In this article, we use so-called affiliate links. With every purchase through these links, we receive a commission from the merchant. All relevant referral links are marked with . Learn more.
What Google Maps is for road navigation, apps like Komoot and Outdooractive for all outdoor fans: the standard for route guidance. Unfortunately, however, it is not yet as easy to find your way by bike as it is in the car. Nevertheless, according to our recent online survey of over 500 touring cyclists, 44 per cent already use the app frequently, and 17 per cent use it exclusively. In contrast, 7 per cent reject this type of navigation altogether. The most frequent points of criticism: incorrect route guidance and inadequate assessment of the route or the terrain. One reader wrote:
"The categorisation of the tours is far too rough! You can't do much with 'easy-medium-difficult' statements about the technical demands of riding. I've often been on tours with an enduro bike where a hardtail would have been much more appropriate. I've painstakingly pushed heavy equipment up the mountain to ride down a gravel motorway instead of the fun single trail I was hoping for."
App operators are aware of problems of this kind. However, navigation in the outdoor sports sector is not comparable with the clearly structured motorway and road network. A network of forest paths is more complicated, paths can fall into disrepair or be closed to bikers, GPS reception fluctuates and the performance of the mobile phones used also varies. But these aren't the only reasons why navigation with the apps keeps getting stuck. We asked tour guides in Nauders, Nuremberg and the Eggental valley to compare the routes offered by the two market leaders Komoot and Outdooractive with the trails actually available on their doorstep. With interesting results.
You can read about what to look out for when using routing apps in the article Touring portals from BIKE 6/2021, which you can download as a PDF below.
The article with these topics costs 1.99 euros:
The four market leaders
- Komoot
- Outdooractive
- Alltrails
- Trailforks
