Off road

[badou24]

I think its time we had a guide to the types of off road ( like in skiing ).... so many posts about on here about riding off road ........
Lets say ...........
flat forest track ( very easy ) grade 1
track with some ruts and mud , grade 2
track with river crossings and bogs and climbs , grade 3
track used my enduro riders ( very hard ) grade 4/5

This will give a better idea to people what is an " off road " track is !

The same applies to the type of bike your on..................
and the Honda crf 300 rally is not an offroad bike ....... but a great Adventure bike that you can take on some tracks

[Turbofurball]

Track used for Hard Enduro / Trials practice / Dense Jungle: 6? Or no longer a trail?

I guess it might be useful for describing routes here, though like the classifications on wikiloc they'd surely be subjective.

Also, I think you're doing the CRF300 Rally down a bit there, in the right hands they seem to get to many places alright, and if it's too tight to physically fit then you're probably not on a track as such.

[TheWarden]

Open Street Maps already includes a grading system but a lot of apps that use their maps don’t include it

[badou24]

Originally Posted by Turbofurball

Track used for Hard Enduro / Trials practice / Dense Jungle: 6? Or no longer a trail?



Also, I think you're doing the CRF300 Rally down a bit there, in the right hands they seem to get to many places alright, and if it's too tight to physically fit then you're probably not on a track as such.

I am giving a honest opinion on my findings after 8000 Miles on my bike ,
and 35 + years of off roading on enduro bikes
dont see many crf 300 rallies where i ride in wales , going off road !!!

[Tim Cullis]

Off-road is a confusing expression when you are in a country with dirt roads. I try to remember to use the expression off-tarmac. My Nationwide medical travel insurance has a specific written inclusion that covers me for off-tarmac roads, but not riding across dunes.

Some countries talk about dual track and single track to differentiate what can be tackled in a vehicle (easier) vs a motorbike (trickier).

When I started documenting Moroccan pistes I used the colours of the French piste grading system which are green, blue, red, then black.

Green was graded hardcore, suitable for Goldwing towing a trailer.
Blue was simple tracks
Red was some offroad training required
Black was don't tackle this solo or with luggage

Originally Posted by Turbofurball

like the classifications on wikiloc they'd surely be subjective.

Precisely. And this all changes with the choice of bike. What was a red on a 'Bavarian Tractor' with luggage might only be a blue on a more suitable bike.

[chris]

2 things that'll make any grading system virtually useless:

The weather: Today's easy dry dirt road is tomorrow's muddy quagmire after a night's rain.

The rider: What's easy to a competent rider on a well set up, appropriate bike, might be a nightmare for someone with poor ability/ fitness on an unsuitable vehicle (think born again, all the gear, no idea on a faux 250kg+ heavy bomber with lots of plastic and twiddly bits).

Sorry (again ) for all the negativity

[Erik_G]

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

Off-road is a confusing expression when you are in a country with dirt roads. I try to remember to use the expression off-tarmac.

I agree. Dirt and gravel roads are not off road. They are roads that are not paved .

One example is Sweden. Where

• off road = Drive outside of roads is illegal in general.
• There are endless amount of none paved roads to be used.

So yes it is confusing.
(But only to accept.)

[Tim Cullis]

Originally Posted by chris

The weather: Today's easy dry dirt road is tomorrow's muddy quagmire after a night's rain.

The 'gorge link' piste between the Dades and Todra valleys in Morocco is mainly a blue (saw a motorbike sidecar combo on it) and takes typically 2.5 hours. I once did it with a group after rain and flooding had trashed the route, at one point there was a two-metre deep trench across the track. It took something like eleven hours, the last six hours fortunately there was moonlight.

[badou24]

Originally Posted by chris

2 things that'll make any grading system virtually useless:

The weather: Today's easy dry dirt road is tomorrow's muddy quagmire after a night's rain.

The rider: What's easy to a competent rider on a well set up, appropriate bike, might be a nightmare for someone with poor ability/ fitness on an unsuitable vehicle (think born again, all the gear, no idea on a faux 250kg+ heavy bomber with lots of plastic and twiddly bits).

Sorry (again ) for all the negativity

KIS ( keep it simple )
I think most people with bikes understand the weather and if it WET .your not going to ride as fast on the road or off road ! ... with or without twiddly bits !!

[Turbofurball]

Originally Posted by badou24

KIS ( keep it simple )
I think most people with bikes understand the weather and if it WET .your not going to ride as fast on the road or off road ! ... with or without twiddly bits !!

More a case that the trail might not be there any more the next day, lol

[Snakeboy]

Originally Posted by badou24

I think its time we had a guide to the types of off road ( like in skiing ).... so many posts about on here about riding off road ........
Lets say ...........
flat forest track ( very easy ) grade 1
track with some ruts and mud , grade 2
track with river crossings and bogs and climbs , grade 3
track used my enduro riders ( very hard ) grade 4/5

This will give a better idea to people what is an " off road " track is !

The same applies to the type of bike your on..................
and the Honda crf 300 rally is not an offroad bike ....... but a great Adventure bike that you can take on some tracks

As a norwegian with english as a second language the term «offroad» has indeed been quite confusing to me. Offroad = off the road = no road = riding in terrain or in a grazing field or similar. If there is a road, a track or even a path thats what I consider a road (albeit a very bad one not suitable for a car or a big motorbike)

Btw - the term «adventure bike» has and is still equally confusing to me. Whats the unisone definition of an «adventure bike»?

If the Honda Crf250/300s are not offroad bikes - what are they then? And what about a GSA, a KTM SA1290, an Africa Twin1000/1100 - are the offroad bikes? They certainly are marketet as such although we all know they are pretty useless for any real rough stuff….

[travel4four]

Originally Posted by Erik_G

I agree. Dirt and gravel roads are not off road. They are roads that are not paved .

One example is Sweden. Where

• off road = Drive outside of roads is illegal in general.
• There are endless amount of none paved roads to be used.

So yes it is confusing.
(But only to accept.)

And the definitions depend on who is using them. We were recently in Cyprus where the car rental company tried to tell us that the fact that our car was muddy (we'd been on several wet gravel/dirt roads, but they were all *roads*) somehow invalidated our contract. They were wrong, but it was annoying.

[travel4four]

(And much of Australia is red dirt that can turn into a swampy nightmare in rain, but they're still "roads")