Coloured symbols on Trails

[GmanUK65]

I have a gravel bike with 47mm knobbly tyres. Obviously, no suspension. Groupset GRX 800 except for gear shifting brake set which is GRX 600 (could not get 800 at the time).

I was riding through Rising Sun Country Park (North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear) today and noticed on some corners there are coloured arrows. I know these are trails of increasing technical rides: Red being most technical, Blue being not as technical, Green being even less technical, and Brown (Heritage Trail) not technical. I know there is Black which I haven't seen in the park, but I know it is more technical than Red

I'm a rider that tends to keep away from technical sections so Red I think I should keep away from but Blue and Green I am not sure about. How technical is Blue or Green? I would need to know the type of terrain and likely obstacles I may come across for each

I suppose the main concern would be that I would have to keep an eye on the junctions in case I veer off onto an unwanted colour.

 

[MontyVeda]

just try them out and proceed with caution. I was completely ignorant of the colour coded trails when riding around Grizedale, just bombing down any track that I fancied, only to find myself well out of my depth and occasionally on my arse

 

[GmanUK65]

just try them out and proceed with caution. I was completely ignorant of the colour coded trails when riding around Grizedale, just bombing down any track that I fancied, only to find myself well out of my depth and occasionally on my arse

I suppose I could, but I might try walking the red trails. The green trails should be ok, but it's the blue trails I don't know about so I will try those with caution.
I wouldn't have been able to try them today anyway as I was getting dark. I had decent lights, but I wouldn't have the confidence to go on unknown ground even with them

 

[cougie uk]

I have a gravel bike with 47mm knobbly tyres. Obviously, no suspension. Groupset GRX 800 except for gear shifting brake set which is GRX 600 (could not get 800 at the time).

I was riding through Rising Sun Country Park (North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear) today and noticed on some corners there are coloured arrows. I know these are trails of increasing technical rides: Red being most technical, Blue being not as technical, Green being even less technical, and Brown (Heritage Trail) not technical. I know there is Black which I haven't seen in the park, but I know it is more technical than Red

I'm a rider that tends to keep away from technical sections so Red I think I should keep away from but Blue and Green I am not sure about. How technical is Blue or Green? I would need to know the type of terrain and likely obstacles I may come across for each

I suppose the main concern would be that I would have to keep an eye on the junctions in case I veer off onto an unwanted colour.

Are those not the walking trails ?
Green 20 - 30 mins
Blue 30 - 40
Red 40 - 60 (unsuitable for wheelchairs)
Brown - Heritage Trail - 90 - 120 mins.

Cyclists should be on the bridleways and not footpaths.


I'm not sure they have been graded like ski runs for difficulty.

 

[wiggydiggy]

I've cycles a lot of the trails at Forestry sites, they can really vary a lot - The Red at Winlatter is quite rough but the Red at Gisburn a lot smoother (which was good as I'd broke my MTB and was doing it on a none suspension commuter with smooth tyres lol).

I say just try, you can always get off and push - I find some of the trickier sections normally have a go around anyway.

 

[Alex321]

Are those not the walking trails ?
Green 20 - 30 mins
Blue 30 - 40
Red 40 - 60 (unsuitable for wheelchairs)
Brown - Heritage Trail - 90 - 120 mins.

Cyclists should be on the bridleways and not footpaths.


I'm not sure they have been graded like ski runs for difficulty.

Agreed. That isn't a mountain bike park, where they would be.

 

[GmanUK65]

Are those not the walking trails ?
Green 20 - 30 mins
Blue 30 - 40
Red 40 - 60 (unsuitable for wheelchairs)
Brown - Heritage Trail - 90 - 120 mins.

Cyclists should be on the bridleways and not footpaths.


I'm not sure they have been graded like ski runs for difficulty.

I've just checked on their website and you are correct. There are a fair few bridlepaths in the park too though so it's a bit confusing because those colours can also be used for graded cycle trails too. I've realised that cycling tracks are marked with a bicycle symbol.

Well, at least I know to keep off those sections and stick to the sections that are bridleways.

 

[simongt]

Had an issue with the offroad bike trails in Thetford Forest some years ago. The colour coding was; green = easy, blue = tricky, black= hard / techno.
There were some issues; green & blue are two of the colours that can cause issues with colourblind folk; almost exclusively men.
A club that had used the trails for a private event the previous day had removed some of the markers and hadn't reinstated them.
Inevitably, there were novices on the black trail which caused some problems for the faster moving more experienced users.

 

[fossyant]

Mountain bike trails also vary between trail centre. Downhill trail centres (e.g. Antur Stiniog) I'd advise be very wary of doing a red or black. Places like Llandegla, Gisburn, then the red/black are fine if you are a competent MTB'er. Always be wary if you haven't ridden a trail before.

And don't go walking on a MTB trail, please - just really dangerous !

 

[ChrisEyles]

Generally a trail centre graded blue trail should be do-able on pretty much any bike if you take it easy, while green typically denotes access fire road / grassy track type stuff (ideal on a gravel bike).

Red trails I'd say you'd want to be pretty careful on if you're on a gravel bike - at least drop the seat first in case there are any properly steep sections that require you to get your weight right back, and maybe consider walking some sections first, you don't want to unwittingly commit to a rooty staircase of doom*. There is a fair amount of variability though, plenty of red graded trails are pretty tame and the odd blue graded one can contain features that make me raise my eyebrows on the way down.

Unless you enjoy a challenge, I'd say blue routes are probably more fun than reds on a gravel bike.

*I happily give this advice, but ignore it myself. It has resulted in the odd trip down sections that I'd never have ridden had I taken a look at them first - this can be both a good and a bad thing!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Likely obstacles:

Green - not much, maybe sections with loose gravel surfaces and somewhat bumpy ground

Blue - bermed corners, rollers to pump through, rougher sections (often made worse with braking bumps before corners), maybe some rooty bits, may have some steeper gradients. May contain small drops/jumps, but if so there's almost certainly going to be a chicken line to avoid them if desired

Red - As for blue, but steeper, rougher, bigger jumps & drops. The big difference between blue and red is the level of commitment - on a blue you can usually slow down and safely stop if you want to, on a red it's often too steep to do so in sections, and you have no option but to ride it out - so walking these bits beforehand can be a good idea if you're not confident. Similarly, red trails may contain mandatory (though still usually relatively small) drops/jumps with no alternative chicken line, and there may not always be sufficient warning to slow down and stop before encountering them.

Black - I don't think you need to worry about these on a gravel bike