"Please turn round", the display on my GPS device has been pleading for minutes now, and it's beeping really badly.
As if to tell me: enough already! I've had enough of the bumpy trails. My sat nav should actually be guiding me along the most beautiful route out of Munich to Schäftlarn. But our idea of beautiful is obviously very different. While the GPS device would like to glide comfortably along gravel and cycle paths, I prefer to take the more direct route between two points, on the narrowest possible paths and trails. With Active Routing, the manufacturers promise salvation for mountain bikers who are lazy about planning. Simply enter a destination and the software calculates the route with the help of vectorised maps. Just like in the car. No tedious browsing through online portals, no time-consuming planning on the PC software. Sounds tempting, doesn't it? But how well does the route guidance really work in practice, and can the GPS devices really satisfy our hunger for trails?
The route to the tour is child's play. Just a moment ago, I was tingling with anticipation as I explained my riding profile to the smart guide: mountain biking, please! Avoid main roads and cycle paths and as many unsurfaced paths as possible. The device beeps sympathetically, as if it wants to nod at my wishes, and less than two minutes later I can choose from three suggested routes. That's quick, I marvel, decide in favour of suggestion number one, start the recording and set off.
Active routing for mountain bikers is not entirely new. A few years ago, Falk launched a routing-capable device on the market. By entering a rider profile and the desired tour length, the Tiger calculated up to three round tour suggestions. This was salvation for many a biker who had previously seen themselves as prisoners of their own route. Discovering new things without the fear of not being able to find the way back to their own front door - a whole new world suddenly opened up. Falk has since gone bankrupt, but other manufacturers are continuing the concept. Garmin now offers routing via destination input, and Teasi is also offering an inexpensive device that guides bikers to their destination independently. Smartphone owners can also find several applications in the app stores that are capable of active routing. One of the most popular is Komoot, with more than one million downloads.
The basis for automatic route guidance is always the same: a vector map contains the information from which a route can be calculated using the appropriate software. Garmin, Komoot and Teasi use the free Open Street Maps material for this purpose, which has been adapted to the respective requirements. With Garmin and Teasi, the map material is already installed on the memory. Komoot gives you the first region free of charge when you register. To unlock further areas offline and enable navigation, map sections must be purchased. It is best to purchase the worldwide map material including lifelong updates. This is available for 30 euros - a pretty fair offer, in our opinion.
In 150 metres, turn right towards Wolfratshauser Straße, the display of my GPS device signals, and to reinforce the message, the sat nav sends an unmistakable beep afterwards. I continue along the old Isartal railway line and then turn left over to the "suicide bridge". It looks like the sat nav is guiding me directly towards the Isar. So far, so good. I'm almost there and can turn right into the trail. I'm already twitching nervously at the handlebars, but the sat nav sends me straight on. I see: it wants to cross the bridge first and then onto the trails on the east bank of the Isar. That's fine by me. But even on the other side, my sat nav makes no attempt to finally turn off the main path, instead leading me straight on along the cycle path towards Grünwald. A little irritated, I zoom out of the map. As if drawn with a ruler, the route continues towards Schäftlarn - I can already guess what's in store for me. So I take my fate into my own hands and spontaneously turn right at the next best path. It's a relief when the roots finally send little jolts of electricity through my back. But just a few seconds later, the sat nav beeps loudly and snaps me out of my ecstasy. It has recalculated the route in no time at all and after a quick left-right combination, I'm back on the wide gravel track heading south. What's going on? According to the map, my electronic guide should know all the trails in the area. Does he not want to overtax me? Or does he not want to overtax himself? When I roll into Bruckenfischer shortly afterwards, the trail barometer shows little more than a few tiny peaks. Disillusioned, I sip my juice spritzer and start the way back with the sat nav in my rucksack - switched off.
The other test rides over unfamiliar terrain are similar: lots of gravel, the occasional short stretch of cycle path and, at good moments, a small detour on easy trail sections. So far, Active Routing is probably more of a nice tool for getting from A to B in a relaxed manner. Not for bikers looking for a thrill on winding trails. But who knows: perhaps we will soon be warned with a loud beeping noise as we roll along the gravel track and sent back onto the trail with the words "please turn round".
Interview with Peter Weirether, Marketing Garmin: "Every user can contribute to improving the routing function by uploading their tours and labelling them with the corresponding sport.
categorised."
How suitable are current maps for mountain bike routing?
The pre-installed maps based on Open Street are only suitable to a limited extent. Although the OSM maps are very good in many regions, there are also areas where the route coverage is inadequate.
Will this improve in the foreseeable future?
We are working on increasing the trail quota for bikers. However, every user can also help to improve the routing function by uploading their tours to the relevant portals and categorising them correctly. Garmin uses the "Popularity Routing" function to incorporate user data into the route calculation. Particularly popular routes are then favoured in the selection process.
Can I be sure that my tour actually contains particularly beautiful trails?
What is a great trail for one person can be hopelessly overwhelming for another. If I want to make sure that I'm travelling on the right trails on my tour, I advise users to use ready-made tours from the relevant portals. When calculating routes, the devices follow the motto: it's better to underchallenge than overchallenge.
Would selecting the hiking mode for the route calculation increase the trail rate?
It may well be that the hiking mode includes even more trails in the tour. If my sat nav then leads me uphill on a small track on a circular tour, frustration is inevitable. I would therefore advise against this option.
PRO HENRI LESEWITZ
Trails are great, but for me, biking is about more than that. For me, biking is freedom, independence from cars and road networks. As a technology dyslexic, I always dreaded GPS devices. Too complicated. Active Routing is the solution. You are guided from A to B in a natural way, without any specialised knowledge. Admittedly, the first few journeys were a little sobering. The suggested routes are pretty soft. But if you free yourself from the expectation of being served first-class trails non-stop, then it's great fun. Every ride is full of surprises. You definitely arrive at your destination. And you even rediscover your home turf. The prerequisite is a general desire to cycle. Trail enthusiasts with knee protectors and soft full suspensions will not be happy with Active Routing.
CONTRA GITTA BEIMFOHR
In a region where I don't know my way around at all, I don't want to do the "quickest" or "shortest" tour to some hut. If I come to a foreign region and only have two or three days, I want to ride the most beautiful tours. The ones with a particularly beautiful trail and a first-class view. And there shouldn't be just any hut at the summit, but in case of doubt the one with the best Kaiserschmarrn. But these are precisely the parameters that you can't yet enter in Active Routing. If you want to experience the highlights of a region, you should still ask the locals, browse through the tour portals, read BIKE or the BIKE website - there you will find the tour classics of every region. Even on the Germany Trail Mission by Stefan Loibl every local tip was more helpful than the constantly recalculating Active Routing.
THE RIGHT CARD
Vector or raster
Raster maps correspond to conventional paper maps, with the option of displaying them on a GPS device. Although they look good visually, they are "stupid". This means that they do not contain any information and are therefore not suitable for routing. A vector map, on the other hand, can calculate a route with the appropriate software in the device or on the computer, similar to a car sat nav. This is a great advantage for planning on site. However, the map image is more abstract and the nature of the route is not always clearly recognisable.
Open Street Maps
The free map material has been created by volunteers all over the world since 2004. The data is created by recording tracks and the routes are then manually classified accordingly. Most GPS providers use the OSM material as a basis (including Garmin) and adapt it to their own requirements. The coverage of OSM maps varies greatly from region to region and there is still room for improvement, especially in the MTB sector. However, the maps are constantly being improved and updated.
Garmin Topo maps
For maps such as the TOPO TransAlpine+ Pro (149.99 euros) or the TOPO Germany V7 Pro, Garmin draws on various premium sources. In Switzerland, for example, it uses data from the Singletrail Map. The coverage of the trail network here is significantly better than with the OSM maps and has also been checked for accuracy by the manufacturer. The 1:25000 scale maps are Active Routing-capable and are available as a download or on a microSD card for insertion into the device. Definitely a recommendation for bikers.
GARMIN EDGE 1030
The Edge 1030 is a true jack-of-all-trades. Whether training, navigation or networking with your smartphone and social networks - Garmin's top model masters all digital modes. The menu navigation is - typically Garmin - not very intuitive at first. However, with a little patience, you can quickly utilise the full range of functions. The start screen takes you directly to the navigation menu, where you can simply enter a destination or create a route based on the selected rider profile. The Edge calculates three alternatives based on the desired distance. Before setting off, you should always start the recording by pressing the bottom right button. Turn-by-turn directions appear clearly legible and with a distance indication in the top line and are announced in good time with a beep. In the test, the brand new Garmin proved to be a little trail-shy. According to the pre-installed OSM map, it recognises even the smallest trails on our home circuit along the Isar. However, if you spontaneously turn off the main path and onto the trail, the Edge starts beeping loudly and wants to lead you back to the main path as soon as possible. The trail yield also remained rather low on the other rides, sometimes we had to make do with cycle paths or roads. The Garmin's display could be a little brighter, but it remains easy to read even in direct sunlight. The operation is similar to that of a smartphone touchscreen, but is not quite as sensitive.
PLUS Huge range of functions; numerous networking options; very good display; powerful processor; good round-trip function; operation almost like a smartphone
MINUS Less intuitive menu; very expensive; hardly includes any trails in the route calculation
Navigation: Using the "Popularity Routing" function, the Edge 1030 incorporates popular routes in the Garmin Connect community into the route guidance. This means that everyone can contribute to improving the routing. Even if trail fans are likely to be disappointed by the automatic route guidance, the Edge remains a great device: good maps, fast recalculation, huge range of functions.
Networking: Thanks to ANT+, Bluetooth and WIFI, the Garmin can not only be paired with all conceivable training sensors and power meters. Garmin Connect also provides the user with a comprehensive planning and analysis tool. All tours are automatically transferred to the software and can also be synchronised with third-party apps such as Strava.
Price 599 Euro
Info www.garmin.com
Display / Resolution 3.5 inch / 282 x 470 pixels
Weight 123 grammes
Operation Touchscreen / 3 buttons
Supply / runtimeIntegrated Battery / approx. 17 hours
SD card slot microSD
Electronic compass No
Barometric altimeter Yes
Card format Vector, Raster
Connection WLAN, ANT+, Bluetooth
Special features Popularity routing, Strava, smart connectivity, accident notification, rider-to-rider direct messages
Route guidance 3 out of 6 points
Display 5 out of 6 points
Operation 5 out of 6 points
TEASI ONE³ EXTEND
The Teasi looks like the antithesis of the Garmin and is largely limited to navigation. There is no smartphone connection or comprehensive training system. Immediately after switching on, you have access to the most important functions of the Teasi via the start screen. A total of eight sports profiles can be customised to suit personal requirements. The "Destination" button takes you quickly to tour planning. Simply enter the desired destination or select it on the map and the device will calculate three route suggestions. Unfortunately, there is no circular tour function and it can only be created by adding waypoints manually, which is somewhat impractical. To start a tour, the Teasi switches to map mode. Recording must also be started manually here. The top bar displays turn-by-turn directions with the corresponding distance and two customisable data fields. The screen looks a little overloaded and lacks contrast, and the turn-by-turn directions appear quite small in the terrain. On the other hand, the Teasi warns you loudly of approaching junctions. In sunlight, you can hardly see anything on the display. If you switch to the brightest setting, the Teasi drains the battery badly. The touchscreen is also not very sensitive and the computing power is too low, especially on longer tours. If you leave the gravel paths on which you are mainly travelling with the Teasi or miss a junction, the recalculation can take several minutes. During planning, the device even hung up completely several times. Although even the smallest paths and tracks are included in the map on the Teasi, these are only shown to you very rarely or in bits and pieces when selecting a route. Unfortunately, the contour lines are missing from the map used.
PLUS Inexpensive device; simple menu navigation
MINUS Slow processor; display is reflective and can only be read at maximum brightness in sunlight; no real round trip function; somewhat low-contrast map; few trails
Navigation: The easiest way to start a tour with the Teasi is to enter the destination directly via the main menu. Unfortunately, a circular route can only be created by adding further waypoints, which is a cumbersome process. The Teasi also offers a choice of three alternatives (suggested, easy, short). The option of drawing a route on the map as if with a pen is not very practical on the small, poorly responsive display.
Networking: Thanks to Bluetooth, the Teasi can also be paired with external sensors. However, it does not have a smartphone connection, although there is also a navigation app. Tours still have to be transferred to the PC or GPS device using a USB cable. The Tahuna Tool desktop software looks a little outdated. However, GPX tracks that you have planned yourself (e.g. via www.gpsies.com) can also be saved directly to the device's memory.
Price 169,90 Euro
Info www.teasi.eu
Display / Resolution 3.5 inch / 480 x 800
Weight 146 grammes
Operation Touchscreen / 2 buttons
Supply / runtime Integrated rechargeable battery / approx. 10 hours
SD card slot microSD (max. 32 GB)
Electronic compass Yes
Barometric altimeter No
Card format Vector, Raster
Connection Bluetooth
Special features Electronic compass, draw route on map
Route guidance 3 out of 6 points
Display 3 out of 6 points
Operation 4 out of 6 points
KOMOOT APP
The Komoot app offers more than just navigation for your smartphone. It combines tour planning, navigation, a diary and an online community. The app is available to download free of charge for Android and iPhone. The first region is included in the package, additional regions must be purchased. A worldwide map package with lifelong updates costs just 29.99 euros. The app is very clearly organised. On the start page, you receive changing suggestions with route collections on different topics or regions, but you can also go directly to the destination input or to the personal settings. A route is quickly planned and, in the simplest case, takes you from your current location to a destination. Please note: The calculation always requires some Internet traffic, even if the map is available offline on the memory. Unfortunately, the "Calculate outward & return journey" option is not a real round trip function, as the route usually follows the same route without additional intermediate points. To start the tour, the app switches to map mode. Easy-to-read turn-by-turn directions and the most important tour data are displayed in the top bar. The voice prompts are not very useful on the bike and are easy to overhear. Unfortunately, there are no acoustic signals. In the test, the Komoot app calculated the most interesting variant with the highest proportion of trails. The recalculation is also extremely fast, thanks to the computing power of modern mobile phones. Operation via the touchscreen is great, and the readability is also good. Despite the good contrast of the map, a higher zoom level would be desirable. At the end of the tour, you can highlight particularly beautiful sections or add a photo, and the tour ends up in the online diary. A great touring tool with one drawback: the short battery life of smartphones in GPS mode.
PLUS Good value; good interaction between app and online portal; great app and map design; good route quality; comprehensive planning and tour tool
MINUS Low maximum zoom level in the map; no import and export of GPX tracks in the app; no real circuit function
Navigation: Planning a tour with Komoot is very simple: choose a sport, enter your destination and off you go. Round trips are also possible. However, without manually selected intermediate destinations, the outward and return routes are usually almost identical. Exciting: The map shows sport-specific segments of other users, which can simply be added to the planned tour.
Networking: Tours that have been travelled can be easily added with pictures and highlights and can also be made accessible to other users. The online portal offers extensive tour suggestions and a great planning tool. Routes are created quickly and can be changed, just like on Google Maps. A click on the map creates an intermediate point, which can then be moved.
Price from 0 Euro
Info
Display / Resolution Depending on the smartphone
Weight not specified
Operation Touch screen
Supply / runtime Depending on the smartphone
SD card slot Depending on the smartphone
Electronic compass No
Barometric altimeter No
Card format Vector, Raster
Connection WLAN, Bluetooth
Special features Tour diary, tour suggestions for various sports and regions
Route guidance 4 out of 6 points
Display 5 out of 6 points
Operation 6 out of 6 points
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 12/2017 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
Stefan Frey
Editor
