Our Grading System

Our Cycle Tour Grading System

This grading system should be used as a guide only and has been especially designed for our Japan tours and does not relate to any other specific or general grading system. 

Our system is based predominantly on distance with allowance made for climbing and climbing percentage on our chosen routes. Any grading system is subjective, though, and dependent on the skills and experience of the individual rider. Weather events such as head winds or tail winds or other unforeseen issues such as rider well-being and bicycle maintenance may impact the grading for any given day.  

The tour-grade is a general grade and is based on approximate averages,

The grading assumes a support vehicle is not used for any ride section. On all of our guided rides, however, you are welcome to use our support vehicle for any of the longer climbs, and if you do this, the grading will vary. See here for more details on our support. 

Ride profiles/data are an important piece of information when determining your suitability for any ride and these are available for all our main rides. Please contact us directly if you wish to discuss your suitability for any of our tours.

The visual symbol we use to present our grading system on our tour overviews/itineraries is the espresso cup, as it has long been synonymous with road cyclists. Our logic is that the harder the tour the more coffee shots you will need to complete it and thus by design our easiest tours are denoted by a single cup.

Where a tour is deemed to suit participants from 2 levels – if it sits somewhere in the middle – we use a half-cup grade. For example, our Honshu Tour is classified as 2 ½ cups, somewhere between a Uno espresso and a Due espressi!

Tour Grade

“Uno espresso” - Level 1

Who am I? I’m relatively fit and am comfortable with steady hills that are less than 750m in length.
Distance: 30-50km (18-30miles)
Altitude gain: 200-500m
Time in the saddle: 1-3 hours
Terrain: Flat to undulating

“Due espressi” - Level 2

Who am I? I ride my bike on a regular basis either for fitness, to commute, or just for fun. I enjoy an active lifestyle, as well as a physical challenge.
Distance: 50 -70km (30-45miles)
Altitude gain: 600-1000m
Time in saddle: 2-4 hours
Terrain: Undulating terrain, with hills up to 2 km in length.

“Tre espressi” - Level 3

Who am I? Fitness is a central part of my life. I ride my bike on a weekly basis and am comfortable with rides of 2 hours or more at a relatively strong tempo. I like a physical challenge and like to get my heart pumping.
Distance: 70-115km (43-71 miles)
Altitude gain: 1000-2000m
Time in saddle: 3-5hours
Terrain: All terrain, with hills averaging 3-4km, but up to 10km in length.

“Quattro espressi” - Level 4

Who am I? I ride my bike an average at least 160km per week and enjoy riding at a fast pace for an extended period of time. I love to push myself to my physical limits.
Distance: 100-160km (60-100miles)
Altitude gain: 1500-4000m
Time in saddle: 4-8hours
Terrain: Whatever is put in front of me