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New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

mapzen.com

51–60 of 112 posts

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#51

So I decided to see how to get to that nice Pho place across town .. 600 Washington Ave Philadelphia, PA 19147 or the one next door at 610 Washington Ave Philadelphia, PA 19147 .. in both cases it truncates off the street number and drops me at a wrong location. Does that mean OpenStreetMap needs some assistance in that area? Even stranger if I put one of those addresses in both source and destination it does a stran…

Yeah, address coverage and POI coverage are pretty spotty. The address would show on osm.org if it were in the data:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/39.93668/-75.16656

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#52
post #22
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow that's a big time difference. Why? Is it due to the extra speed the bike gives you or because you're not avoiding inclines...?

For me it's a combination of consistent speed and being able to not care about inclines at all. The safest bike route to work for me is ~2 miles longer than the optimal route and includes a steep incline. This is a pain on a regular bike, but no big deal on my ebike.

Also with an ebike you are almost never going slow. Accelerating to cruising speed usually takes a couple of pedal cranks, not a full city block.

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#53

What a great idea! I'm thinking how great this type of bike-optimized map on a dedicated bike gps unit would be.

It's a rabbit hole, but there is pretty good support for loading OpenStreetMap data onto Garmin devices (other device makers did a better job obscuring their formats):

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin

I guess the routing enabled bike maps will take advantage of whatever data is present.

BBBike supports custom areas:

http://extract.bbbike.org/extract.html

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The routing engine in general is available as an option at openstreetmap.org: http://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=mapzen_bicycl... I checked the request, the JS powering the OSM feature isn't sending the parameters so they are probably the 0.25 defaults there.

Hi! I'm with Mapzen. Yes, the default for `bicycle` are now 0.25. If you're familiar with Leaflet, it's also pretty easy to draw routes in mapzen.js and pass different parameters to the router -- check the bottom of that post.

I would probably try to make a bookmarklet that registered a couple more engines:

https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/blob/...

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#55
post #3

If use_roads is set to zero, will this optimize for roads that include sidewalks?

I'm guessing it will optimize for dedicated bike paths since you shouldn't be riding your bike on the sidewalk.

The legality of riding your bike on the sidewalk varies by state, county and town. In a couple of places in Portland there are signs specifically directing cyclists to use the sidewalk because of streetcar tracks.

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#56

Riding an ebike has dramatically changed the routes I take when commuting because I now prioritize safety and enjoyment over pure efficiency or avoiding inclines. My commute is 25 minutes on an ebike vs 70 on a regular bike, or 30 in a car in traffic.

Can I ask what ebike you use?

Buying an eBike is a lot about choosing the motor you want then hunting down a bike that uses the motor. I would strongly suggest that you buy from your local bike shop and buy the brand that the bike shop normally stocks.

My pick was the Brose mid-drive motor available in Tour 50nm/City 75nm/MTB 90nm models. I then bought an ex-demo one off model from a localish bike shop. https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes/11lf-shimano-deo...

Problem with battery meant it took 11 weeks to get it back on the road as the shop did not have a relationship with the bike manufacturer.

The bike however is phenomenal. I weigh 130kg and it takes me up ANY hill in Bath. There's a couple of 1 in 3s that I can cycle up one handed.

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#57
post #3

If use_roads is set to zero, will this optimize for roads that include sidewalks?

Likely not as many (most?) sidewalks aren't officially open to bikes (Regardless of enforcement on the one hand and regardless of some people preferring to use them on the other).

Within the downtown area of Washington, DC, bikes are not allowed on the sidewalk. (This is roughly the area bounded by Massachusetts or Florida Ave. on the north, Georgetown on the west and the Capitol on the east.) Couriers, tourists, and a lot of others disregard the regulation.

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#58

Riding an ebike has dramatically changed the routes I take when commuting because I now prioritize safety and enjoyment over pure efficiency or avoiding inclines. My commute is 25 minutes on an ebike vs 70 on a regular bike, or 30 in a car in traffic.

Also something to consider is that I can happily cycle 2-3 hours on a flatish route on a normal bike, but will find hilly routes something I do not do.

On my eBike I'll happily explore hills without thinking about it. Given that my eBike is pedal-assist, you still have to work hard to get a top speed going up a hill but I no longer feel hills are a problem.

Re: New and improved bike routing, with low stress options

#59
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask what ebike you use?

Buying an eBike is a lot about choosing the motor you want then hunting down a bike that uses the motor. I would strongly suggest that you buy from your local bike shop and buy the brand that the bike shop normally stocks. My pick was the Brose mid-drive motor available in Tour 50nm/City 75nm/MTB 90nm models. I then bought an ex-demo one off model from a localish bike shop. https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes…

What makes it worth 3100 EUR?? That's seems a lot of money even for an electric bike. (I'm guessing your ex-demo was a bit cheaper)
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