What's the best Map App

[JohnMalc]

Hello,

We're just about to make our first e-bike purchase(s) and are looking for either a phone (iPhone) app or advice whether something like a Garmin would be better for our purposes.

Background is that we have recently moved from Derbyshire to Worcestershire. Previously we used Marin Redwood hybrid bikes and cycled a lot on disused railway tracks (like the Monsal Trail), other tracks (around the Derbyshire reservoirs for example) and alongside rivers (such as the River Trent near Nottingham).

We are only just getting to know our new area and, with ebikes, want to go a bit further afield but just don't know much about the area although we are near the Cotswolds which is somewhere we want to explore .

We are looking therefore for a reliable app or piece of hardware that will let us plan a route beforehand on a tablet or laptop (again a Mac) and that will give us turn by turn instructions. We intend to do similar types of cycling (i.e. not hard-core off-road but some trails and some less busy roads.

We did try one called Footpath but found it not brilliant and it didn't seem to recognise anything that wasn't a made-up road or tarmac path (probably the name of 'Footpath' should have warned us!).

Anyway, we would be interested in any recommendations. Obviously we could do it the old-fashioned way with paper/plastic maps but it would be nice as we explore to try out some new tech which could act as a virtual guide.

Thanks in advance for any help,

John & Anne

 

[Ocsid]

Part of your quest can be achieved with the App Maps ME, there is an Apple version. Big pluses are it is free, and map sections can be installed on the phone/tablet.
It can create a "cycle" specific route as one option, but you can't get involved in that as in planning a loop [ or I have not tumbled into that].
As said you can pre use, download the map "tile" you need so no phone signal is needed during navigation. It obviously uses the inbuilt GPS of the device, so is always aware of where you are.
It is free and worth a try and can be removed if not of use.
Maps are available for an extensive part of the World, my use has though been limited to the UK & France. The depth of detail is very significant, including foot paths etc.

 

[Tarka]

BikeHike is the one I use. A bit fiddly to get used to but great once mastered. Gives heights as well as distances.

Click Bike Hike linky

 

[awol]

I like viewranger which is free. Plot your route the evening before online and sync it to your phone, or download the free map area to your phone and record your track or create a route as you go.

 

[Gringo]

Hi John & Anne
I’ve been using https://www.komoot.com/ on and off for many years now.
Although i dose navigation, I’ve only been using it to plan rides on my iPad and record rides on my iPhone.
To record a ride, I just open the app, hit record a tour, turn the screen off and stuff the phone in my pocket. used like this it consumes very little of the phones battery (15/20% or less for 3 to 4 hrs of use)
I’m not keen on putting my phone on my handlebars and it’s no big deal to get my phone out to see if I’m still on track
Give it a go, it’s a free app so you’ve nothing to loose

 

[Emily Joy]

I am using Mio Cyclo 505 which I got on ebay for under £100. Sometimes the route it suggests a little bit crazy (i.e. a 3+ miles loop in order to avoid cycling on a major town road for 600 yards) but other than that it's perfect. I just check the route it suggests before setting off. I wouldn't use an expensive phone for navigation because
(1) when the sun is shining you need really really bright screen to see anything and this drains the battery
(2) it might be easily damaged if dropped or in an accident and you won't be able to make an emergency phone call

 

[TobyAnscombe]

You'd be amazed what you can achieve with Strava...

 

[Shropshire Fred]

Komoot is great for this. I hold phone on bars with
TruActive - PREMIUM EDITION! - Universal Bike Phone Holder Sport Gadget Mount - Bicycle, Motorbike, Mountain Bike, Road Bike - 360° Rotate - iPhone. Samsung, Huawei, Google, etc. - 6 COLOURS INCLUDED!

 

[Darren Hayward]

I'm a MAPS.ME fan too. I plan the route online with my PC using the cycle.travel website and put it on my phone then follow the route. If you already have a smartphone MAPS.ME is free and you only need a phone mount to have a sat nav on your handle bars.
If you click on the start and finish of a route on the cycle.travel map it works out a route that avoids busy roads and steep hills. I've gone up some lovely back roads that I never knew existed that way.

Darren

 

[BazP]

Hello,

We're just about to make our first e-bike purchase(s) and are looking for either a phone (iPhone) app or advice whether something like a Garmin would be better for our purposes.

Background is that we have recently moved from Derbyshire to Worcestershire. Previously we used Marin Redwood hybrid bikes and cycled a lot on disused railway tracks (like the Monsal Trail), other tracks (around the Derbyshire reservoirs for example) and alongside rivers (such as the River Trent near Nottingham).

We are only just getting to know our new area and, with ebikes, want to go a bit further afield but just don't know much about the area although we are near the Cotswolds which is somewhere we want to explore .

We are looking therefore for a reliable app or piece of hardware that will let us plan a route beforehand on a tablet or laptop (again a Mac) and that will give us turn by turn instructions. We intend to do similar types of cycling (i.e. not hard-core off-road but some trails and some less busy roads.

We did try one called Footpath but found it not brilliant and it didn't seem to recognise anything that wasn't a made-up road or tarmac path (probably the name of 'Footpath' should have warned us!).

Anyway, we would be interested in any recommendations. Obviously we could do it the old-fashioned way with paper/plastic maps but it would be nice as we explore to try out some new tech which could act as a virtual guide.

Thanks in advance for any help,

John & Anne

If you want to plan routes off road then you will need maps going up in scale to show bridleways or footpaths (slightly illegal). The best maps for this in the U.K. are the OS 25,000 series.
I have used MemoryMap for about 10 years. The app is free but the maps are paid for. The whole U.K. at 25k scale is about £130, but individual areas are available. Planning a route is as simple as drawing a line on the map which means you can follow winding paths exactly.
Viewranger is good, I use it when abroad but the maps are not as good and planning a route is not as easy.
If you want to see other people’s routes in your area have a look at Wikiloc. It’s a bit like Strava but you can search for routes for almost any sport e.g walking, cycling, running, anywhere in the world and download a gpx file for the route To put on your phone.
I carry the phone on my handlebars and can connect it to a power pack for long days.

 

[sjpt]

You can buy OS maps for Viewranger as well as for MemoryMap. Sadly if you buy paper OS maps with download the download only works with the OS app, which wasn't very good last time I tried it. I used Anquet in the past, Viewranger is now my preferred.

maps.bing.com is good for looking at OS maps on a PC. Map Switcher Chrome plugin is useful for looking at the same place on different maps.

 

[Gringo]

“ (slightly illegal) “
no such thing as slightly illegal, a bit like being slightly pregnant

riding on footpaths is illegal and I don’t recommend it, not because it’s illegal but mostly because on a country footpath you’re likely to come across styles and the like and there a bugger to lift a heavy ebike over

 

[RoadieRoger]

I have just started using the ZEOPOXA Cycling App . It is free and I find it excellent . My Brother has also started to use it, as his other stopped working on non metalled roads .

 

[BazP]

“ (slightly illegal) “
no such thing as slightly illegal, a bit like being slightly pregnant

riding on footpaths is illegal and I don’t recommend it, not because it’s illegal but mostly because on a country footpath you’re likely to come across styles and the like and there a bugger to lift a heavy ebike over

Around my area we tend to call pavements footpaths and I don’t believe it it illegal to ride on one, only if you pedal furiously.

 

[Gringo]

Around my area we tend to call pavements footpaths and I don’t believe it it illegal to ride on one, only if you pedal furiously.

Bicycles are considered vehicles under British law and is illegal to ride a bike on a pavement which has not been designated as a cycle way. The maximum penalty is £500, but it is often dealt with by a £50 fixed penalty notice. However, the law is not always enforced by police.

 

[xena]

Around my area we tend to call pavements footpaths and I don’t believe it it illegal to ride on one, only if you pedal furiously.

Footpaths are a type of Registered Public Right of Way. Referring to roadside pavements as footpaths causes no end of confusion and misdirected enquiries and advice.

 

[xena]

For anyone who's after OS Maps, try Back Country Navigator, it pulls the free Bing maps through at 25k and 50k. It's also good for importing GPX.

 

[BazP]

Footpaths are a type of Registered Public Right of Way. Referring to roadside pavements as footpaths causes no end of confusion and misdirected enquiries and advice.

When I was younger we used to call them causeways or causey for short.

 

[sjpt]

One trouble I find with OS maps (and also the county definitive maps) is that they leave it very uncertain whether some tracks are rights of way; especially those that are (almost) very minor roads. Mostly they aren't, but some clearly (if you are there) are.

 

[BazP]

Bicycles are considered vehicles under British law and is illegal to ride a bike on a pavement which has not been designated as a cycle way. The maximum penalty is £500, but it is often dealt with by a £50 fixed penalty notice. However, the law is not always enforced by police.

If I remember correctly, the police were told directly to used discretion and not enforce this.