open TODAY at 9am - if anybody is considering this, be aware that the best locations (Chatel, Les Gets, Morzine, etc...) last year got fully booked in less than 3 hours, so make sure you register today.
I appreciate the advice on what bike to ride but it will be the Trance for a few reasons. I've never ridden a DH bike and while it may be faster and more comfortable I only will have a few days so don't want to be getting to grips with new machinery. I am an old dog after all. The Trance is also set up aggressively enough with 150mm forks, Reverb, High Rollers, etc, it is no slouch. If I was there for longer I would certainly try one for a day for the laugh, for trip number two I may then have a dilemma.
Anyhoo, it's more the venue that interests me, is there a big difference between places like Morzine and Sauze, or are you spoilt for choice in any of the big centres?
I have been to Morzine twice with my nukeproof mega am and I guarantee I would have been absolutely fine with the trance x, too.
You can always rent a proper downhill bike for one day or two on site (average price 60-70eur) just to see the difference it makes.
If you like good company and a bit of adventure, I strongly recommend going there for the passportes du soleil weekend: places are tight and got fully booked out a couple of hours after sign up was open. I did it last year and I enjoyed every one of the 115 km of trails i covered in a single day, including the beer at the refreshment points and the 15 chairlifts :)
I strongly suggest Morzine as the base as from there you can choose to explore either the les get or the chatel side of the mountains, all reachable in less than one hour of lift assisted cycling.
Best way to get there is fly air Lingus to Geneva and either rent in a car or take one of the many shuttles.
I would go there again this year, family and work permitting...
For other tips and tricks on the place feel free to pm me.
I arranged the MAD trip to Morzine last year and it was a smashing success... (this year scrivo is organizing a trip to Souze d'oulx)
I don't know what trails you were doing in Morzine that a trance could cope with but you couldn't have been doing the good ones ! You would have to crawl down everything on a Trance, the rental dh rigs are muck..go back to switchbacks , Don..
Hey Richie, I have done all the black runs in Morzine, Chatel and most of the ones in les gets. (many of these runs are on youtube)
All easily rideable on the mega although, sure, a dh bike would be faster and more enjoyable. All the red and blue ones are IMHO bug fun on a Trance X.
Every jump has a chicken run that can be used and is clearly marked a few meters before the obstacle. I don't rate myself as a dh rider but I have enjoyed all jumps below half a meter height
I have found the black and red runs equally great fun, although not as challenging.
The passportes du soleil track avoids all black runs and mostly uses blues, greens and reds. I have seen people doing it on hardtails... And again, you call always rent any longer travel bike just to get a sense of what difference it makes on more difficult runs.
Morgan, Declan and paddy came with me last year: I think they all enjoyed the runs even on shorter travel bikes, if you want a second opinion you can ask them!
From what I've seen, most of the trails there are well rideable on an XC bike. Out of all the main trails, Champery is probably the only one I can think of that you'd have difficulty throwing an XC bike down. If you're talking about off piste though, there are definitely a few trails on the Pleney side that would be lethal on an XC bike.
The only thing is, you're not going to get up as much speed and your body will take a bit of a battering but if all you have is the Trance it's definitely still worth going. Thinking about it, it's nearly the perfect bike for the Passportes du Soleil (1000m climbing for 6000m descending! )
Been there twice on a 100mm hardtail and had a blast both times so I wouldn't let the lack of a DH bike put you off. My hands had a few nice blisters by the end of both weeks but if you're going for a long weekend you won't have to deal with any of that!
while I agree theres plenty of trails for short travel machines and even 100mm hardtails but why bother going if not for the full on DH bits, if you only have a long weekend take advantage of the ski lifts and the absolute savagery to be found. I know Don and he would hate it on a Trance, he would not be able to go as fast as he would like to, Les Arc or Sauze would..the first time I went to Morzine i was on a DH bike, a 224..loved it but thought maybe the next time I would bring a short travel and ride more trails, but that was a serious mistake, I brought a patriot with 140mm travel, still had fun but when you see what a dh bike can do over there , the 3rd time I went back with the 224..if I had two weeks and 2 bikes it would be perfect, like I say i know Don and he would hate to be held back..the runs he would be up for would kill the Trance. I personally would not go back to Morzine without a DH bike but then I ride my bike all the time and a weekend of just pure downhilling and drinking beer and rocking back up on a chairlift appeals greatly to me..I would love to take my new Giant Glory there for a weekend..maybe I will, trust me Don, if the breaking bumps don't get you being overtaken by a screaming Brit will !
You're right about the DH bike alright, if I had the money I'd definitely be over there with a full on DH rig. Seeing those feckers getting to float effortlessly over the braking bumps always pissed me off! But when all you have is a 100mm hardtail, you have to make the most of it. I was thinking similarly about the Trance, that it'd still be a great holiday. Thinking about it though , despite being biking for a good few years now I've never really tried out a DH bike (or even a full sus for that matter) so I'm not the best person to be comparing the two!
What I'm saying anyway is that nearly all of the full on DH runs are doable on a hardtail. You're hands will be in bits, but once you're riding them aggressively I think you can have nearly as much fun as you would have on a DH bike and it definitely wouldn't be a weekend wasted. I got the below helmet cam last time I was there, admittedly it's not that fast and a DHer would fly by me but it should illustrate the point that you can still have a great time on the trails there no matter what bike you're on. I'm heading again this year so maybe I'll borrow a full sus off one of the lads for a day and see what it feels like, maybe that'll change my mind but we'll see.
Just one additional note: Registrations for the Passportes du Soleil open TODAY at 9am - if anybody is considering this, be aware that the best locations (Chatel, Les Gets, Morzine, etc...) last year got fully booked in less than 3 hours, so make sure you register today.
I appreciate the advice on what bike to ride but it will be the Trance for a few reasons. I've never ridden a DH bike and while it may be faster and more comfortable I only will have a few days so don't want to be getting to grips with new machinery. I am an old dog after all. The Trance is also set up aggressively enough with 150mm forks, Reverb, High Rollers, etc, it is no slouch. If I was there for longer I would certainly try one for a day for the laugh, for trip number two I may then have a dilemma.
Anyhoo, it's more the venue that interests me, is there a big difference between places like Morzine and Sauze, or are you spoilt for choice in any of the big centres?
