Morzine mountain biking holidays are on the bucket list for most mountain bike riders who like big descents, big air… big everything. Our mechanic Keefer is about to head there for the second time to spend a week on some of the best trails and off-piste riding in the world.
With more than 400 miles of trails, 25 lifts and eight world-class bike parks, there’s so much to experience. The Morzine mountain biking season runs roughly from the end of May to mid-September, though it’s essential to check the opening dates of any particular park you want to visit.
In this blog, Keefer tells us how he and his mate John are preparing, what they’re taking with them and how they’re travelling, as well as offering advice if you’re looking to organise your first Morzine bike holiday.
Bikes and spares
I’m taking my Trek Slash as my main bike and my Trek Roscoe as a spare. John is taking his Trek Rail. We also have spare brake pads, fresh brake oil, chains, spare tyres, spare wheels, quick links, tubeless tyre repair kits. We have spares of the things that are most likely to need replacing but we always take one of our hardtails as a donor bike to use for parts for the other bikes but also in case of something catastrophic happening to our main bikes. In terms of protection, I wear the Endura MT500 Full Face helmet and MT500 Hard Shell knee pads.
Preparing the bikes
We’re both switching from Michelin Wild Enduro to Michelin DH34 tyres as they’re very much a downhill tyre, with harder casing and being stiffer overall. Everything in Morzine is faster, bigger and rougher so you need a tyre with a bit more support for hitting bigger features and harder terrain. Watch a video from our last trip below.
It’s essential your bike is in top condition before you go out there. I keep on top of my bike because it’s what I do but if you’re not a mechanic or not experienced at maintaining your bike, we would always recommend a full check to ensure the pads are all good and everything is in good condition because bikes take a good beating out there. Make sure your brakes are bled through and they are running tip top because there’s a lot of descending and heavy braking.
Find out more and book a service on our workshop page.
Accommodation in Morzine
For our first year, we used Bike Morzine and they were really good. They sorted out our accommodation and our uplift passes, and had a rep in the area in case we had any questions. I’d definitely recommend using an operator like that for your first trip.
This year, we have sorted out our own accommodation and uplift passes separately. The main thing you’re looking for is obviously secure storage for your bike but most places do have that. We wouldn’t want to stay too far from the main area because you don’t want a long ride to your accommodation at the end of a big day. Our accommodation is pretty cheap and cheerful but on this kind of holiday you basically want somewhere to sleep, somewhere to cook and not a lot else.
Getting there
We are taking John’s long wheelbase Volkswagen Caddy van, which just about has room for the three bikes. In our first year we took his big works van but really got hit on the toll roads so it’s worth thinking about those kinds of charges if you’re driving.
Living in Kent, we’re only a few minutes from the Channel Tunnel so that’s the best option for us. Then we have about a nine-hour drive to get to Morzine, which is a French town on the Swiss border. Flying isn’t really an option for us because you have all the hassle of transporting your bike, arranging a hire van when you land and so on. For anyone who lives a good distance from the tunnel, it might be that flying works out better.
Where to ride in Morzine
Each bike park has different features and terrain. Depending on what you fancy, there’s something for everyone. We’ll see how we feel on each day and decide then what we want to do but I do want to get to the Swiss border because there’s an old World Cup downhill run I want to do, the one where Danny Hart won in the wet and the commentators were going mad (video below).
The bike parks we’ll be visiting are a choice from these parks: Morzine-Avoriaz, Le Pleney, Les Gets, Chatel and Champery. All of them are on the same lift pass but it’s important to check opening times as some close at 4pm, some at 4.30pm and some 5pm. If you miss that lift after a day of riding and you need to get back up to your accommodation, it’s pretty brutal.
There’s all kinds of ways you can do Morzine because there’s so much riding. For example, when you’ve done Super Morzine, you can carry on down the mountain on some off-piste with some insanely steep downhills.
Last year we did seven days solid and I don’t think we scratched the surface. We spent our first day finding out about the place, familiarising ourselves. It’s a good idea to have a look round and see what’s what so first time out there I would do a bit more exploring and see what you like because if you just stick to one place you’re missing out on so much.
It’s also a good idea to do plenty of research before you go. Look at the websites, watch some videos. Get to know the area so you get the most out of it.
What more could you wish for?
It’s another month before we go but we’re both really excited. The trails are amazing; the area’s really nice; there’s cyclists literally everywhere; the food is good and so is the weather.
What more could you wish for?
We hope this has inspired you to consider Morzine as a bike holiday destination. Please drop into our stores in Ashford and Folkestone for advice or information on bike servicing or upgrades.
We’ll be catching up with Keefer when he gets back from Morzine, with plenty of pics and videos.
