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Generally I ride trail centres as I live in a fairly crap place for mtb, recently I did the ladybower loop with a friend.
He’s got a Garmin so I went on trailforks downloaded the route and sent to him. I then kept trailforks on in my bag occasionally getting it out. We kind of went the wrong way round although others were as well.
I’d like to get a gps but they appear very expensive, would I be better off getting a second hand smart phone and using trailforks? They appear light years behind smartphones.
Do most GPS use there own mapping software? As the only mapping I’m used to is google.
I see trailforks are starting to charge. (Happy to pay) When I use the app you get tiny little sections of trail, Jacobs ladder for example. When you click on it you can bring up a list of routes but you have to click on each individually. Is there a way around this as generally I’ll want to ride a loop even if it’s a bit of road either end.
What I want is a simplicity and accuracy. Is trailforks the best option for this?
Cheers
I use the gps on my (only) phone. I tend to know where the route goes (on a map)so don't need a gpx file. Just need to know where I am sometimes.
I use the OS map app.
I use the OS map app
So obvious! Who’d have OS would have turned their maps into an app.
Back Country Navigator is good, £7.99 I think for the app and you get full UK OS maps.
I use it on my phone but it can be annoying getting it out of my pocket to check where I am.
I'm considering getting a cheap waterproof mobile phone and a bar mount just for navigating.
Thanks will have a look at that as well.
I had an old Garmin edge 25, which was okay but its not a full on navigation, you essentially pre load a gpx file and it gives you a turn by turn navigation but no real map.
It was okay for giving you a general idea of where you were going but not that good for following a proper route on a map.
I have recently upgraded to a Garmin 830, and have to say its great, proper map and directions like a car sat nav just smaller. Also provides a clock, speed, avg speed and pretty much any other stat you can think of which can all be tailored.
My phone is easier to read and has better navigation however if i crash its more expensive to replace and if the battery runs out of juice im scuppered if i need to use it.
If the Garmin runs out i can use the phone as a back up to get me back to the car.
And its a lot more robust than a phone would be if i decide that i'd like to munch on some dirt.
They are expensive but still cheaper than buying a replacement phone and ebay always has loads of deals.
I have an old galaxy S5 with a monster battery and no SIM f, with a quad lock.
I pinch routes off Strava ,upload gpx then create route on OS maps. If I can make it work anyone can.
I use an old Android motorola moto E 2nd gen phone £30, solely as GPS routemap & record. Plot routes on line alltrails.com & transfer to phone. Great Britain Topo Maps is great for route following & finding new tracks. More recently started using the Cubot Kingkong mini - cheap, small & large memory, but battery is small, so now add a small powerbank £2.80! Gives an extra 4 hours.
The biggest perk for me is the battery life of a GPS unit. I get maybe 90 minutes on the phone vs 24 hours on the edge 530 (screen-on time). I guess a non-fancy smartphone will last longer than my phone but there is really no comparison if you take long days out. They are expensive but at least no supscription is needed and you can use the Trailforks overlay for free.
I only use Trailforks for trail centres as I find it fairly useless except where Trails have actually been mapped on it. There are better OS mapping tools for bridleways etc. I would suggest OsmAnd for offline maps or Komoot as an alternative to Trailforks for online maps.
I pinch routes off Strava ,upload gpx then create route
Pretty much. I pinch routes from where-ever (magazines, websites, strava etc) and import them to my Garmin 530. It's easy to follow, shows off-road routes properly* and the battery lasts way more than my rides will ever do.
*lots of mapping/route finding uses google maps as a base which isn't often brilliant when it comes to off road.
I'm still using ViewRanger for mapping (with OS mapping on phone) but I tend to use it like I did paper maps - ride to next junction/point, check map and head off in correct direction.
Where I do find Trailforks good is on trips to USA/Canada where the number of mapped trails and routes seem much higher.
All the Garmin devices I have owned I have picked up second hand and had no issues with them, when I did have issues the garmin forums sorted any issues I did have.
From the recent devices I have owned 920XT watch, 735XT watch and edge 130, they have all had the basic breadcrumb navigation and I have used this successfully to navigate around lots of places. I would either see a ride someone had done on strava and via PC download it, then upload it to Garmin Connect to sync to the device, or via Garmin Connect (now strava too) create a loop that covers the area or segments I want to hit.
The only time I have issues is when I've plotted a loop and two parts cross or overlap each other, sometimes it can be hard to tell from the breadcrumb navigation which one to follow. When plotting or stealing a route I will now check ahead for these and then mark them in Garmin Connect so it beeps and just remember at x beep keep left or right.
The edge 130 I got cost me £80 second hand and has been excellent, if on a budget would recommend.
When looking at devices to buy, do look at the DC Rainmaker website, very in depth reviews which are really helpful.
Thanks all enough to look at. That dc rainmaker has too much time!
Simon, Cubot - 5 - 6 hours running GPS + Strava and GB topomaps together and everything else turned off. The powerbank adds 3 - 4 hours so works okay on the longer rides. Mine was £70 ( used, but seems new!) and runs android 9 so heaps quicker than the old motorolas & saves carrying two phones. But the moto has a good battery....