Bikes & Hire
On this page we’ll give you some idea of what sorts of bikes best suit our riding in order to get the maximum enjoyment from your holiday. Making sure that you are properly equipped to hit the trails ensures that you and the entire group have the maximum possible fun from the moment your tyres touch the singletrack!
Bringing your own bike
We’d always recommend bringing you own bike – hiring a bike slightly reduces the logistics of taking your own, but comes with some significant drawbacks! Firstly, you are going to be riding unfamiliar trails on an unfamiliar bike – basically, you simply won’t feel at ease and you’ll probably not enjoy the riding quite as much. Secondly, it’s going to cost you lots more – even the most expensive airline fees are much cheaper than hiring a bike. Thirdly, you are never quite going to get the bike feeling “dialled in” over the course of a week – suspension settings and other tweaks are tricky enough on your own bike, let alone an unfamiliar one. Lastly, hire bikes are sometimes slightly compromised – for example, drivetrain (chains, rings etc) wear is quite often high, forks leak air and oil – and hire bikes are always run for as long as possible before components get replaced!
In contrast, you will have a much more enjoyable and less unpredictable time riding the bike you know and love. Bike bags are cheap and effective and it only takes twenty minutes or so to get it packed away, our full mobile workshop facilities are available to you at all times to assemble and disassemble your bike at your destination – there’s no messing around in chalet gardens and losing allen keys in the grass on our holidays!
In over 15 years of flying bikes around Europe on dozens of trips we’ve not had one single incident where our bike didn’t arrive entirely unscathed and on time. If packed correctly it’s very safe and easy – and usually your bike goes through “outsize baggage” – which tends to mean that it is taken to and from the flight by hand rather than rammed amongst thousands of suitcases on conveyor belts! We have also tended to find that your bike appears long before you suitcases – so there’s no extra time taken up waiting around either.
We would always recommend bringing your bike with you – it is better than hiring a bike in every way imaginable! We do have some bike hire options available if you are really determined not to bring your own – please see further down the page for additional information.
Recommended types of bikes for our holidays
Our UK trails tend not to be quite as challenging as their continental counterparts –mainly because climbs and descents are shorter, and the terrain is sometimes a little less physically demanding. Therefore most trails in the UK can be ridden without any problems on a hardtail, but you’ll find that some routes – especially in North Wales, the Westcountry and the North of Scotland can be quite technical and unforgiving, so are often more fun on a full-suspension bike.
The Alps throw up a very different set of riding challenges to the UK – there are more technical trail features - but the most important difference is simply the length of the climbs and descents! We will often be descending for hours at a time – and the physical impact that can have on the rider is not to be underestimated! You will probably cope on a front suspension bike, but we’d definitely recommend a full suspension bike at least with 100 - 120mm (or more) of travel to get the best from your holiday. You will feel much less tired on the lengthy downhill sections and get better traction on the rooty climbs riding a full susser – and therefore enjoy your holiday more!
If you plan on exclusively riding Downhill in the bike parks we’d recommend something with slacker frame geometry and more travel – short travel bikes can very quickly feel out of their depth amongst the tough elements of the DH courses in the Alps! Some of the busiest trails at places like Les Gets and Morzine can develop some pretty big braking bumps in places – so as a minimum we’d recommend an “all-mountain” bike, probably with at least 140mm of travel – and ideally we’d suggest a dedicated DH or Freeride bike with 160mm or more travel. You will have much more fun in Bike Parks on a “bigger” bike – and the usually more bombproof components on dedicated gravity bikes are far more able to cope with the rigours of park life!
The trails in Andorra are much like those in the Alps, so similar rules apply – but they are a bit steeper and rockier in places. You will often find in Andorra that your speed is a little lower than in the Alps, but that is usually due to the trail’s technicality and gradient – and it can be in these steep, slower speed sections that “racier” bikes are more difficult to control. In fact, we’d much rather ride the trails here on a longer-forked (120mm+) hardtail, with a shorter stem and slacker geometry, than a short travel (80-100mm) “racy” full suspension bike! You’ll cope on a shorter travel bike, but steep angles and long stems tend to throw your weight forwards on the steeper sections, and the handling can be more nervous in lower speed situations.
Overall we’d ideally recommend a slightly longer travel, full suspension bike - probably 120mm or more –and bikes with 130-150mm of travel will definitely feel in their element here.
The Downhill trails in Andorra are fantastic – and have been proving very challenging to World Cup riders who race here annually, who often mention how steep and technical they are in comparison with the Alpine DH courses. The trails higher up the mountains are very fast and flowing in places – but once you descend into the treeline the mountain sides drop away into the valleys very quickly. We’ve ridden these trails on “all-mountain” bikes – but certain courses are very demanding indeed, and we found that even a 150mm trail bike felt quite sketchy on one or two sections in particular. The Andorrans have definitely fallen in love with DH, and their courses are designed for big bikes – you’ll want a dedicated DH or Freeride bike here, with at least 160mm of travel and nice slack angles for the steeper sections.
Spanish trails are like nothing else you will ever ride in Europe! The terrain can often be harsh, but by riding several different mountain ranges we ensure that things remain very varied. If you are lucky enough to have both a hardtail and a full-susser we would always recommend bringing the full suspension bike to Spain, as the majority of the time you are riding on rock and extremely hard-packed dirt. Some people prefer a hardtail for the climbs - there are no uplifts in our areas of Andalucía – and they take it more carefully when they reach the rockier descents! However, we find that there are some pretty technical climbing challenges here too, where a full suspension bike will beat a hardtail hands down for traction amongst the dusty rocks. A full suspension bike will generally keep things more fun and less tiring over the course of the week – but don’t be surprised to see us ride our hardtails occasionally! Whether you decide to bring a hardtail or a full-suspension bike we’d definitely recommend at least 100mm fork travel – preferably 120mm or more – as the rocky sections can be quickly overcome short travel forks.
Hiring a bike
We don’t have a fleet of hire bikes, as most people genuinely prefer to bring their own. Owning fleets of hire bikes is also complex and expensive – companies that offer cheap or free hire bikes are normally either hiding their cost in another charge, or are providing cheap or substandard equipment. We’ve heard lots of complaints from people who have collected their hire bike to discover that it’s either a very basic model, or a complete wreck!
At Singletrack Safari, we don’t want to add to these tales of bike-related misery, so we have some recommended hire partners if you really, really don’t want to save money and worries by bringing your own!
In the Alps and Andorra we have relationships with certain hire centres which we can recommend. These companies offer a good range of bikes, and we know that they maintain their equipment to a high standard. They are not a cheap option however – expect to pay approximately £250 per week to hire a full suspension bike like a Commencal Meta 5 in the Alps, and in the region of £160 in Andorra for a Cannondale Prophet.
Downhill and Freeride bikes are significantly more per week to hire – for around £250 to £300 you will be able to rent something such as a Specialized Big Hit or Commencal Furious, with prices for a Trek Session 88 or Commencal Supreme DH rising to £400. These prices often include a full complement of DH riding gear, which makes them more reasonable however.
If you are an XC rider and fancy hiring a DH bike and all the kit to try for a day this can also be arranged – expect to pay in the region of £75 - £100 per day for all the equipment.
Please contact us for full details of recommended hire shops and how to go about organising bike rental.
