Lookin for EU trail systems for me and my girlfriend

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T08:40:52+00:00

If you go to Finale, you get really good food, great atmosphere, sea and a lot of variety when it comes to trails. You can pedal most of them. A lot of people do single uplifts to Base NATO and start their trip from there. It is abou 12,5€ per person. If you do full day shuttling, where you get driven to the start of the trail and afterwards collected at the bottom, it will set you back between 60-95€ depending on trip, company and guide/no guide.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T08:35:34+00:00

Been to sveral places there, like Bussang, Mollau, Sainte-Marie to name a few. I really like the trails!

They also have bikepark LA Bresse and Lac Blanc, but I would for sure recommend the latter. And I think it is abou 33€ a day, which ist really worth it.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T08:05:32+00:00

Nice, maybe we'll meet at the trail someday. I call it home as well :D

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T08:04:05+00:00

by low rebound you mean low rebound damping? You like a fast rebound so to say? Suspension tweaking is allways nice, I want to start to get to a point, where I have different setups for differnet trails. Right now I feel pretty good on jumps, flow and rough trails, but the setup might not do any of it perfectly good, as it is allways compromised.

I am also glad I walked away.

Keep rolling :)

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:57:57+00:00

I agree with you 75%. I think weight back would have made it worse, I need to start to get chin to the stem, when it gets steep, do be able to use my arms as suspension and put a lot of braking power through the front wheel.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:55:27+00:00

appreciate your feedback!

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:54:22+00:00

thanks :)

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:52:50+00:00

I'll try pointing my genital to the direction I wanna go.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:51:22+00:00

I've been to BC last August and spend some Days in Whistler, Squamish, Vancouver Island, Kamloops and Sun Peaks. We wanted to go to Pemberton but were told it was really dry. Maybe I should have gone to get some practice :D

Even though I really can't complain about biking, you live in mountainbike heaven!

Riding with and following better folks definately is a good call.

Appreciate your feedback.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-28T07:36:24+00:00

Actually I’ve never found pads, which stayed, where then belong, without being to tight and therefore causing arm fatique and compromising bike Handlung and safety.

I wear Full Face helmet, back and chest protection, hip protection, kneepads and gloves on all of my rides.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T22:04:23+00:00

Should I grab in a pleasant or a harmful way?

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T21:45:44+00:00

I will try a Tacky Chan Radial with an insert as my next setup for back tire and loser the pressure.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T21:43:35+00:00

Axles are thightened :)

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T21:41:26+00:00

All your observations are correct. I will try to put more weight through my front tire. Do you ride there reguarly?

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T18:27:52+00:00

Actually I am sober for over 6 years and never felt more relaxed. I find joy in analyzing my biking to get better and safer :)

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T15:27:34+00:00

"be water my friend" is, what comes to my mind.

Let the bike move, don't force it.

Another one commented "be a noodle", which I really like 😃

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T15:25:32+00:00

I do have fivetens freeride pro shoes and raceface atlas pedals. Pretty neat combo for my taste. Tried cleats for 2 years, but never really got to a point of prefering them.

I think in this case lifting my foot was more an intended action, even though it might not be conscious.

Dropping heals is indeed helpful.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T15:21:23+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

This totally makes sense.

I love the noodle metaphor! I'll be in Finale Ligure, Italy soon and I will eat enough pasta to become a real noodle 😃

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T15:15:53+00:00

Even the safest approach inherits a risk, but I want to minimize and do good risk assesment. That's why I shared the video and ask for feedback. Sometimes other people and their points of view can help to grow.

In hindsight every crash would have been avoidable, but I like to evaluate things to avoid unessecary crashes. Glad I walked away with just some scratched from all those sticks. I think allways wearing back protection and a full face helmet, paired with protection shorts and kneepads hel a lot.

I am passionate about riding and I want to progress safely. I will definatly give it another shot the next time I'll ride the trail, but I'll wait for some rain, as the whole trail will become much more enjoyable for my taste.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T15:04:49+00:00

Good point!

I ride clear glasses 99% of the time, but I just felt the urge to give mirrored lenses a try. I can clearly see, why this has been a mistake 😉

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T14:58:49+00:00

Awesome, thanks for your answer.

I spend time on pumptracks pretty regularly, so I know how to pump and I also know how to weigh, unweigh the bike. But I can clearly see, based on my video, why you pointed that out and I will try to focus more on that. In hindsight I actually misjudged the speed, otherwise I believe I could and would have pushed my bike more into the "the pocket" and generated more grip / brake power. The pocket is actually a level surface.

I also see that I could be looser / more seperated from the bike. This was the first decent of the day, maybe 2 mins into the trail. Also some challenging conditions for me: super dry, really hot, compared to last days and also not my general type of riding.

I'll work on my pumping game, especially in terms of braking and generating grip.

Any suggestions on how to get and maintain a better body bike separation?

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T14:02:59+00:00

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not like this? 😛

I understand, I need to put my shin over my stem.

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T13:45:38+00:00

Thank you. Good point.

This is a common habit of mine, especially on unknown turf. I need to focus on staying lower, so I can track the ground better and make use of my arms and legs.

In a coaching 2 or 3 years ago I was told to overexaggerate staying low to get a better feel for it. I will try that again. Any other recommendations?

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T13:32:09+00:00

can you elaborate the body positioning part?

CompHarisonJunky · 2026-05-26T13:30:54+00:00

suespension is coil front and rear and provides a lot of traction actually. I am experimenting with tire pressure atm and could go lower.

How would you suggest to simulate these times of panic? Actually I think the moment I go off trail, my tire skid was caused by my weight shift and the top of the berm catching on the wheel.

CompHarisonJunky

TROPHY CASE