Singletrack Reader Holiday 2009 – With Flow MTB
Dates: July 25th – August 1st 2009.
Flow MTB are based in the French mountain resort of Morzine and have been running guided mountain biking holidays for several years. They’ve built up a very high reputation for not only the quality of the trails but also the aprez ride experience, quality of accommodation and friendly hospitality. Based centrally in the town of Morzine, the lift to the mountain is close by. They offer all styles of riding and cater for all abilities, from gentle xc bimbles to full faced, gravity assisted, adrenalin pumping rides on some of the finest trails in the Alps.
For 2009 we are doing a “Grinder Week” theme. Singletrack staff will be joining forces with Flow qualified guides to give every guest the chance to not only ride the mountain but ride it on a large fleet of high quality test bikes from all over the industry. But not just bikes. Waiting for you will be a veritable treasure trove of hardware and software for you to try out.
Bikes…
- Orange Blood.
- Specialized Big Hit II.
- Kona Stab Deluxe.
- Trek Session 88.
- 2Stage All-Mountain and DH.
- We’ve got our fingers crossed for a Santa Cruz Driver 8 as well.
Forks…
- Fox Van 36 forks.
- Fox Talas 36 forks.
- Magura Wotan.
- Rock Shox Lyrik.
- Rock Shox Domain.
- And hopefully some 2010 forks from Marzocchi and Manitou.
Protection…
- 661 full-face helmets, body armour, gloves and goggles
- Full-facers from Giro, Bell and THE.
- Brand-X body armour from Brand-X, Knox and POC.
- IXS body armour and goggles.
- Thor body armour, gloves and goggles.
- Goggles from Oakley and Utopia.
Other cool stuff…
- Flat pedals from Atomlab, Crank Bros, DMR, Superstar, Easton, Kona, Sunline and Shimano.
- Sticky-soled shoes from FiveTen and Shimano.
- Up-and-downy seatposts from Gravity Dropper, Crank Bros, Pure Racing and (hopefully) Specialized.
- Suitably chunky tyres from Maxxis, Bontrager, Michelin, Specialized, Intense, Schwalbe and Continental.
- Lots of spare inner tubes and CO2 canisters to make life easier 🙂
That’s why we have chosen Flow as our hosts for this year’s Singletrack Reader Holiday – a holiday that together with Sara and Guy at Flow MTB guarantees something unique and very different for every guest.
Everything we bring with us will be part of our review selection for the mag. This is your chance to be a magazine reviewer and help us fill the Grinder pages of Singletrack.
The Singletrack Grinder Week package hosted by Flow MTB.
- 7 nights accommodation in twin ensuite rooms.
- Breakfast every day.
- Cake, tea and coffee every day.
- 3 course meal with wine/beer 6 nights.
- Packed lunch on four days – that leaves two days to eat out in mountain restaurants.
- Transfers from and to Geneva airport.
- 6 day lift pass.
- 4 days guiding.
- Midweek Singletrack party at a local restaurant.
- Singletrack goodie bags at the end of the week, including subscriptions and t-shirts.
Cost: now only £675 per person!
I hope you guys don’t mind if I weigh in on this debate.
Alan, I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage ‘you get what you pay for.’ When you go to your local bike shop and plunk down 200 pounds for a bike, I’m sure you’re not expecting the same quality you’d get from something that costs 1000 pounds. Same with VCRs, cars, and guitars. Generally, if you pay more for an item you get a product of better quality (the fashion business notwithstanding).
The mountain bike travel industry is no different. It costs a lot of money to run a tour company (I run one myself – http://www.sacredrides.com). And it costs money to deliver a quality experience. Our trips cost significantly more than just going to do the same trip on your own. For that money, you get the best trained guides in the business, professionalism and organization, and a stringent environmental and social responsibility mandate (we put $ into local projects wherever we ride).
If this other company you’ve found is offering big discounts and cheap rates, it’s because they’re cutting corners somewhere. I guarantee it. Or they have lots of money and like losing it.
Bottom line is, if you want quality, you have to pay for it. I bet Flow MTB puts on a great tour and takes really good care of you. I bet they put on a much better tour than the guys offering 30% off (I’ll bet money they’re offering 30% off because they’re desperate and don’t have enough clients because their product is substandard).
Those are my thoughts. In mountain bike tourism, as in almost every other facet of consumer life, you get what you pay for.
Yours,
Mike Brcic, president
Sacred Rides Mountain Bike Adventures
http://www.sacredrides.com
2495 dollars? Hope it´s good.
I don’t want this to become a slagging match.. All I know is that our price is a fair one for what we’re offering. I rest easy knowing that… Thanks for the support Mike!
Hey guys, thought I’d chime in here since I’m gonna be there for Reader’s Week.
Yes, you can do it cheaper, and if bottom line is your priority, then you should. But, if you’re looking for the best experience you can get; good food, good place to stay, great people to ride with, good guides, and of course the best trails, then the price will be irrelevant. Oh, and did I mention Singletrack will be bring all the gear I can’t afford to buy or rent?
Lat year I did Whistler with Ticket2Ride and I am still talking about it a year later. This week, with these guys, is going to actually be less for me than the week in Whistler. The chalet looks great, the food sounds awesome, and Guy and Sarah have already been a big help over the phone and email.
I fully expect to have a great time and be talking about this trip for the next year. The money will become irrelevant after the first run. Find a place, group, and price you’re comfortable with and ride, ride, ride.
i went to the alps a few year back with Alpine Elements (who mark knows of 😉 )
they were the biggest let down of any company i have been with. the chalet was rubbish, the guides… oh the guides… they didn’t give two hoots. you were either a DH boy or a XC whippet, nothing between.
That price seams to me to be fair. YES you could do it cheaper if you wanted to BUT if you want excellent guides (and genuinely nice ppl) to guide you, look after you and cater to your needs then you can’t do better then flow for the full package. (my dealings were with flow after some of our group damaged forks/bikes and speaking to the guys in the shop, we ended up going to see them every day for trail advise and to talk to the guys there)
i know the cheapest price on transfer to the resort we found was 110 euro’s that was 2/3 years back.
you have everything included in one price here.
add it all up.. bit by bit. it soon comes to £6-700!
the people who go i wish you the best and have good fun. get up over chatel over to those amazing swiss trails.
Price is now £675 🙂