Information about Island Hopping by Bicycle

Difficulty Level of our Tours

The Croatian Adriatic coast and the islands are not like the lowland, but mostly hilly, and partly mountainous with steep climbs; therefore, to participate in our tours, a good physical condition is essential. The routes are suitable only for participants who cycle or do other sports regularly.

You should furthermore bear in mind that the temperatures in Croatia could often be much higher than in your home country and may reach 30°C and more, even in June or September.

We have created route profiles for each tour, in order to give you an overview of the difficulty of the routes and stages. The creation of the profiles was carried out with utmost care; anyhow, small differences due to measurement tolerances of heights and distances are possible. The tour descriptions and line profiles in this catalogue are therefore purely informative. The actual distance travelled may depend on various factors – therefore, in consultation with the participants, legs can be reduced or extended, or, in case of bad weather or high temperatures, replaced by longer swimming breaks.

Our bike guides have evaluated the degree of difficulty of each tour from 1 to 5, which is pictured in the route profiles with the corresponding number of bike icons. Not only were the length of the tours, but also the number of ascents and descents, and the type of the trail taken into account. For the evaluation average physical condition was supposed – it could of course happen that some participants are already overwhelmed by an easy tour, while others still feel underchallenged even at a difficulty level of 5. Depending on the physical condition of the participants, the bike guides may suggest routes with lower or higher levels of difficulty. Trips to small island locations – to visit a landmark or a lodge for an additional break – are often not taken into account in the descriptions and leg profiles. Since the roads on the islands mostly run above the villages, additional ascents and descents are possible. It may also occur that some vantage points or sites cannot be reached by bicycle, but are accessible only on foot – in such cases, we may opt for a short walk.

Rental Bicycles

Our bikes are sturdy Trekking Bikes with aluminium frame, Shimano gears, lightweight luggage racks and bottle holders. All bicycles are new or have been used not more than two seasons. They are checked and serviced weekly (after each trip), and completely overhauled during the winter. The bicycles are replaced every second or third year by completely new ones.

The rental bicycles are supposed to be used during the advertised and guided tours only. For insurance reasons it is not possible to use it for tours on your own.

Children’s Bicycles

On our “Active & Cappuccino” cruises from Rijeka (RC), Zadar (ZC) and Trogir (TC), a limited number of children’s bicycles is available as well. Please indicate with your booking if you need children’s bicycles, so that we can plan ahead. For children from approx. 10 years of age, our ladies’ bicycles with a frame size of 45 cm, are suitable as well. On our regular bike & boat cruises, children’s bicycles are available at a very limited number, and can be booked only on request. Two of our bike guides with our trekking bicycles

E-Bikes

In recent years, e-bikes (electric bicycles) have increasingly come into vogue. Of course, we do support this new trend, and therefore we are offering you the opportunity to rent e-bikes on our active cruises (limited number). This will give elderly and not experienced guests the opportunity to participate in more challenging tours, because the e-bikes will ease the trip, especially on uphill tracks.

Bicycle Helmet

For your own safety, we strongly recommend that you wear a bicycle helmet. With booking one of our active cruises – “Island Hopping by Bicycle” or “Active & Cappuccino”, a rental bike is included in the tour price and we will gladly provide you with a helmet as well. Please advise us with booking, should you require a helmet. Of course, you may also bring your own.

Liability/Insurance

All our rental bicycles are insured against accidental damage. The insurance cost is included in the price.

Participation in the cycling tours is at your own risk and responsibility – I.D. Riva Tours is not liable for cycling accidents or for damage to bicycles not provided by I.D. Riva Tours.

We recommend that you take out a travel insurance.

Not only our vessels are serviced and securitychecked every year. We pay highest attention to our fleet of bicycles as well. Our bicycles are not only serviced permanently, but also exchanged approximately every third or fourth year. We have purchased 260 new trekking bicycles in the last three years – not off the peg, but individually assembled for us from the best components, based on the experience of recent years. In the following, we will give you a few technical specifications: ■ Frame: aluminium ■ Frame size ladies: 45, 50 cm ■ Frame size men: 50, 55, 60 cm ■ Brakes: Shimano BR-M315, hydraulic disc brake ■ Derailleur rear axle: Shimano Deore RD-M591 ■ Derailleur front axle: Shimano Alivio FD-T4000 ■ Seat tube: Scott HL SP 238 ■ Saddle: Selle Royal Rio ■ Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour Unplattbar® Our trekking bicycles

CUBE Cross Hybrid Pro 500

Our E-Bikes

In the years 2018 and 2019, we purchased 100 brandnew e-bikes (electric bicycles), type »CUBE Cross Hybrid Pro 500«. The motors “Bosch Performance Line CX” with 250 Watt power and support up to 25 km/h are just right for tours across the Croatian islands. Even steeper gradients can now be mastered without effort, which offers a new experience of cycling. We have also consciously equipped our e-bikes with “Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour Unplattbar®” tires, which guarantee almost puncture-free riding even on difficult terrain. ■ Frame: Aluminium Superlite ■ Frame size: Men 50, 54, 58 cm; Trapez 46, 50, 54 cm ■ Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX, 250 W, 75 Nm ■ Fork: SR Suntour NEX-E25, 63 mm ■ Handlebar: CUBE Rise Trail Bar, 680 mm ■ Derailleur: Shimano Deore RD-M6000, 10-speed ■ Breaks: Shimano BR-M315, Hydraulic Disc Brake ■ Rims: CUBE ZX20, 32H, Disc ■ Saddle: CUBE Active 1.1 ■ Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour Unplattbar®