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Poetic
Cycled the whole route at the end of last summer, upstream from Hoek van Holland to the Oberalppass. Then hiked the last couple of kilometers to the source of the Vorderrhine.
Generally it was a great trip. As you say, it is mostly flat so pretty easy going apart from the final climb up the pass and a bit of climbing around a gorge between Ilanz and Reichenau. Also, surprisingly, there's a bit of climbing just west of Arnhem in the Netherlands. Apart from the Swiss alpine bits I'd consider doing it fixed.
Quite a mixture of cycle path conditions, my 25mm Gatorskins were fine for the most part but there were sections, mostly in Germany, that were a bit ropey. Some of the paths were bumpy due to either tree roots growing under the path or not-so-great block paving. The fine gravel sections were OK. One section in Switzerland suddenly changed from perfect smooth tarmac to really rocky gravel where I had to get off and push until I could switch to the Austrian side. Another short section in Switzerland before Dissentis was little more than a goat trail.
Signposting was mostly good. Can't comment on campsites as I used hotels/guesthouses. It was usually pretty easy to find a room every evening but some sections were fully booked such as all along the Bodensee.
If you just start in Basel you are missing some very impressive/picturesque parts such as the Rhinefalls at Schaffhausen, pretty villages like Bad Säckingen, Stein am Rhine and Lindau, and views of the big mountains. If you were to start in Chur instead of Basel you could take these in and miss out any really steep sections. You'd then just have a few minor climbs to get through "Heidiland" at the start. Saying that, the Swiss Franc costs a fortune at the moment and there is plenty to see along the way from Basel to the North Sea. Or start in Lindau and only eat and sleep on the German side.
In a few years time I'll probably do the route again so I can see a few of the places I couldn't stop at the first time around.