Carrotious

I use oruxmaps on an andoid phone to follow routes for touring...
I also take my android tablet with me for whatever...
I havn't found a website for route planning that works well on the tablet browser.
Mapmyride, bikeroute toaster etc all kind of half work ish...
A bike route planning app for android would be the ticket but i cant seem to find one...
Anyone got any ideas?
thanks

Lightingguy

I use Ride with GPS as my route planner, but do so on a laptop. I "can" do it on my 7" Samsung tablet but find using my finger as a pointer less precise then either a mouse or a laptop pointer. You can zoom in to make the finger points more precise but then you lose the wider view of the map. Samsung I know makes a stylus to improve accuracy, but there's no slot in the tablet to store it, so I don't use one.

So no good answers.

SB

Carrotious

That's the point. Much happier at home on the desktop with 2 screens planning a route. but the tablet is perfect to take on the ride and with a 10 inch screen is big enough for rout planing, its just that the route planing sites don't work well on the tablet brouser. they all behave wierd... unless someone else has some better info

fietsbob

still have to put in a good word for paper maps.

U Geography departments have Map Libraries.

Lightingguy

The other issue you will deal with is since you're touring, will you have WiFi access at where ever you are stopped ?, a dn I am assuming you want to be able to plan the next days route ?.

Only mapping program I know of for Android (or Mac iPad for that matter) that has all the maps on the device and does not need WiFi is CoPilot. I use CoPilot as a car GPS device, it's the best I've ever used but it does not function like MapMyRide, RideWithGPS or the others in terms of point and click follow the roads, create a route.

Carrotious

intenet access is usually reasonably easy to deal with... from cafe wifi to pay as you go sim card with internet access...
on orux you have downloadable offline maps. there is also a route planning function its just quite rudimentary. the fully functioned planners have road following options and elevation info.
what would be fantastic would be a proper rout planner dirctly in orux or as a stand alone app with downloadable maps for ofline use... but its not looking good

Carrotious

and ofcourse there are always paper maps... i think

Carrotious

i guess ill get i touch with some of the developers and see what their plans are...

wahoonc

Let us know what you find, I run a couple of Android devices. I also use paper maps or a Delorme Etrex.

Aaron

JupiterAlex

I see that this is an old thread, but the issue is not yet resolved as far as I've seen. There is still no simple way of doing this worked out. We often want to modify routes at the end of the day, or after a detour was necessary and that just isn't possible without either a laptop or terrible automatic routing. We generate routes at home with RWGPS, and produce various alternates, but the issue remains, especially for long tours. We are now using an old phone with the RWGPS app aside our Garmin 1000, but both require planning to be done elsewhere. I feel confident that the right tablet and a wireless pointing device such as pen or trackball would be sufficient so long as it will run on that device. So, how substantial of a tablet would be necessary?

spinnaker

That doesn't help when you are out on the road and you come across a road that is out unexpectedly or you can't take the traffic any more on your chosen route and looking for alternatives.

gauvins

I am quite pleased with Locus Pro (Android) where offline/online route planning can be done. bRouter is an add-on that computes very decent routes, offline. Routes that are auto-generated can be manually edited.

Locus is a very capable navigation platform. it can also export GPX files that you may be able to transfer to dedicated bike computers / smartwatches.

While there are benefits in pre-planning, Locus Pro + bRouter + the requisite maps should be enough to navigate you with the computing power of your smartphone/tablet. Was working as far back as on Samsung S5 and Nexus 7. Screen size is limiting, but not a major nuisance.

djb

in six years, stuff changes. I find maps.me to work fairlywell, and for me, downloading specific maps and using the software rather basically has worked fine.
but I dont ride using a map app for directions etc, I still figure it out on myown, have made mistakes, but am not keen on using hardware for long periods of time due to battery life issues.

Oso Polar

Oh, and how exactly this thing works?

I've tried it (though not the pro version) and wasn't even able to find an option to navigate a route. AFAIR after about 30 minutes of wondering through horrendous user interface I finally found a way to load a GPX file but still didn't find any way to actually start navigation on the loaded route. I've seen many badly designed apps (I'm a software developer and started working with computers in 90s) but this one is the worst BY FAR of any app I've seen in the recent years. Thousands of different settings, yet no apparent way to simply load route and start navigation. In the app that is supposed to be a navigation app...

Tourist in MSN

Maps.me when i first started using it back in 2013 was called Maps With Me. They keep upgrading the app and it has changed a lot over the years. Several months ago I realized that they now will do bike routing. Just to give it a try, I tried to use it to make a bike route from my home to the local post office. It made a terrible route. But, they for several years have been making it a better app over time, so keep an eye on that one. Someday it will be a good app for planning and routing.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapswithme.maps.pro&hl=en_US

Or, give it a try now. Maybe it just had a bad day when I checked the route to my local post office.

I usually carry a Garmin GPS, but for planning I like to use my 7 inch tablet for the bigger screen.

You should have wifi access when you set it up because when it loads maps, that is a lot of meg of data, if you have a limited data plan it is better to load it on wifi.

gauvins

25 000+ ratings with an average of 4.7/5. Based on a quick scan of Google Play Store , Locus Pro has the highest rating among bike-suitable navigation apps in its class (Maps.me is much more popular, with close to 1M ratings averaging 4.5/5).

I personally found it easier to use than OruxMaps, and more powerful/versatile than most alternatives in the field. Interesting to note that Orux also hits 4.7 average, but with a narrower user base. I've also tried Komoot and maps.me, two highly rated and quite capable apps. I prefer Locus.

Oso Polar

Yeah, Locus has good rating and supposedly has all the necessary features - this is the reason I've tried it. I gave it a whole one star because Play Store unfortunately doesn't allow rating of zero stars.
So, again, how exactly this thing works? I mean how to import a route and navigate it in Locus? I'm not even dreaming about creating a route in this thing... This app feels like a riddle. I have lots of experience with apps designed by programmers for programmers that may be very intimidating for average computer user but at the same time may be powerful tools in the hands of the professionals. Locus seem to be the same kind of app except it is designed by professional hikers for professional hikers (if such thing exists) and is extremely cryptic and confusing if you just want to plan a trip (or import existing route) and navigate.

IMHO Komoot is just great for route creation, both in its web version and as an app. Unfortunately, Komoot still requires Internet for route creation / recalculation even if it has offline maps loaded. Navigation in Komoot is acceptable but Ride with GPS does it better (has way better sound alerts and voice prompts). AFAIK Ride with GPS app can't create routes at all, only web version can. And IMHO Komoot route designer UI is better, Ride with GPS UI is functional but feels seriously outdated.

I've never tried OruxMaps or Maps.me, I guess I'll need to check. I always thought that Maps.me is similar to Google Maps, or, in other words, useless for cycling route planning.

gauvins

willing to assist if you care. if you wish to lear how to go thru, let's start a new thread

1. install on an Android device
2. display the sidebar menu (pic1 below, may or may not look like your setup. Post yours
3. click navigate to (pic 2)
4. specify beginning and end (pic 3)
5. click on te direction icon (right angle arrow in blue dot)

You should be good to go.

Once you get past the "hello world" stage, spend some time looking at the (numerous) settings. And adapt them to your preferences.
Possibly a good idea to download a map of your area.
Eventually, install bRouter such that you'll be able to compute a route offline (I do not mean a map. I mean a computed route).
Eventually design your navigation screen with custom overlay that'll display whatever sensor you've paired.

(sorry if the pics are HUGE. tried to resize but the uploader insists on creating poster-size images

bwgride

I use Locus pro and find it excellent. I don't use it to navigate, but that function is there and works well. Importing routes is easy. I use Gaiagps.com to create routes and then upload GPX files to Google Drive, then open GPX from Drive into Locus.

For navigation, I prefer Copilot - works very well for both auto and bike when needed.

revcp 

Osmand is also excellent.

alias5000

I know of people who plan with Strava's routing feature (because it routes based on their heatmaps!) and download the GPX files in order to route on their favourite routing app (Osmand, Orux, etc.)

rm -rf

The comments here are about two different routing methods:

1. set a starting location and and ending location. Let the software create the route.
This is easy on a tablet or phone, but "your results may vary".

osmand+ will do this quite easily. But I don't use it for this purpose. It's going to just pick the shortest route.
I really like osmand+ for a quick look at my current location when I'm out riding or walking. It launches in a few seconds, and the maps are stored in the phone or tablet. So I just need a GPS signal. Switching map styles from "driving" to "biking" or "walking" changes the map details. "Walking" shows trails and roads. Zooming in gives more local detail.

Heat Maps
example: strava heat map for the Asheville NC area. Click "bike" and click "Labels" on the sidebar.
The reviews say that newer Garmins use Garmin's "heat map", to route based on which roads are popular (from uploaded Garmin Connect recordings). The Strava Route Builder was the first of this type, and it often makes a very good route from just a starting and ending point, sometimes routing way off the obvious, shortest route.

So a heat map based route would likely be at least reasonable without having to edit it too much.

2. design / adjust a route. I use ridewithgps.com or strava route builder. This is difficult without a mouse. I mostly use ridewithgps.com, and sometimes Strava Route Builder for routes in unfamiliar areas. These need an internet connection and a mouse pointer.

I'll review the elevation chart as the route gets created, and often use Street View or Satellite View to check out a road. I'll Undo/Redo, or drag the route to a different road. This would be frustrating on a tablet using my finger. Even with Strava Route Builder, the viewable heat map shows alternate route choices that are just as rideable as the automatic route, so I often edit the route to go near an area I want to visit.

Lively or Not

+1 for Maps.me. You can download large offline maps and create routes without an internet connection. The only feature I wish it offered is a GoogleMaps-like presentation of 2 or 3 routes to choose between.

Also, I think some android tablets will allow you to plug a wireless mouse receiver into the USB port, which could make routing work a bit easier.

Finally, this thread reinforces to me the value of having other route-building skills and resources than an electronic routing tool when on tour, particularly if you want to take smaller side roads. There's only so much you can expect from routing algorithms and limited screen space.

djb

a very good point and one that touches on the importance of having common sense, a sense of direction, and the ability to even read and or carry a good old paper map, or simply writing down the town names coming up in sequence and having a mental image of where you are going, so you know that route 123 passes through Xville, then about 30kms later, passes through Yville....basic directional and map awareness, no matter the format.

Erick L

I use Google Maps to plan at home on a PC and use it on the road with my phone along with paper maps.