All Bikes Routes

You can ride these routes on any standard bike – within reason.

Hybrid, touring, road, gravel, mountain, city, folding (perhaps!). Any bicycle type bike.

I’d exempt very skinny road tyres unless a route is clearly entirely on road — and even then, with the state of some roads, they’re a daring move. I’d opt for 28c or 30c tyres as a minimum. Unless the route has particular bumpiness noted, the heft of a lumbering mountain bike might also be more of a hindrance than help. Know your machine and check over the ride details before you go.

Often my kind of riding might have some bumpy or gravelly sections, meaning a “gravel” type bike can help (either that or a keen sense of adventure and solid spine), or a smoother “road” alternative might be offered. Usually the bumps are for fun, but sometimes it’s the best route available (say, preferable to a nasty road).

For reference, I ride a “gravel” bike with 38c tyres which have a smooth tread in the middle and low nobbles only at the sides. This gets me anywhere except truly mountain bike-only paths with ease; fast rolling on the roads and good traction off-piste. My only other bike is a slightly dusty old mountain bike it replaced.