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"Get away from me with this GPS stuff!" "I want to have my peace and quiet in the forest and switch off from the digital madness." Or: "I only ride where I know my way around or where there are signposted routes anyway." Have I forgotten another excuse for not using GPS? That's all rubbish, of course, because what mountain biker wouldn't want to expand their horizons with an exciting route? Especially as he conveniently carries it around with him on his smartphone anyway? Many people associate GPS navigation with this: Buying an expensive device, installing software and maps, spending hours on the computer and then trawling through online portals to find the right tour. Thanks to tour apps, this is no longer necessary. Most people already have the device itself, i.e. a smartphone, and know how to download an app. Now all you have to do is select your favourite tour from a tour portal and the route will open on the appropriate map. You can start navigating straight away!
Okay, one small hurdle remains: which app from which tour portal do I choose? There is now a wide range on offer. There are providers with voice navigation, 3D animation, offline maps and direct community links. Some attach great importance to detailed descriptions of the terrain, while others prefer to summarise this information visually in a clear elevation profile. One app costs a download fee, the other is free but annoying with adverts.
Ultimately, of course, it is a matter of taste as to which display is best suited to touring. However, as is so often the case, the differences only become apparent when tested in practice. We downloaded the apps from the four largest providers and were surprised by the different "guiding styles" in the forest. But before you decide in favour of one of the 70 to 80 MB downloads, here are a few tips worth knowing about app navigation:
How do touring apps for bikers work?
You register on the homepage of the respective tour portal, download the app and become a mobile member of an "exchange platform". This gives you access at any time to all the tours that other bikers around the world have already recommended, but you can also share your own tours. This exchange also quickly teaches you how important it is to describe the tours as accurately as possible. Good apps provide a form to fill out for this purpose. Important: When installing on your mobile phone, don't forget to allow the app to access the location query when using it, otherwise GPS positioning and navigation will not work.
Which app is the right one?
A good app uses a large tour portal with many active members. Many users not only mean many tours, but also more credible tour ratings, rankings and, with some portals, up-to-date trail status reports. This makes it easier to select the best routes. But what good is the best description and the most user-friendly operation if the portal doesn't contain any tours near you or in your favourite areas? Another key criterion is the maps. Most portals use Open Street Map maps, which also show trails. It is important that you can save the maps offline. Because if you want to tour in areas with poor reception or above the 1500 metre altitude mark, you may otherwise find yourself without a network and track.
Big topic: Saving electricity on the MTB tour!
In contrast to the GPS device, the map display on the mobile phone is brilliant. Unfortunately, this advantage also costs a lot of power. After around 3 hours of continuous use, even the most powerful battery is empty. For longer tours, it is therefore worth buying a power bank so that you can recharge on the go. Further tips for saving power: Select tours and download maps in the Wi-Fi area, switch the "Auto screen brightness" on your mobile phone to "Daylight", do not record the tour in parallel and ideally activate "Flight mode". No mobile phone network is required for GPS reception.
You can read this article or the entire issue of BIKE 6/2017 in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
KOMOOT
Visually, Komoot is the most modern MTB tour portal with the most intuitive handling.
Anyone who has only ever travelled by car with a sat nav will feel most at home with Komoot. The menu navigation is self-explanatory and becomes child's play with the user tips displayed. The tour starts at the front door with the "Take me there" function. Regardless of whether you want to be guided to the starting point of the tour by bike, car or train. The highlight function is also helpful: single trails and beautiful viewpoints are specially marked on the map. You can move the routes by simply dragging the track, and if you stray from the path on the way, Komoot calculates a new route back to the tour. Offline maps, voice navigation and routing are part of the basic service. Too bad: Gravel paths are often labelled as single trails. Only one trial region is free, others cost extra.
PLUS
- "Take me there" and routing function
- Conversion for route deviation
- Offline maps
- Application tips displayed
- Voice navigation, highlight function
MINUS
- offroad equated with "single trail"
- Background description as a bar and confusingly complex
- the most expensive app at 3.99 euros per region or 29.99 euros worldwide
CONCLUSION Anyone who has only ever travelled by car with a sat nav will feel most at home with Komoot on mountain bike tours. The menu navigation is child's play and the tools are constantly updated.
Info
OUTDOORACTIVE PREMIUM
Outdooractive is Europe's largest outdoor platform with its own topo maps and all the necessary app features.
Save yourself the trouble of downloading the Free app. This gives you access to the large tour portal and allows you to follow the tracks on the really detailed, in-house map, but the big aha experience only comes with the Premium version the Allgäu provider: Voice navigation, offline maps, routing function, "toolbox" with speedometer, inclinometer, emergency call module, direction arrows, weather, summit finder and, thanks to the co-operation with the Alpine Association, a list of mountain huts including opening times. We also find the precise altitude profiles with colour-coded ground information very impressive. The tours come from trail-savvy users, editors and tourist offices. One small drawback: although the offline map can be zoomed in on the go, unfortunately it cannot be moved manually. Instead, the speedometer tells you how far you still have to go.
PLUS
- own, very detailed maps
- Voice navigator, arrow symbols, emergency call
- Opening hours of huts
- Elevation profiles with ground information
- Toolbox with summit finder and speedometer
MINUS
- Free version does not align itself with the direction of travel
- Premium version: The offline map can be zoomed, but not moved.
CONCLUSION In principle, Outdooractive can do everything that Komoot can. But you can tell from the many useful details that the makers are passionate about the sport.
Price for the Premim version: 9.99 euros.
Info www.outdooractive.com
GPS-TOUR.INFO
GPS-Tour.info is a free app with a huge selection of tours and a very active community.
No other tour platform lives so strongly from the community. As soon as you register, you receive an email telling you that you should not only ride tours, but also post some. That's not too much to ask, as the app is available as a free download. This is certainly also the reason for the large number of members who have been feeding the tour portal for several years. In contrast to Komoot, people here know what a real single trail is. Good tours with a high proportion of trails seem to be a point of honour on this portal. The creators of the site have done this really cleverly: every tour is ranked. It first scores points with precise descriptions in text and pictures and later with ratings from the community. Minus point: The offline map is not orientated in the direction of travel.
CONCLUSION Good trail tours are a matter of honour on this platform. There are no frills such as voice navigation. For all those who prefer it quiet in the forest.
PLUS
- Large selection of tours, even in rural regions
- Simple menu navigation
- Offline maps
- Recorded track in a different colour
MINUS
- No acoustic signal when branching off
- Offline map is not aligned with the direction of travel
- unfashionable look
Info www.gps-tour.info
GPSIES
GPSies was one of the first tour portals on the web. The app is relatively new and comes without any bells and whistles.
The app opens with advertising banners, but this takes about as long as a GPS device searching for satellites. Behind it is one of the largest German tour portals - free to use. The menu navigation is simple: select the tour, find your own starting point and follow the silent track. Unfortunately, the map did not centre itself during the test ride, so you had to trace it with your finger. If you use this portal and enjoy riding single trails, you should be reasonably skilled at reading maps. Many of the community tours are described without text or pictures and unfortunately you can't make out much from the wild zigzagging of the elevation profile lines.
Price However, if you invest 15 euros, you get Open Street Map maps as a basis and an ad-free interface. With a one-off payment of 50 euros, you can even use it forever.
CONCLUSION The GPSies app is a little outdated and fiddly for beginners, but the selection of tours is huge. Fans of the first hour will remain loyal to this lovingly managed portal.
PLUS
- huge selection of tours
- Converter for GPS formats
- Free download (but advertising banner)
- Heart rate monitor
MINUS
- Relatively old-fashioned look and menu navigation
- Map does not centre itself automatically on tour
- No acoustic signals at the junction
Info www.gpsies.com
You can read this article or the entire issue of BIKE 6/2017 in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
