# Mountainbiking in Finland



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Hi there!

End of May this year, I'm going to Finland (Hämeenlinna) for holliday's. 
Is there an active mountainbike scene in that region that somebody know of?
I would like to meet riders for some riding together, or maybe somebody knows some guided tours in that region.

Cheers!


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

There's definitely "mountain biking" in Hämeenlinna. Unfortunately, a quick search did not reveal who is organizing what there, except for one club website with little content at the moment ( Maastopyöräily - Tawast Cycling Club ry ) and a thread on the major cycling forum in Finland: ( Hämeenlinna )

Obviously, you will not find "real mountains" in the area but there is lots of woodland with smaller hills and trails. A local guide is definitely recommended as trails are almost never marked in any way.

I am about an hour north of Hämeenlinna, in Tampere. A local club has a few scheduled rides every week and everybody is welcome to join. Helmets are compulsory. Now, their "summer rides" page only lists the Easy Wednesday Ride, starting in spring when weather allows Maastolenkit | Pyöräilyseura Kaupin Kanuunat but there will surely be (faster and longer) scheduled rides during weekends too. Trail rides in and near Tampere are discussed in this thread: Maastolenkit Tampereella . People often announce their intentions to ride, there, when they feel like having company.

On 25 May, there's the XVIII Tour de Tampere 25.5.2013 . It is a bigger group ride event where people can choose between different routes, with different distance, speed and trail bumpiness. I'm not sure I'm going: depends on if I can get some mileage by that time.

Are you bringing your own bike? Getting a decent rental MTB could be a challenge, except maybe at a couple of "bike parks".


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Thanks for the reply!

At least one of my bikes comes with me, probably two ;-) 
Too bad the 25th is the day of our departure but at least now i know where to look for locals. 
I will defenately try to go riding in Tampere. 
How about singlespeed in Finland?

Cheers!


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

There's some singlespeed riding... My "trail bike" is a burly 26er rigid singlespeed  My regular routes include a few short pieces of uphill, that I never seem to make´but I'm not all that fit (and I'm overweight). When I ride with others they usually have geared FS bikes. That is OK because I only do rides where we are not in a big hurry.


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I cannot find my MTBR photos :madman: :madmax:
but I have some pictures on flickr. It is mainly "my bike on the trail somewhere on my side of the town".
perttime's photosets on Flickr


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Nice bike! Looking at the pictures I can't wait for my holiday... 
I think I bring my geared fully ( Ventana el rey) and a rigid dropbar singlespeed bike (Singular Gryphon) and a few sets of tires so I can ride almost everywhere ;-)


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

All my photos are taken on nice days, for two reasons: my phone doesn't produce good pictures without good light, and I don't much enjoy riding when it rains. There are usually some rainy days in May...


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Spring has been pretty slow... I wouldn't be surprised if there are some wet and soft spots in the woods in May.


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Same here in the Netherlands... 
No worries, last week I've ordered a Surly Krampus. Should be delivered in week 17, so I have about three weeks to assemble a go everywhere anytime bike....


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It has been a while since I've ridden on trails... but I went yesterday and a few others joined me. One of them had a better GPS phone than I do:
Sports Tracker
There were enough wet spots to get the bikes a little dirty.
The route is typical in that it includes pieces of road to connect trail sections. It could be extended - or cut shorter - in several ways. Pace is mine, which is pretty easy for most.


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Looks like a nice route! A good ammount af ascent meters for a 30km trip. This weekend I went for a mountainbike trip in Belgium and took one of mine Singlespeed bikes for a 50km route. Because of a bad gearing choise I ended up by shortening the trip to 40km with only 500 altitude meters. Sports Tracker
For now we are bussy packing our bags, making plans for our trip and of course, sorting out the bikes that comes with me...


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I never pay attention to the altitude numbers - but in my area we are almost always going up or down some small hill. Sometimes a gentle slope, sometimes steep enough to kill me on the way up.


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

where I live, there are no mountains or hills at all. I have to ride 1,5 ours by car to find the nearest hills...


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

ready for Finland!


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Bike looks good!
Is that what you are bringing, or are you bringing more than one bike?


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

This one and a Singular Gryphon are coming to Finland. The Singular build for my wife but I bring parts to rebuild it as a singlespeed. Do you think that will do the job, or do I need someting with suspension? Yesterday I had my first ride on the Krampus and I think ride almost everything with it. 

Send from my GT-I9300 with Tapatalk


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

If you are used to riding with a rigid fork in places where there are some rocks and roots or other bumps, you will be just fine.

I'm doing just fine using a rigid bike with 2.4" tyres on 26" wheels. Your bigger wheels should make things a little smoother.


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

I ride my rigid bikes everywhere. On longer rides (+60km) sometimes my arms get a little swore but I think that is a lack of training.
On my yesterday ride I encountered some very roothy sections and the big tires filtered out almost everything. About the rocks, I think anything that is possible with a 120mm front suspension should be fine for the Krampus...



Send from my GT-I9300 with Tapatalk


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

No problems with the Krampus then, I think. Also, it sounds like you know enough not to destroy your arms and wrists at the first trail irregularity 
(when riding with someone you have not met before, it is impossible to know in advance what is easy or difficult for them)


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It has been pretty warm here now ... while, further south in Europe, it is raining cats and dogs, and people are dying in flooding.


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

It's pretty warm indeed! Yesterday during the Korson marathon I had to quit the race after one round. The bike I had chosen to bring wasn't good for the terain The rigid singular gryphon soaked up al my energy in the descents and the temperature wasn't helping....

Send from my GT-I9300 with Tapatalk


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

How did the Marathon route compare with what we rode?

I was reading comments about the race at Korso MTB 96 Su 2.6. 2013 - Sivu 3
Some loved the weather, and it almost killed a few others. Some quit for mechanical problems, so it wasn't all smooth going..


----------



## diruk (Feb 24, 2013)

Compared to what we rode in Tampere the route was quite the same on some parts. continusly up and down with (in My Dutch opinion) lots of roots and rocks. There was one long climb that wasn't too bad but with a wrong gearing every climb is hard. 
I had chosen to ride with My Singular Gryphon with Racing Ralphs 2.2 Because of the fact that the Surly Krampus is much more heavy. I think this was a wrong descission, I had to move arround even the small rocks what soaked a lot of energy.
Also the start was wrong, I started at the 4th row and tried to keep up with the fast guys. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
And then there was the temperature... Too hot for me
But afterall, it was a very good experience. Beautifull scenery, good ambiance, nice people. Maybe next year again but I will bring My Ventana el Rey...

Send from my GT-I9300 with Tapatalk


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

In Tampere, or maybe Kangasala, you said that there probably are not lots of people riding rigid there  I think I said that in this thread too.

I guess it was smart to quit the race while it was still a good experience.

Somebody took lots of pictures at the race and he got one of you too. Link to the gallery:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110827960377178028919/albums/5884977564634392337

He asks to be mentioned if the photos are used elsewhere.

edit:
Somebody posted some video from the race too:

2013 XCM Korso 64 video - YouTube


----------

