What’s the off road stuff like on the Tour of the Cotswolds route? As it’s 50/50 road/off road (or there abouts) I’m wondering whether to ‘over bike’ the tarmac or ‘under bike’ rough bits - if you get my meaning?

I rode it on a rigid MTB and that was fine. I prefer to ride the MTB on the road than a gravel bike on the rough bits. There's some quite fun off road bits that would be a shame to have to pick your way along.

Some really steep stuff in the Bath area that I was glad to have really low gearing for. First 100 miles is definiteley more of an MTB route I think though I've zero gravel bike experience. Rode it on a rigid with 3" tryes

The website https://www.escapism.bike/routes/tour-of-the-cotswolds has it as 60% road and the RWGPS route has it as 70% road which seems about right IMO.

duplicate post

Thanks. It’s on my list of possibles for later in the year, most likely starting from home in Exeter. From what you say I’d be thinking of using my Fargo with chubby tyres as opposed to a gravel bike.

I’ve done many HONC over the years and there’s some pretty stiff climbing to be done in the northern end too. I’ve not looked at the route but anything near Winchcombe/ the Slaughters/ Cleeve common is likely to be tough going. I’ve done it on rigid, on the crosser and singlespeed it’s testing.

I did on a rigid mtb, starting up by Mickleton, and the bike was fine. There's some tough climbs near Bath, and lots of gravel and road, but nothing too technical. I'd worry less about the bike and more about the legs.....

slarge wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 9:45 pm I'd worry less about the bike and more about the legs.....

Very true, but as I only have the one set of legs there’s no decisions to be made about which ones to take
Is the steep stuff around Bath on the Kemble side or the Wotton side or both.

It was after Bath (going clockwise). It was dark... and hilly

A few pics on my instagram from last year. The wheel clogging mud was somewhere around Badminton
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLFapuMab7 ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Just back from Heaven of the South in the Cotswolds, 95% on mountain bikes, a hell of a lot of climbing and steep, plus due to the combo of recent sun and then rain, it is very overgrown on many paths and trails, and due to this any trail not in sunlight, is very muddy and sloppy, it was great!

Whatever you ride, make sure tyres have some decent grip to them, i rode XC hardtail with XC tyres and kept getting tyres clog up and slipping every where.

Just back from a four day pootle doing this: started at 2pm on Thursday, finished at 3:30pm today. Rode in dusk for about half an hour and actual riding in the dark for about ten minutes after coming out of a pub!

We were on rigid MTBs and even those felt slightly overkill - there is absolutely nothing that's technical, even the section dropping into Castle Combe that has the warning triangle on the route map is easy if a little steep, I was 1/3rd the way down it before I realised it was that section - the hardest part was that I'd still got my sunglasses on so I could only just see where I was going

There are a lot of loops, particularly in the southern bit, that just seem to be there to make up the distance or include a bit of off-road. Most of the best riding is north of the M4, cut across from Castle Combe to Tormarton.

Everything was bone dry, some bits look like they could be hard work if they were wet. We only had a very light shower this afternoon and something similar on Friday night while we were in the tent.

Will do a trip report shortly.