Finale Ligure

[yorkshire89]

I've got a trip to the Alps / Finale Ligure coming up in the next few weeks.

Rough plan is to drive down to Morzine, spend a few days to a week in the PDS area, then travel towards Finale Ligure, stopping off at Tignes/La Thuile/Pila on the way.
I may then stay on the France/Italy coast and head towards Nice depending on timing.

I'll be living out of the van and will be taking the enduro bike and E-bike along.

I'll mainly be riding the enduro bike and using lifts in the Alps, but plan on mainly riding the E-bike when I get down to Finale, but may do some shuttling with the enduro bike some days.

Has anyone ridden there by Ebike? There's loads of trails on trailforks and Youtube videos so was planning on using this as a guide, some of the trails further from the coast (NATO base etc) look like its going to be around 1000m of climbing by road to get to the top of the trails, so will probably use most of a battery to get a descent or two in. Then back to the van for a battery swap and head back out while I leave that battery charging, maybe getting 4-6 runs in a day.
I'm just wondering how achievable this is without using the shuttles?

To do this day after day I'll need sunshine for the solar panels, otherwise I'll be on the enduro and jumping on a shuttle.

Shuttles - From what I've read you'll see them parked up in town every day. How does it work if you are on your own and want to get a lift up, do you ask them where they are going or have to wait for a group of riders and tag along with them?

Any must do trails? Happy to ride most things, might stick to the easier stuff if it's just me going down.

4G Internet - I might end up staying down that way after my holiday and do some work from over there for a few weeks. To do this I'll need a fairly decent connection. I've got a 4G router I can link to that works well over here, but my plan is limited to 12Gb per month in the EU.
Looks like I need to buy an EU sim card, any tips on what's best for this? Do they sell sim cards in Carrefour that give you so much data and you can just top up as needed?

Cheers!

 

[Tubby G]

I've got a trip to the Alps / Finale Ligure coming up in the next few weeks.

Rough plan is to drive down to Morzine, spend a few days to a week in the PDS area, then travel towards Finale Ligure, stopping off at Tignes/La Thuile/Pila on the way.
I may then stay on the France/Italy coast and head towards Nice depending on timing.

I'll be living out of the van and will be taking the enduro bike and E-bike along.

I'll mainly be riding the enduro bike and using lifts in the Alps, but plan on mainly riding the E-bike when I get down to Finale, but may do some shuttling with the enduro bike some days.

Has anyone ridden there by Ebike? There's loads of trails on trailforks and Youtube videos so was planning on using this as a guide, some of the trails further from the coast (NATO base etc) look like its going to be around 1000m of climbing by road to get to the top of the trails, so will probably use most of a battery to get a descent or two in. Then back to the van for a battery swap and head back out while I leave that battery charging, maybe getting 4-6 runs in a day.
I'm just wondering how achievable this is without using the shuttles?

To do this day after day I'll need sunshine for the solar panels, otherwise I'll be on the enduro and jumping on a shuttle.

Shuttles - From what I've read you'll see them parked up in town every day. How does it work if you are on your own and want to get a lift up, do you ask them where they are going or have to wait for a group of riders and tag along with them?

Any must do trails? Happy to ride most things, might stick to the easier stuff if it's just me going down.

4G Internet - I might end up staying down that way after my holiday and do some work from over there for a few weeks. To do this I'll need a fairly decent connection. I've got a 4G router I can link to that works well over here, but my plan is limited to 12Gb per month in the EU.
Looks like I need to buy an EU sim card, any tips on what's best for this? Do they sell sim cards in Carrefour that give you so much data and you can just top up as needed?

Cheers!

I can’t answer any of your questions, but it sounds like an awesome trip, have a great time

 

[CBSTD]

Laura Jane and Wee Tam (you tube) have done a vlog from Finale the I believe lots of cafes are all set up with charge points go and enjoy then report back as this is on my ride list

 

[Zimmerframe]

@Rob Rides EMTB @TheBikePilot

 

[militantmandy]

I would highly recommend getting the public shuttle (12 euro) from Finale Bikers or Finale outdoor base for at least some of the time. You can get their number online and just WhatsApp them to book. This will get you to Base Nato (or Rollercoaster) where you can then loop trails to your heart's desire. The busses leave at 0900, 1030, 1300, 1530 and 1700.

I would also recommend at least one day of guided riding with either Backcountry or Noli (70 Euro). They will take you places that neither the public shuttle or your e bike will get you too. A very different and very awesome set of trails.

As far as stuff to ride. Base Nato (the trail) is a great and chill intro. Inginerie, Madre Natura and Rollercoaster are all great fun too. If you want some harder stuff, try Madonna and Kill Bill 2 as well as Cabianca and Little Champery.

There's so many trails it's hard to pick just a few. Generally not that steel but fast and rocky. Totally different to my local at the Golfie!

 

[yorkshire89]

Thanks @militantmandy really useful info. Shuttles sound like a good idea to get me to the top then I can do some smaller loops until the battery dies and head back to town.

Guided ride sounds worth it, I'll have to see how the funds are doing but will try get along with them for a day or two.

Thanks for the trails too, I'm hoping to be there for a week or two so will hopefully give them all a run.
It's totally different to our local riding but looks a lot of fun, I'm just not sure how I'll cope with the heat, its usually grey and wet over here but at least there's gelato and the sea for a cool down after

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Just on way back from an epic week. Second everything @militantmandy said. We had a single tour day (€70 per person) but the rest used the €12 single uplift paired with Garmin / Trailforks navigation routes.

Madonna and Killbill 2 were favourites - we rode these multiple times and are a great test of bike and rider!

 

[militantmandy]

Thanks @militantmandy really useful info. Shuttles sound like a good idea to get me to the top then I can do some smaller loops until the battery dies and head back to town.

Guided ride sounds worth it, I'll have to see how the funds are doing but will try get along with them for a day or two.

Thanks for the trails too, I'm hoping to be there for a week or two so will hopefully give them all a run.
It's totally different to our local riding but looks a lot of fun, I'm just not sure how I'll cope with the heat, its usually grey and wet over here but at least there's gelato and the sea for a cool down after

The gelato is effing sensational. Also highly recommend Valhalla in Final Borgo for amazing post ride aperitivo and beer.

 

[Mountainebiker]

You should pick up a local trail map (€5 or so from the local bike shops) which has uphill/ebike trails marked on it as well as all of the enduro/downhill trails. You can use it alongside trailforks or download the gps links with the map.

Head to San Bernardino direction for a totally different type of trail (more natural rocky) to the uplifted stuff around Nato Base.

If you get an uplift to Nato Base then you can drop down towards Mallare - there's a few fun trails to choose from there that are rarely busy.

There's some great ebike loops in Pietra Ligure area with some fun 'uphill flow'.

If you then head towards Nice, then it's worth stopping by Diano Marina, Nava, Molini, Sospel and L'escarene.... though all of that may be a bit of a mission!!

 

[Smythey]

qe have just got back from finale ligure check out our video

 

[yorkshire89]

@Mountainebiker really good info, thanks for that!
Will hopefully check out some of those other places, I've been following Jack Moir's youtube from last year between the races and he rode a few of them and they all look fun!

@Smythey just had a quick scan through, looks like you had an amazing trip, love the drone shots! I'll give the video a proper watch later

I'll keep this thread updated with how I'm getting on over there and should hopefully have a few video's if I manage to get some internet over there

 

[RoJo]

Hello. A group of us are wanting to head to Finale, but some of the group need to rent eBikes. Does anyone know a good shop that can rent tough eeebs? I've seen a shop renting Levos but I worry these aren't tough enough unless they have upgraded wheels/DH tyres. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated?
Lastly, is there anywhere to stash a spare battery up near the top?

 

[Smythey]

Hello. A group of us are wanting to head to Finale, but some of the group need to rent eBikes. Does anyone know a good shop that can rent tough eeebs? I've seen a shop renting Levos but I worry these aren't tough enough unless they have upgraded wheels/DH tyres. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated?
Lastly, is there anywhere to stash a spare battery up near the top?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rent+ebike+finale+ligure&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari&safe=active#trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:rln,rc_ludocids:1491154509757036764,ru_gwp:0%252C7,ru_lqi:ChhyZW50IGViaWtlIGZpbmFsZSBsaWd1cmVImvCk5amvgIAIWiQQABABGAAYAhgDIhhyZW50IGViaWtlIGZpbmFsZSBsaWd1cmWSAQ1iaWN5Y2xlX3N0b3JlmgEjQ2haRFNVaE5NRzluUzBWSlEwRm5TVU15ZWtwVVJVbG5FQUWqARIQASoOIgpyZW50IGViaWtlKAA,trex_id:mWRBGd&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D

 

[Smythey]

Hello. A group of us are wanting to head to Finale, but some of the group need to rent eBikes. Does anyone know a good shop that can rent tough eeebs? I've seen a shop renting Levos but I worry these aren't tough enough unless they have upgraded wheels/DH tyres. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated?
Lastly, is there anywhere to stash a spare battery up near the top?

Hello. A group of us are wanting to head to Finale, but some of the group need to rent eBikes. Does anyone know a good shop that can rent tough eeebs? I've seen a shop renting Levos but I worry these aren't tough enough unless they have upgraded wheels/DH tyres. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated?
Lastly, is there anywhere to stash a spare battery up near the top?

Bern to finale twice this year we used solo mondraker €60 aday