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Apps for Bicycle Directions

jakecoppinger.blog

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Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#21

Post by diiaann »

throw7 wrote: post #11

Citymapper is a limited amount of cities. What do "real" cyclists use? I get the feeling they use a garmin-like gps devices made for cycling? In the past, I've tried to plan a route in google maps (for just driving), but once you import and try to use it, it recalculates your route.

Not sure what you mean by "real" but I use Strava to plan the route. I try to look up real routes that people have done or use their popularity feature. It then syncs automatically to my Garmin bike computer. Wahoo bike computers are popular too.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#22

Post by BattyMilk »

For the most part, city riding is pretty well served by Google maps IMO.

A few years ago, following Google maps cycling directions me and a couple of friends on road bikes were led through muddy forest trails, old rail road tracks and green lanes on a London -> Paris The difficulty with cycling directions is that there's not a 1 size fits all solution, a roadie needs smooth road but would prefer it quiet and scenic, a mountain biker would rather those trails we found and a commuter/hybrid would be fine on those in short bursts but probably prefer the speeds of the roads.

If I'm doing something of an "epic" route these days I'll spend a bit of time trying to find a suitable GPX that I can sync to my watch for directions - usually that'll come from Movescount, OS maps, Garmin or just someone's blog of a route. For most other things, Google maps works fine.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#23

Post by Naac »

It would be nice if in addition to free, it mentioned whether or not the app was FOSS.

When I was searching a couple of years ago, there were no open source bike tracking android apps, and most of the "free" ones were trialware that popped up a subscription screen as soon as you tried to do anything complicated.

Also, I love the use of the tag in this article.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#24

Post by putnambr »

throw7 wrote: post #11

Citymapper is a limited amount of cities. What do "real" cyclists use? I get the feeling they use a garmin-like gps devices made for cycling? In the past, I've tried to plan a route in google maps (for just driving), but once you import and try to use it, it recalculates your route.

I know you probably mean road cyclists, but I haven't seen Trailforks mentioned. Nothing beats it for singletrack route planning.

Komoot is good too, but at least in my area of NA the elevation calculation is off by quite a bit. When I've used it for longer routes, I've ended up putting in at least 1,000 ft more of climbing than it has told me would be on the route. Trailforks doesn't have that problem.

If you have a local IMBA chapter, most of them have accurate trail profiles as well.

For road cycling routes, I use Strava. If you want detailed routes that are popular with local cycling clubs, Trek stores usually have surprisingly good handouts on local routes.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#25

Post by Naac »

BattyMilk wrote: post #22

For the most part, city riding is pretty well served by Google maps IMO. A few years ago, following Google maps cycling directions me and a couple of friends on road bikes were led through muddy forest trails, old rail road tracks and green lanes on a London -> Paris The difficulty with cycling directions is that there's not a 1 size fits all solution, a roadie needs smooth road but would prefer it quiet and scenic,…

But generally what you want from these bikes apps is a recording of your run. So that you can see a speed/elevation graph, maybe overlaid on a power graph.

These apps should also let you export/import gps data, which Google does not do.

For simple directions around town I agree that Google Maps is good enough, but as soon as you're beyond riding just to get from point A to B, it's nice to have something more.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#26

Post by falkd »

762236 wrote: post #17

I plan with Strava using it's popularity heat map (I road 9000 miles in 2019). I then cycle using my Garmin 520 bike computer, which is painful to use for directions, but up to the abuse particularly on single track, and I try to use memory based on previewing with street view and satellite photos while planning. I often have to backtrack, typically uphill. But most of the time I'm repeating rides, at which point I'm…

For those who aren't strong and fearless cyclists, Strava can be helpful, but be careful and double-check those routes. I've seen some pretty dangerous segments that I have been very scared on, and they show up red-hot on Strava. Why? Probably because some die-hards go that way a lot, or go that way in a group. And those are probably the types of people that use Strava more than the casual commuter.

In my city there's a 5 lane bridge, shoulder just wide enough for drains, and nothing but a 3-ft concrete barrier 60 or 70 feet above the river. The speed limit is 45, but people drive like that's a mild suggestion. This is a very hot cycle route on Strava for some reason, but I think it's frightening.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#27

Post by TulliusCicero »

SmellTheGlove wrote: post #16

Since moving to SF, I've _really_ wanted to take the plunge and start biking to work (COVID notwithstanding). I haven't done it yet, though, because I'm not super confident on routes that prefer protected lanes and minimize hills. This post was super helpful. Citymapper wasn't even on my radar, but now I want to go grab a bike rental and give it a shot.

For SF in particular, you could consider an ebike, given the number of hills in the city.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#28

Post by quartz »

throw7 wrote: post #11

Citymapper is a limited amount of cities. What do "real" cyclists use? I get the feeling they use a garmin-like gps devices made for cycling? In the past, I've tried to plan a route in google maps (for just driving), but once you import and try to use it, it recalculates your route.

Most (road) cyclists I know use a combination of:

- strava heatmaps (https://www.strava.com/heatmap)

- ridewithgps routes (https://ridewithgps.com/find)

- club routes posted on club websites (like sf2g routes for getting down the peninsula from SF https://sf2g.com/routes.html)

- google maps streetview to check quality of bike lanes

- city-specific cycling forums (ex: https://reddit.com/r/nycbike where the first decent routes using the new tappan zee / cuomo bridge bike lanes have popped up)

It's still a lot of work to plan a decent 50+ mile ride if it's through an area you're not familiar with. I really wish google maps could do more to show me traffic volume to help select between different routes... I'll take an empty wide road over a bike-lane running next to parked cars any day.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#29

Post by cguess »

johnnybaptist wrote: post #6

I cycle daily in NYC and have used both Citymapper and Google Maps Google Maps' cycling instructions route me onto streets with bicycle lanes. I haven't had any problems with it and I think it's a fine option. Maybe because NYC is the type of location google has excellent data on. Citymapper is also good. The fastest vs quietest distinction doesn't often yield much of a change in route. What I like about citymapper i…

I've used Google Maps in London, Berlin, Washington DC, Chicago, New York, SF, Austin, and a few other places. Berlin and DC were probably the worst, but it still worked. New York (where I live now) it sometimes chooses the "wrong" bike path. For instance, it'll choose a non-protected lane and insist on it even though there's a protected, 2-way bike lane a block over that's much much faster and safer.

Then again, this is a really really hard problem to solve for, and Google probably has it the best no matter where I am, so that's what my default is. I'm excited to see how Apple's will work in iOS 14 though.

Re: Apps for Bicycle Directions

#30

Post by usrusr »

sriacha wrote: post #9
jakecopp wrote: post #2

I wrote this blog post as I'm often asked for a safe cycle route somewhere - hopefully you find this useful :D

Thanks for the post. I'm a big osmand user, but have never tried BRouter. Is it significantly better than the built in routing?

Brouter is great, despite some minor annoyances that are ultimately rooted in the design decision that the OSM graph representation does not contain street names (a lot of bike routing happens in nameless trails). Locusmaps on android has the best routing front-end (it can use brouter or some others) I have seen so far, including a variety of desktop front-ends.
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