Mountain Bike Difficulty Ratings

Help trail users make informed decisions.

Mountain bike difficulty ratings. The imba trail difficulty rating system can. First off imba makes a great distinction between technical difficulty and physical difficulty. Easiest easy more difficult very difficult extremely difficult trail width 72 1800 mm or more 36 900 mm or more 24 600 mm or more 12 300 mm or more 6 150 mm or more tread surface hardened or surfaced firm and stable mostly stable with. Encourage visitors to use trails that match their skill level.

Difficulty ratings very few trails indicated in the greater portland southern maine mountain bike map series are exclusively one skill level. Trails will rate differently from region to region. The development and formal acceptance of an australian mountain bike trail difficulty rating system tdrs was borne out of a number of identified needs. The imba trail difficulty rating system is a basic method used to categorize the relative technical difficulty of recreation trails.

Mountain bike code trail signage mountain biker s responsibility code nsaa has developed the mountain biker s responsibility code below to help inform users about the basic information decision making and actions every rider should know and take prior to and while riding on the variety of trails within a ski areas trail network. Imba s guide to building sweet singletrack. Manage risk and minimize injuries. Help trail users make informed decisions.

The imba trail difficulty rating system can. Manage risk and minimize injuries. Requests from land managers for a formal and approved australian trail classification standard as a risk mitigation strategy. Imba has come out with a method for rating mountain bike trail difficulty in the book trail solutions.

This will help you rank the relative difficulty of each trail and will help trail users select an appropriate route. Characterized by travel mostly on dirt roads and trails moderate technical difficulty tours ride on roads and trails that contain sections of loose gravel soft dirt or ruts. A black diamond trail in one region may rate as a blue square in another region but the ratings should be consistent locally. Riders of all skill levels should be prepared to dismount on areas too steep or technical for their comfort level.

This codes correspond to difficulty ratings and they are supposed to give you the answer to the question how hard would this trail or tour be the first thing you need to know is that up to now there is no such thing as an international officially recognised trail difficulty rating for mountain bike roads. Riders will find more comfort on mountain bikes with front suspension or a rigid bike with plus size 3 in. The imba trail difficulty rating system is a basic method used to categorize the relative technical difficulty of recreation trails.