The event is open to anyone riding a suitably maintained road legal bicycle, with working brakes (ie. no track bikes please), powered by a chain.
Many people will use road bikes to ride sportives but, certainly for the shorter events, a hybrid or mountain bike would be okay.
Tandems are accepted but the entry fee applies to each rider and not each bike.
Participants are responsible for their own bike and equipment. The bike must be fully roadworthy and propelled solely through a chain set, by the legs (or Hand Cycle – see below) without any other assistance.
Typically sportive riders will use a road bike when participating in an event, however some participants may prefer to ride a hybrid, mountain bike, cyclo-cross bike or tandem etc, which are all fine within a personal challenge event.
The use of the below are not permitted in British Cycling registered non-competitive events:
-Triathlon/time trial bars or similar bar extensions
-Disc wheels ortri-spokes
-Penny farthings
Electric bikes (e-bikes) are permitted provided that they comply with The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 SI 1983/1168
Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs)
Any electric bike that meets the following requirements:
-The bike must have pedals that can be used to propel it.
-The electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it is travelling more than 25kph / 15.5mph
-The motor should not have a maximum power output of more than 250 watts.
It must also display one item from each of the following:
-The power output or manufacturer of the motor
-The battery’s voltage or maximum speed of the bike.
Any form of e-bike that does not comply with the above (e.g, ones with a “twist & go ”throttle) are not permitted. In addition riders using e-bikes are ineligible from any timed segments (e.g. timed hill climbs) that the event may include
Hand Cycles
Hand cycling is for riders who normally require a wheelchair for general mobility and are not able to use a conventional bicycle because of a disability. It is advised that hand cyclists ensure they are visible on the roads, e.g. the use of a vertical, visible flag placed at the back of the hand cycle.