Mountain biking: between easy hikes and sensational descents

The advantage of mountain biking is that it is a mountain activity accessible to everyone, as long as you know how to ride a bike. Indeed, the multiplicity of routes and difficulty levels allows holidaymakers of all ages to practice mountain biking. Even children can enjoy themselves in the mountains, on trails with little elevation gain or in fun areas like pumptracks.
The less sporty will also find their happiness on easy-level routes or why not by opting for electric mountain bike, which considerably reduces the effort required.

Mountain biking is also an inexpensive activity : you can rent a quality bike for the day for a few tens of euros, and then take trails that are freely accessible. Some trailheads, however, require a ski lift pass, but it is much cheaper than during the ski season.

The mountain is an excellent playground for both beginner and experienced mountain bikers, whether they are more keen on climbing, fans of downhill, hiking enthusiasts, or a bit of all of these. In the summer in the mountains, you can indeed practice several disciplines, with adapted bikes:

• the cross-country (XC), with quite technical routes, especially focused on climbing, but which also offer nice descents;

• theenduro, with some climbing, but especially beautiful technical descents with elevation gain ;

• the downhill or Downhill (DH), a practice focused on fast and technical descents, with access to the start of the trails via ski lifts;

• the trail or hiking, a versatile discipline to discover the mountains at your own pace, without necessarily having strong technical skills or being a speed aficionado;

• the E-MTB (electric mountain bike) : there are routes specially designed for this practice (long distance and long elevation gain generally), even if it is also possible to explore classic enduro, cross-country, and trail routes with an electric bike.

In France, all mountain ranges and all resorts allow mountain biking. Nevertheless, some destinations offer more routes for family rides, while others delight seasoned mountain bikers.

Among the must-visit Bike Park resorts in France, thanks to their numerous trails and fun areas, you can find:

• Les Gets, Les 2 Alpes, Les Orres and Tignes -Val d’Isère in the Alps;

• Saint-Lary, Peyragudes, Cauterets and Piau Engaly in the Pyrenees;

• Lac Blanc and La Bresse in the Vosges;

• Le Lioran, Super Besse and cross-country area of the Sancy Massif in the Massif Central;

• Métabief and Monts Jura in the Jura massif.

This list is obviously not exhaustive and each resort has its own specificities in terms of level, type of practice, learning areas, bike services, etc. Do not hesitate to visit the Tourist Office of the resort to learn more about the routes and to get a Bike Park map, find out about the dates and opening hours of the ski lifts and get advice according to your level.

If you already do mountain biking outside of your mountain holidays, you probably own your own bike. It can be perfectly suitable for your mountain excursions, provided it is adapted to the terrain and practice (e.g.: full-suspension mountain bike, long travel and powerful braking for downhill) and that you have a bike rack on your vehicle.

Otherwise, there is always the very practical option of mountain bike rental. Many Sport 2000 ski shops offer this service during the summer season, with ranges of bikes designed for the mountains. Several types of mountain bikes are generally offered to suit everyone: children's, women's, and men's bikes, climbing-oriented model, designed for downhill or all-mountain, muscle mountain bike or electric-assist, etc.

Rental is also an opportunity to test the latest innovations and ride with mountain bikes from leading brands, without having to invest in a recent model that can cost several thousand euros. Depending on the type of bike and the shop, expect generally between €20 and €70 per day approximately to enjoy yourself on the mountain routes.

Finally, this will allow you to benefit from valuable advice to know what bike size to choose, what type of mountain bike will suit the routes you plan to ride, what are the best spots in the resort, etc.

It would be a shame for your mountain stay to end in an injury due to a bad fall. To avoid this, we can only recommend wearing a helmet during your mountain bike rides, even for a quiet stroll, and even more so for children. This equipment can be bought or rented in the resort's sports shops.

To complete your mountain biker's outfit, especially if you are doing technical descents, think about knee pads and elbow pads. Wearing cycling gloves is also recommended: they improve grip, reduce the risk of blisters and irritation, and protect against branches, brambles, as well as scrapes and cuts in case of a fall that would require putting hands on the ground.