We’ve been thinking about how we could make the difficulty levels of our tours more tangible and reasonably comparable.
Scales are often used to rate walks, such as
However, the range is extremely wide; the terms are all relative and everyone has their own standards.
Our levels of difficulty are based on a major Alpine road guide in which Everyone Routes are divided into driving difficulty levels (source: Wikipedia). Various factors such as route, surface, width, edge protection, inclines and declines, absolute and relative height, etc. are used for the overall assessment. The scale, which is basically vehicle-independent, includes five levels of difficulty from SG 1 to SG 5 and the respective intermediate levels (e.g. SG 2-3).
For our adventure trips in Africa, we use the SG1 – SG4 scale to assess the technical riding requirements of our participants.
Easy routes, also suitable for beginners; mostly tarmac roads, though potholes and uneven surfaces may be encountered
Varied terrain, steep ascents and descents, river crossings, sandy sections, including deep sand.
Teilweise Geröll und Verengungen.
Safe driving skills are required.
Studded tyres are usually required!
→ For experienced enduro riders only!
We strongly recommend that you complete an enduro course beforehand!
A route that is challenging even for experienced riders and requires above-average riding skills.
Deep tyre tread is recommended or required.
Mostly single-trail, few places to pull over, poorly maintained road surface, coarse gravel, heavily eroded/worn, possible side slopes, slippery when wet (mud, grass), possible narrow sections, fords that are still passable, no roadside protection, very tight, unpaved hairpin bends, extremely deep, rutted sand, obstacles, rocks, steps
steep inclines and declines
Extensive off-road enduro experience or prior completion of an enduro course required!