Best bicycle navigation software?

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WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,636
907
You're not getting it. You give up all that as soon as you buy the phone, not when you open up Google navigation. The alternative is not to have mobile communications.
That is exactly my point. You have to "consent" to handing over huge amounts of personal data to a foreign company (on hardware more often than not made in China) or else you can't lead a normal life these days.
 

snafu

Pedelecer
Dec 15, 2020
196
240
67
Hall End, North |Warks
Yes the reviews of OutdoorActive do make for depressing reading, I've not had any of the issues mentioned about losing synced Vr routes or not recording tracks correctly etc, all of mine synced perfectly and all features such as 3D fly through work.

After years of Vr use I did find the interface "challenging" initially, and planning on a phone is an exercise in frustration but the desktop version is good. I'm still undecided if I'll nail my colours to the Komoot or OutdoorActive mast. I do miss Vr though, it seemed a much slicker product, OutdoorActive seems to be trying to be everything to everyone and falling a bit short on all attempts. Hopefully they will take on board the negative reviews. They certainly seem to respond well enough. As an existing Vr customer I would suggest take full advantage of the free "Pro" version while you can and give it a bending.

1 big issue is it's a very battery hungry app compared with Vr, Komoot doesn't seem to be.

TTFN
John.
 

Emanresu

Pedelecer
Dec 28, 2019
41
17
RidewithGPS

Pro's:

Differing maps OSM/Google/Apple etc
Switches smoothly between desktop planning to the mobile
Instant upload when the journey is over so you can look at your stats
Works on iPhone
"Heatmap" function means you can go where others have gone before
Can re-route on your phone if you want to change you plans.

Cons:

Cost
Power hungry (but I take a battery backup with me)
Not always clear why it choses to re-route you - but it tends to be correct when you get to the re-route point.
Some country coverage better than others.
No dynamic rerouting but see above.
 

Spitz

Pedelecer
Jan 23, 2020
26
10
Another vote here for Komoot. Once you have bought the map for your local area (or area of interest, or, as I have, the global map) you can create a map in advance and ‘save it for
offline use’. You don’t then need a data connection for the device used actually when riding you pre-mapped route. I use a spare phone for this purpose secured on my ebike handlebar using a quad lock.
 
D

Deleted member 33385

Guest
Thank you for your recommendations everyone, I may be trialling many of them.

Google Maps
Google Maps has an incognito mode if you can't live without, but would like to mimimise the data sharing:
There are other data controls too:
Remember the time the Google's Mapping cars collected all of the wifi network information of the entire UK? "It was a mistake", Google said, and apologised. Which makes everything ok. Google, Facebook and their entire colossal data slurping mob keep making "Mistakes" and apologising. Controls like that mean nothing. Both Google and Apple have been caught with their pants down, by a researcher recently:


The GSM standard alone, is leaky enough - never mind what OS and App developers get up to. I have a mind to delete Google's Android, and replace it with LineageOS:




Google Maps is of course excellent on a PC or laptop, but on a mobile - not being able to use the mouse to drag routes to adjust, is limiting. I could of course use my miniscule laptop (it has a sim card slot, 8" screen, digital compass) on the road - it has a mouse-joystick in the keyboard, bluetooth phased array GPS (plus A-GPS via cellular):


... but then I'd have to fashion a waterproofed mount, and replace it's miniscule mechanical hard drive with a more robust solid state disk.

Or I could use my even older Dell Axim:




... with TomTom navigation, phased array GPS receiver (slow to get position, because it's GPS only - no A-GPS) and (out of date) maps of the entire world - if the battery hasn't died. Let's hope that one of the many alternatives listed above works well for me.

I like the fact that Cyclestreets is browser based - less data slurpage, but I don't like that it keeps suggesting long dark canal tunnels. And you can't adjust routes.

While trying Osmand+, I've discovered that I can easily save favourite places, without sharing my routes with all and sundry (my enemies are many...) - in that respect it's very similar to the old version of CoPilot, which I very much liked. Open Source and offline maps too - handy for data dead spots. It's great that it shows green areas on the map, as well as roads, so I can segway for oxygen... If I could get it to avoid specific roundabouts, it'd be even better - I don't like journeys which involve going around large busy roundabouts, unless it's the very first exit that I need. I admit, it's a niche requirement, but it's my requirement.

I've also got Komoot loaded, but it doesn't have the "Avoid Road" function (which can be used to avoid a horrible great big bone crunching roundabout, that I might need the 2nd, third or 4th exit of) that Osmand+ does, plus where the hell is it sharing my journey anyway? Can I save a journey without sharing it, on it's own little social network? I just want a good cyling navigation app, I have no interest in any sort of social networking. I'm not even on Faecesbook or Linkedin-to-Microsoft. As far as the antisocial networks are concerned, I'm like Kendo Nagasaki:







..plus Komoot's "Regions" are too small and stingy.
 
Last edited:

awol

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 4, 2013
1,216
374
Can I save a journey without sharing it, on it's own little social network?
Yes, in your account settings you can set whether you want your routes only private and visible to you, the people who follow you , or public to everyone.
 

greyfox69

Pedelecer
Jul 28, 2015
144
151
65
ST8 North Staffs
I Plan all my rides, including touring the Alps/ South of France in recent years using Bikemap, ridewithgps or komoot loaded into hammerhead karoo1 on the bike, tried and tested faultless system in my humble opinion(A couple of Years ago I actually threw my garmin over a hedge in the south of France in pure frustration ...a long story):rolleyes:
Have a play around with all of them to find the one you prefer, you need to be confident it will get you back quickly and safely
 

Old Fart At Play

Pedelecer
Jun 11, 2020
106
46
You don’t then need a data connection for the device used actually when riding you pre-mapped route
Yes you can follow a pre-loaded route without data, but you can't modify your route or explore etc without data. Clearly not a problem for many people but I didn't like that.
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
2,652
Winchester
Yes the reviews of OutdoorActive do make for depressing reading, I've not had any of the issues mentioned about losing synced Vr routes or not recording tracks correctly etc, all of mine synced perfectly and all features such as 3D fly through work.

1 big issue is it's a very battery hungry app compared with Vr, Komoot doesn't seem to be.
Now I've tried OutdoorActive is doesn't seem as bad as I had feared. In particular, it's battery usage did not seem excessive (offline mode, screen off almost all the time, which I how I expect to use such an app when using it more seriously). It does appear to use GPS heights still which are always very inaccurate and lead to very overinflated height gained/lost figures. (Still that's a cheaper way of cheating height gained than buying an ebike is!)

For my usage (mainly walking not cycling) I'd use Orux as a free (or almost free) app if I didn't want OS maps, which Komoot doesn't offer. Not to say it's a bad app, but Komoot looks irrelevant to my requirements.
 

Laser Man

Pedelecer
Jul 1, 2018
196
122
Michelmersh SO51
Another thumbs up for Osmand.
Cycle routes highlighted (including off road such as old railway lines and byeways).
Maps are in many ways clearer than OS, yet show loads of info.
Navigation really does keep you to the quiet back roads.
Best of all it is free!
 
D

Deleted member 33385

Guest
In my case, it's custom-developed software. The world of custom software development is a competitive one. To be successful in this market, you need a dedicated development team that can deliver a high-quality custom application.

It's cheap enough on places like freelancer, but time consuming if you want it done right:

 
D

Deleted member 33385

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lenny

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 3, 2023
748
272
But the "proof of the pudding" will be when I try them out in areas I don't know well, it will all be either wonderful or my rotting corpse will be found several weeks later in some remote part of the Galloway Forest park. ;)
 

Saracen

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 24, 2023
328
18
Komoot was suggested to me and I like it