Ridescaper
Member
Before the summer, I made a quick thread about Finale Ligure riding. As it was my first time going there, and the amount of trails felt overwhelming, I figured it would be cool to know if anyone else had similar plans for the summer.
Anyway, now I figured I would write up a short follow-up for all the next newcomers planning to spend some time in Finale.
Before the trip, my worries were:
Long story short, it all ended up very simple and one of the best 2.5-week vacations of my life so far. Nothing to worry about - Italians are one of the most solution-oriented people out there.
What I ended up doing in preparation:
I figured that everything else would be easy to fix locally.
On my first riding day, I got ready and headed towards the Finale Outdoor Base. I had booked nothing, and as I have some experience with Italy in general, I know that once you show up, things can be sorted out.
I arrived there around 10 a.m. and immediately saw several shuttle vans, many riders, and 3-4 service stalls. I approached the first one available, and in less than 5 minutes, I had booked the next shuttle leaving in 3 minutes to the Rollercoaster trail and had signed up for the Finale For You card.
In the shuttle van, I chatted with a couple of other riders who would also take the Rollercoaster as their first line down. Fortunately.
About 1.5 km into the trail, I felt the back of my bike getting very soft. Turns out I had dented the wheel and got a flat. I should have checked the tire pressures again before going down, but my excitement got the best of me.
Well, we figured it would be smarter for me to push the bike uphill again to catch one of the shuttles going back to the village rather than going downhill for 10+ km.
It took me 1.5 hours to get back up and at least 50 “ciao-s” on the way to other riders coming down
I got back to the village with one shuttle for free and took the bike immediately to Evolve Shop, just a couple of hundred meters away from the Finale Outdoor Base. They got the bike fixed for the next morning!
Right there, I asked to join in one of their full-day group rides. I believe their tour agency's name is Finale Bikers.
We were riding with Enrico, and it was an amazing experience. Many crashes, one broken tire for another rider, which also got fixed on the trail. I am far from good physical fitness and barely made it to the last trails.
The Turbo Kenevo is quite heavy to throw around with other riders going on Pivot Firebirds! My hands, and especially my lower back, were completely “offline” by the end…
In the following days from the group ride, I got more relaxed trying out many different trails. And the good thing with the emtb is that I could connect two different mountains on the same day. I took a shuttle up to the Nato Base, rode down, then connected again to the Rollercoaster etc.
On my last day there was a storm just when I was connecting to the Rollercoaster. After the rain stopped, I went down very carefully. The butcher tires and Kenevo’s big weight were definitely a plus then - breaking was not a problem. Except, the bike danced quite a lot whenever it hit wet tree roots
Since I have no mudguards yet - the bike was covered with 1-2 cm of mud.
So there you have it. I found the Finale every bit as exciting to experience as the stories make it. I am definitely adding it to my annual schedule. It is full of amazing trails for riders of any skill level, and the outdoor infrastructure makes it very smooth (i.e. the bike shops, tours, shuttles). I would probably not worry about trying to book things beforehand. Unless you go with a bigger group, they will always find a solution for you. And, the place is full of riders everywhere, so I never felt too isolated.
As a relatively new rider, this experience also gave me some idea of what I should improve for the next season. In no particular priority order:
Anyway, now I figured I would write up a short follow-up for all the next newcomers planning to spend some time in Finale.
Before the trip, my worries were:
- do I have enough spare parts for my bike in case something happens?
- what do I need for the trails?
- the area is big, do I need a bike computer?
- can I join group runs?
- will it be easy to find the shuttles?
- do I need to prebook a spot in the shuttle?
- how difficult are the trails … etc.
Long story short, it all ended up very simple and one of the best 2.5-week vacations of my life so far. Nothing to worry about - Italians are one of the most solution-oriented people out there.
What I ended up doing in preparation:
- ordered some spare spokes for the Kenevo Roval wheels
- one Butcher tire
- tire repair kits
- Trailforks subscription
I figured that everything else would be easy to fix locally.
On my first riding day, I got ready and headed towards the Finale Outdoor Base. I had booked nothing, and as I have some experience with Italy in general, I know that once you show up, things can be sorted out.
I arrived there around 10 a.m. and immediately saw several shuttle vans, many riders, and 3-4 service stalls. I approached the first one available, and in less than 5 minutes, I had booked the next shuttle leaving in 3 minutes to the Rollercoaster trail and had signed up for the Finale For You card.
In the shuttle van, I chatted with a couple of other riders who would also take the Rollercoaster as their first line down. Fortunately.
About 1.5 km into the trail, I felt the back of my bike getting very soft. Turns out I had dented the wheel and got a flat. I should have checked the tire pressures again before going down, but my excitement got the best of me.
Well, we figured it would be smarter for me to push the bike uphill again to catch one of the shuttles going back to the village rather than going downhill for 10+ km.
It took me 1.5 hours to get back up and at least 50 “ciao-s” on the way to other riders coming down
I got back to the village with one shuttle for free and took the bike immediately to Evolve Shop, just a couple of hundred meters away from the Finale Outdoor Base. They got the bike fixed for the next morning!
Right there, I asked to join in one of their full-day group rides. I believe their tour agency's name is Finale Bikers.
We were riding with Enrico, and it was an amazing experience. Many crashes, one broken tire for another rider, which also got fixed on the trail. I am far from good physical fitness and barely made it to the last trails.
The Turbo Kenevo is quite heavy to throw around with other riders going on Pivot Firebirds! My hands, and especially my lower back, were completely “offline” by the end…
In the following days from the group ride, I got more relaxed trying out many different trails. And the good thing with the emtb is that I could connect two different mountains on the same day. I took a shuttle up to the Nato Base, rode down, then connected again to the Rollercoaster etc.
On my last day there was a storm just when I was connecting to the Rollercoaster. After the rain stopped, I went down very carefully. The butcher tires and Kenevo’s big weight were definitely a plus then - breaking was not a problem. Except, the bike danced quite a lot whenever it hit wet tree roots
Since I have no mudguards yet - the bike was covered with 1-2 cm of mud.
So there you have it. I found the Finale every bit as exciting to experience as the stories make it. I am definitely adding it to my annual schedule. It is full of amazing trails for riders of any skill level, and the outdoor infrastructure makes it very smooth (i.e. the bike shops, tours, shuttles). I would probably not worry about trying to book things beforehand. Unless you go with a bigger group, they will always find a solution for you. And, the place is full of riders everywhere, so I never felt too isolated.
As a relatively new rider, this experience also gave me some idea of what I should improve for the next season. In no particular priority order:
- shorten the handle bar, stock is too wide and makes my hands tired
- add mudguards
- a bit softer seat
- (maybe) CushCore for the rear wheel
- clipless pedals and shoes (some jumps thew away my feet, and it was hard to readjust before new turns)
- long-sleeved shirt (nature can become close)
- long socks
- dedicated mtb backbag
