Every mountain bike ride is different, even riding the same route on different days can differ massively. Heck, lap to lap, a cross-country (XC) World Cup circuit can change beyond recognition. This is part of the beauty of the sport – every ride has a uniqueness to it that you don’t necessarily get with road riding. As great as this is for rider experience it does make quantifying the technicality of a ride somewhat of an impossible task.
With this being said, there is a general grading system that is widely used. Even though it will not detail every element of the potential riding experience, it goes some way to group trails into grades. This grading system covers all of mountain biking from introductory, family-friendly trails to extremely technical and high-consequence downhill trails. Typically there are five grades which does mean that there is quite the spread of riding within each grade, however, by and large, features that you can expect at each grade should be consistent.
The concept will be familiar to anybody who’s spent time skiing, and the grading system has a similar purpose: to help you decide whether a trail is right for you before it’s too late and you’re standing at the top, peering over some terrifying precipice. That’s why we’re detailing trail grades here, too. This is basically a public service announcement.
The more you know… and all.
We’ll also refer back to this piece as we review and discuss mountain bike gear and locations. Mountain biking all over the world is open to interpretation and although collectively it does largely follow the same grading system, each area will have its own nuance. If the grading parameters below don’t exactly match your local riding, take them with a pinch of salt and by all means please share in the comments how mountain biking is graded in your area.
How is mountain biking graded?
Generally, mountain biking follows the same grading scale as winter sports like skiing and snowboarding. Trails are graded according to the technical difficulty and physicality of the features that make up that trail. This method works broadly well and allows riders from different locations to gauge which trails are better suited to their ability when riding somewhere new. As noted above, grade interpretation can certainly vary from location to location. This can mean that a red trail in some places could qualify as a black elsewhere and vice versa. It is always best when riding somewhere new, regardless of your ability, to start off easy and build up to the more technical trails.
Green
At the bottom of the technical difficulty scale, we have green trails. In some locations, these are referred to as family or beginner trails. Green trails are typically open, wide, and have good visibility of oncoming features. A lot of green trails feature a constant trail surface usually of hard-packed gravel that makes them excellent in a variety of weather conditions.
The gradients of green trails are relatively modest making them ideal for riders new to the world of off-road. Trail features like rollers and banked turns known as berms can be found on these trails with an easy option to avoid them as desired.
Ideal bike for a green trail: Short-travel full suspension, hardtail, or an adventure-ready gravel bike.
Blue
Trails at this level are intended for intermediate riders who have some experience riding off-road and can demonstrate a level of mountain biking-specific bike control. The jump from green to blue can be very pronounced but most features of blue trails are avoidable using what is affectionately known as a chicken line (aka, B-line).
Blue trails will introduce singletrack. These trails are about the width of your bike and that can mean that visibility of upcoming trail features can be somewhat restricted. Small tabletop jumps, rollable drops, and introductory rock gardens can all be found on blue trails. Along with an increase in technical difficulty, blue trails are more physically demanding with steeper climbs that might also include a technical element such as tight switchback turns. Unlike green trails, the surface of a blue trail can vary from hard-pack gravel to rocky slabs and more natural-feeling dirt.
Ideal bike for a blue trail: Full suspension XC bike, 130-140 mm trail bike.
Red
At this level, some trail features become unavoidable making red trails the reserve of advanced riders who are confident in their ability on drops, jumps, and technical climbing. Red trails can also begin to feel a lot more natural with exposed roots, narrow sections of trail, and a less defined line choice through technical sections. As we shift from blue to red grade trails, jumps grow in size but remain as table tops (meaning there is no open chasm between takeoff and landing). Drops require more commitment and good skill to successfully navigate.
The climbs on red trails will be more than just a physical challenge with unavoidable technical elements that require advanced bike handling, control, and precision. For the most part, this is where the upper limit of XC trails sit – beyond this, trails are going to be more fun and manageable on a bike with more travel and trail or downhill-focused geometry.
Ideal bike for a red trail: Full suspension XC bike with 120 mm travel, 130-140 mm trail bike.
Black
The biggest difference between red and black trails is that challenging trail features such as jumps and drops now become compulsory with gap jumps making an appearance. Black trails can have a lot of elevation gain relative to their distance.
Black trails are characterised by steep technical climbs and even steeper descents. The surface type can change with very little warning, transitioning from hard-pack gravel to loose rock to mud and roots and everything in between in the blink of an eye.
Advanced skills are required on black-graded trails as even the easier ‘chicken lines’ require commitment. Due to the nature of trails at this grade, the technical difficulty can vary massively depending on the weather conditions. Rocky and rooty sections can be a handful for even the most skilled riders in the wet when unpredictable traction is on offer.
Ideal bike for a black trail: 130mm+ trail bike to 160 mm enduro bike.
Double black
For the most part, double black trails are as demanding as public access trails get. Anything and everything can be thrown your way on a double black trail and in some conditions they may simply not be rideable as the speed necessary to navigate trail features is not achievable.
Double black trails increase the size and difficulty of the rock gardens, drops, jumps, and other technical trail features that require full commitment. Beyond the features, the exposure of double black trails increases the potential risk out on the trail. Not only are features challenging, but the result of making an error is far higher leading to a psychological element of riding trails at this level. Complete confidence in your riding ability is required on a double black trail and for most riders scouting the trail out before riding is advised to prevent any trail features from catching you by surprise.
Ideal bike for a double black trail: 160-180 mm enduro bike, DH bike.
Where do bike parks fit in?
Bike parks follow the same colour-coded grading system. However, compared to public access trails the technical difficulty of each grade is generally increased. As a basic rule of thumb, a bike park trail grade is equivalent to the grade above on an open-access trail. For example, a red trail at a bike park would be more closely aligned to the technical difficulty of a public access black trail.
This is mostly due to the nature of bike parks. Riders have to pay to access the trails and usually have to sign a waiver of some description to accept the risk of riding on the trails. This gives bike parks the ability to step things up as they are not just trails in a random wood that anyone can access. The presence of first aiders, staff that can access the trails with off-road vehicles, as well as risk assessments and restricted access including compulsory protective equipment all facilitate the elevation of difficulty for each grade. With this in mind, it is worth approaching a day at a bike park with caution and building up through the grades to a level you are comfortable with.
Can you ride black trails on an XC bike?
Physically, nothing is stopping you from putting any bike on a black trail however the state you reach the bottom in will vary wildly depending on how suitable the bike is. By their very nature, black trails combine challenging trail features, mixed surfaces, and the potential for higher speeds. As a result, bikes that are best suited for black trails have adapted to be the perfect tool for the job.
A 150-160 mm enduro bike is ideal for black trails not only because of the extra suspension that can soak up big hits and smooth out rougher terrain. The geometry of these bikes is tailored to tackling steep and technical trails too. When compared to an XC bike, enduro bikes have slacker head angles that put the front wheel further out in front of the rider. This keeps the rider’s weight situated inside the bike’s wheelbase even when the trail gets steep, keeping the rider in control. It also has the effect of dulling down the responsiveness of steering inputs. This does mean that riders need to be more involved when it comes to manoeuvring the bike but it has the positive effect of increasing the bike’s composure.
On the flip side, XC bikes are built for racing and being agile is a key component of this. As a result, XC bikes have shorter wheelbases and steeper head angles that give a more direct but equally twitchy feel on the bars.
The standard equipment of an XC bike also means that black trails can be testing for the bike. Most XC bikes will use a lighter-weight tyre with a thinner sidewall to improve rolling resistance. The downside to this is that on trails with exposed rocks, it is possible to damage a tyre far more easily than with a more durable trail or enduro tyre. This is the same for lighter-weight XC wheels – to keep them as feathery as possible they are less durable to impact and will have a harder time shrugging off rock strikes than a comparable enduro wheelset.
All of this isn’t to say that riding an XC bike on a black trail cannot or should not be done. Being under-biked on a trail can be exhilarating and requires more skill and precision than ploughing through on a long-travel monster truck. XC bikes are getting more versatile, too, with slacker angles now the norm and “downcountry” style bikes that sit between XC and Trail more common than ever.
The most notable consideration is evaluating your line choice through technical sections based on the limitations of your equipment. On red trails and above a good rule of thumb is to go up one grade if you are riding a trail on an XC bike. This way the skills required will more closely match the demands of the trail.
Where do XC World Cups fit into this grading system?
XC World Cup circuits vary from location to location. By and large, even the easiest XC circuit would be the equivalent of a black trail. When evaluating them against the criteria of each grade, modern XC World Cup tracks sport handfuls of technical trail features, unavoidable drops, gap jumps and incredibly technical climbs that all solidify XC World Cup tracks as black-graded trails at a minimum.
Some courses like Val di Sole and Crans Montana sit at the upper limit of difficulty. We saw this year that in the wet at Crans Montana, riders were battling for control on the descents, with the course pushing what the best riders on the best XC equipment could do. It does appear that XC course designers and bike brands are in a constant dogfight to make bikes more capable and courses more challenging.
XC World Cups highlight the skill and bike handling of the world’s best. For most, a lap around a World Cup would be an impractical task on an XC bike. This is because the technicality of the descents can easily sit at the upper limit of a black grade. This is more territory suited to long-travel enduro bikes. However, by the very nature of XC racing, the bike has to blend descending capability with low weight and efficiency for the climbs.
How are trail grades useful at Escape Collective?
Circling back to the opening premise of this story, mountain biking covers an expansive range of trail conditions. As such it can be difficult to draw any relatable conclusions from reviews that reference how we found a product in a particular trail setting. This guide to mountain bike grading will serve as our benchmark for each grade, normalising the scale of trail difficulty so that you can easily understand the environment that we are referring to in our reviews.
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