Old Coach Road Bike Trail — Attraction in Manawatū-Whanganui

In my humble, unfit opinion: This is a really tough bike ride for a beginner.

The route is very up and down and it is a hard, steep ride to get you to an 800m elevation. There aren’t many sections where it levels out (which would make for a fun, easy ride), and hardly any wide spots to enable you to take an stress-free break. Make sure everyone in your group understands how to change gears (and when) or they will really struggle.

Due to the (wonderful) heritage nature of the old coach road itself, the terrain is VERY changeable. You will come across many sections with large 100+ year old cobblestones, which makes for a very bumpy ride that can also be quite slippery. There are steep sections where channels have been created by water over time, and/or other bikers, which can be tricky to navigate safely. There are many gorgeous native bush sections, where the trail widens a little bit but then once again it becomes a narrow gravel trail with tricky, tight s-bends which are hard to manoeuvre as a beginner.

If you aren’t a seasoned MTB rider, please only push yourself to do it one-way. And definitely hire an e-bike.

My friends and I (beginner riders), passed a friendly couple 1km into our ride who said “you’re doing it the hard way!” so my final piece of advice is: if someone says this to you; turn around, get a shuttle to Horopito and ride the trail towards Ohakune. God speed.

Having said all that, it is a...

My top suggestions: Hire bikes from TCB in Ohakune. They're friendly and helpful! Ensure you get a soft tail (front and rear suspension as trail is quite bumpy). You shouldn't need an e-bike unless you are very unfit. TCB do shuttles every hour till 12pm most days. They will even lend rain coats and gloves. $60 for bike and $20 for shuttle from memory. Whole event takes between 1.5 & 3 hours depending on how much scenery you stop to enjoy. My suggestion would be to allow half a day as there are lots of places to explore on the bikes even back in ohakune. When you start, be sure to visit the car graveyard (featured in a few classic kiwi movies). The trail is suited to most people who are confident on a bike. Perhaps not suitable for grannies or kids up to 7yo (generalisation) as it's a good 12km + another 3 or 4km back to TCB. Most of its downhill, but 2 decent up hills. Definitely bring a pack with at least 1L of water and plenty of snacks. Over the cooler months it can suddenly get cold so pack windbreaker & warm gear. There is cellphone coverage in most of the high points so contact can be made in emergencies. TCB are great and will drop in for any repairs. This has been one of my favourite mtb experiences. Highly recommended. Oh, and be sure to get pizza from Lake Pizzeria or Thai food from Ohakune Rice bar. Both venues are horribly expensive but so worth the cost with...

I had never been mountain biking before and so was a little concerned about biking the Old Coach Road. But after talking with the folks at TCB about the trail and what to expect we decided to give it a go. We decided to hire electric bikes (also a first) and what a difference it made. The trail was beautiful and and as described with no unexpected surprises. The electric bikes were fantastic and made the uphill bits so easy for an oldie like me. I recommend both TCB and...