DIFFICULTY RATINGS

Find the trip that fits your style

LEVEL 1 | FAMILY

  • MY FITNESS LEVEL … I’m slightly fit and am comfortable with hills that are less than 200 m in length. I want to ride on my vacation, but not every day.
  • I’M LOOKING FORWARD FOR … Mostly flat sections and some short slight inclines. I also don’t mind hopping in the support van when I’ve ridden enough.
  • I’D LIKE TO RIDE … Around 11/2 hours each day. I can ride about 15 km, and up to 30 km on a long day.
  • MY CLIMBING ABILITIES … Shorter climbs and small hills. Less is ok with me. About 150 m of climbing.
  • MTB TRIPS … I am comfortable on 1-2 hour rides at an easy pace, of 6 -12 km in length with manageable short climbs throughout. I exercise about one day a week. I have some experience riding a mountain bike and can easily control speed and direction on pavement, double-track roads.

 

LEVEL 2 | LEISURE

  • MY FITNESS LEVEL … I’m relatively fit and am comfortable with hills that are less than 800 m in length. I want to ride on my vacation, but not every day.
  • I’M LOOKING FORWARD FOR … Slight inclines, but like it to be mostly flat. I also don’t mind hopping in the support van when I’ve ridden enough.
  • I’D LIKE TO RIDE … Around 1-2 hours each day. I can ride about 25 km, and up to 60 km on a long day.
  • MY CLIMBING ABILITIES … Shorter climbs and small hills. Less is ok with me. About 250 m of climbing.
  • MTB TRIPS … I am comfortable on 1-3 hour rides at an easy pace, of 10 -20 km in length with manageable short climbs throughout. I exercise about one day a week. I have some experience riding a mountain bike and can easily control speed and direction on pavement, double-track roads and some smooth singletrack.

 

LEVEL 3 | RECREATIONAL

  • MY FITNESS LEVEL … I ride my bike on a regular basis either for fitness, to commute to work, or just for fun. I enjoy an active lifestyle with an occasional physical challenge.
  • I’M LOOKING FORWARD FOR … Rolling terrain with some bigger hills that are challenging. I feel great after reaching the top.
  • I’D LIKE TO RIDE … Around 2-3 hours each day. I can ride about 50 km, and up to 80 km on a long day.
  • MY CLIMBING ABILITIES … Steep rollers and short mountains, but with a few breaks in between. About 600 m of climbing.
  • MTB TRIPS … I am comfortable on 3-5 hour rides at a moderate pace, of 12 -24 km in length with a few short anaerobic climbs throughout. I get out for exercise about 3 days a week. I have some experience riding trails or off road terrain and have been mountain biking for at least one year. I can control my bike speed and direction on smooth trails and moderately uneven terrain, but often walk my bike when things get rocky or rooty.

 

LEVEL 4 | ACTIVE

  • MY FITNESS LEVEL … Fitness is central to my life. I ride my bike regularly on a weekly basis and am comfortable with rides of 2 hours or more at a relatively strong pace.
  • I’M LOOKING FORWARD FOR … All terrain, with hills and some moderate mountain passes that I can brag about. I like getting some speed on moderate descents.
  • I’D LIKE TO RIDE … Around 3-4 hours. I can ride about 70 km, and up to 110 km on a long day.
  • MY CLIMBING ABILITIES … Hills, mountains, and everything in between. Around 1000 m of climbing, to 2000 m on a hard day.
  • MTB TRIPS … I am comfortable on 4-7 hour rides at a moderate pace, of 20-30 km in length with numerous technical climbs and descents throughout. I exercise at least 4 days a week. I have been mountain biking for at least two years and am able to control my speed and direction on moderately steep and technical singletrack trails. I am comfortable descending on loose or uneven terrain, including rocks, gravel, tree roots and small drops.

 

LEVEL 5 | AVID

  • MY FITNESS LEVEL … I ride my bike an average of 160 km per week and enjoy a fast pace for an extended period of time. I love to train, improve, and maybe even race my friends.
  • I’M LOOKING FORWARD FOR … All terrain, with hills and big mountain passes. Steep technical descents are fun and I enjoy a challenge.
  • I’D LIKE TO RIDE … Around 4-5 hours. I can ride about 100 km, and up to 180 km on a long day.
  • MY CLIMBING ABILITIES … There’s no hill too long or steep. Around 1500 m of climbing, to 4000 m on a hard day.
  • MTB TRIPS … I am comfortable on 5-plus hour rides at a fast pace of 30 -50 km in length with long technical climbs and descents. I exercise 5 or more days per week and consider myself very physically fit. I am a strong rider who has been mountain biking for 5 or more years and am comfortable climbing and descending steep, technical and exposed terrain that includes rocks, tree roots, primitive trail surfaces, tight switchbacks, short drops and jumps.

 

ADITIONAL SKILL RATING SYSTEM FOR MTB TRAILS BASED ON SINGLE TRACK SCALE

WHAT IS THE MTB SINGLE TRACK SCALE (STS) RATING SYSTEM?

The STS is to the mountain biker what the UIAA scale is to the climber and the SAC alpine scale is to the mountaineer. It has been developed by ambitious bike sportsmen and provides information about how demanding a trail passage is. This way you can perfectly adapt to the conditions even before the tour, which ultimately benefits driving pleasure. This MTB scale is an important reference, which is also recognised by official associations.

WHAT IS A MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL?

As the common name “single track” already suggests, a mtb trail is a path that cannot be used in pairs. A good example is a classic narrow mountain path, which is also used by trail runners or hikers. Which bike you ride on the trail is accordingly quite clear. The best way to get ahead is with mountain bikes, which, depending on the difficulty, only have to be equipped with a suspension fork or have full suspension.

THE LEVELS OF THE SINGLE TRACK SCALE (STS)

Divided into six difficulty levels (S0 to S5), the scale is based on the technical challenge of a path. To ensure that this happens consistently, ideal conditions are always assumed, i.e. driving in good light and dry ground. The level of difficulty, weather, speed and the light conditions cannot be considered due to the high variability. The demand can therefore quickly shift if the conditions aren’t perfect, which is why the scale is also open upwards.

 

S0 | VERY EASY

The easiest trail type is characterised by light to moderate gradient, non-slip ground and gentle bends. To accomplish this trail there are no special demands on the driving technique.

S1 | EASY

Here, you can anticipate smaller obstacles, such as roots or stones. Partly unstable ground and bends become narrower, but without sharp bends. The maximum gradient here is 40%.

S2 | MEDIUM

The level of difficulty increases and large stones and roots are to be expected. Rarely solid ground under the wheels and there are flat steps or stairs. Tight bends will also be regularly driven and the steepness can be up to 70%.

S3 | DIFFICULT

In this category, you’re moving on blocked terrain with large boulders or long roots. Sharp bends and steep slopes and you must often anticipate loose ground. Regular gradients of 70% are available.

S4 | VERY DIFFICULT

It is steep and obstructed. Long, challenging paths with roots and large boulders must be overcome and loose rubble is part of the daily agenda. Sharp bends and steep gradients place special demands on the driving technique and there are steps for which the chain ring is used.

S5 | EXTREMELY DIFFICULT

The upper end of the scale is characterised by heavily obstructed terrain, loose ground with rubble, narrow sharp bends and high obstacles, such as fallen trees – of course, including steep gradients. There is little braking distance and the MTB technique is put to the test.

The trail scale is a very good tool for foreign bikers to assess the difficulty of the trails to be travelled on. The technical demands at racing events can also be better assessed with this system.