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Been in Les Arcs this past week - very dry conditions, riding a ripmo. Surprised myself by riding a lot of stuff I'd previously found very hard (e.g. double header), but previous visit was fairly wet conditions on an old 26 enduro bike.
So wet v dry is obv a massive difference, but it got me thinking what bike is ideal on the steep sort of switchbacks you get in the Les Arcs forests? The 29er ripmo feels absolutely planted up front in general, but it's a bit of an oil-tanker round the hairpins. But 26 was way more prone to the old OTB ejector seat - the higher stack 29er gives a lot of confidence here, as these switchbacks are far from smooth, they can be rocky AF.
Do you notice a big difference on a 27.5 bike?
27.5 is a bit more playful/nimble than a 29“er, but ultimately it's you that is the problem. (no offence).
Rode that trail last week (or week before, can't remember....)and it wasn't any worse than the twisty stuff I used to ride in the Bavarian alps... If anything less so.
In my experience, for an all-mountain / enduro 29er, Ripmo is very much on the nimble side of the spectrum. So if you want quicker changes in direction you probably want smaller wheels.
Yep the ripmo is about as agile a bike as there is in that market segment. Compared to my other bike (which is similar to a ripmo but with longer reach and more travel) it is very nimble.
I think that on really steep things is where I really notice bike fit. Anything that's slightly on the large size for me is more difficult to ride on that type of trail. Which possibly is why I find the ripmo a bit easier on mega steep things than my bigger bike.
So you could look at the fit a wee bit. I'm a shade under 5 foot 9 on a medium ripmo with 740mm bars and a 50mm stem, and it's the best fitting bike I've had. Ymmv of course.
Other thing to look at as others have said is working on skills. The more steep and tech it is, the more I also notice when my skills start to run out!
Yeah honestly, it's more of a skill issue than a bike issue. I've seen people on geometrons and other super long 29ers take those same switchbacks with ease. You just need to know how.
Not sure how tight the switchbacks are we're talking about as I've never rode there but are you pivoting onto your front wheel and swinging the back round? That often helps for tight switchbacks, the ones that you can ride around without doing that if they're particularly tight one thing I got told which helps a lot is pointing your hips in the direction of the turn
Switchback, what switchback?
https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub,2/Florian-Nicolais-Nose-Pivot,8446
And just to put Florian's rad skillset into perspective, here's how some of the other EWS riders coped with it:
Yeah, those Alpine switchbacks are something else aren’t they?
A lot of it is definitely technique. However in the last two years, I’ve tried them with a 63.5 and 64.5 degree head angle on the same bike, and they’re definitely easier with the steeper head angle and shorter wheelbase. Next year I may try it at 65.5.
FWIW, I think Les Arcs only gets to about 7/10 on the ASS (Alpine Switchback Severity) scale. The ones at La Plagne and above Brides Les Bains and Bozel are even tastier.
here’s how some of the other EWS riders coped with it:
great video, helps me feel a bit less inadequate when I see the pro's making nearly as much of a hash of switchbacks as I usually do.
I wasn't expecting great things out of my (medium) RocketMax last year in Les Arcs in the tight stuff, but actually it was brilliant. Dead stable, so it wasn't trying to tuck and chuck you over the front; and if I needed to I could trackstand for a moment to have a look at something before riding it. Being able to really lean on the front wheel also meant that I could commit to the endo without being worried about throwing myself out the front door. It all just felt quite calm and unflustered.
Double Header there was one corner I couldn't do (I think the bike was longer than the corner was wide; high consequence bail). Rode all of La Varda feet up and clipped in. (One dab when my mate stopped in front of me, got it second go, so not a "clean", but still pretty happy with that.)
A bit of a different approach to 10 years ago when I was riding a 16" BFE on the same trails!
ultimately it’s you that is the problem. (no offence).
Absolutely this! A bunch of us went to the Sierra Nevada about 15 years ago and rode with Mike (switchbacks) there. He was on a Giant Anthem at the time I think (26" wheels, 120mm travel) and absolutely flew down everything, including some switchbacks that some of us could barely walk down.