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Note: I have read some of the previous threads and didn’t quite find the answers.
Before last weekend I’d never downloaded a GPX file and used it on my phone/quadlock to navigate. What a revelation. No memorizing turns or fishing out a map at each junction. Brilliant.
I used Outdoor Active’s free one month trial to allow me to download the map, avoiding any not-spot issues and assuming that would make the battery last a bit longer. I found Outdoor Active’s website on my laptop to be pretty intuitive in changing the start/finish point and altering the route.
What I think I need now is the following:
1. An app/website system that allows me to download the gpx and get the route and background map on my phone
2. Something equally easy to use as Outdoor Active seemed to be
I'd be happy to pay the annual fee for OA, but are there alternatives to Outdoor Active I should consider and why?
As ever thanks in advance. And if you think I’ve missed the answer on a previous thread, please feel free to direct me to it.
Komoot or RideWithGPS apps will probably suffice though they do not include OS mapping (which is more of a problem when mountain biking than road riding...)
I think the os map app does what you want. I assume there is a limit to how big an area you can cache but I don’t no what it is
Back country navigator does unlimited caching of os maps
However my dedicated head unit uses an open source map which works just fine following a gpx file. I might occasionally pull out my phone for os mapping if I’m really baffled
You might want to look into “talky toaster” to get open source mapping downloaded cheaply onto your phone
OsmAnd is a great app to add your GPX to which you can create in PlotaRoute or similar.
Unless I'm mistaken, the free version of Outdooractive does everything you want.
I use Maverick GPS navigation on my android phone.
You can choose OS explorer maps as a map layer and it will cache the areas you scroll over to your phone. The OSM cycle maps and Microsoft hybrid (satellite) are also useful.
I think the free version allows you to drop 10 waypoints, I have the 'pro' version which allows you to put as many as you want for POI.
I've used it for years for both work and pleasure and it's excellent.
Top tip, if you do go with a paid app to make the routes up, download map and route to phone then you won't need data from a cell tower while riding. Set phone to airplane mode once you have a positional fix and your battery should last a bit longer as GPS is a power hog.
Top-tip, set your screen brightness to the lowest you can comfortably see. If you think GPS is a powerhog you should see what having a 6"+ screen lit up for hours on end does to your battery! 😉
Some really useful stuff here, which I will work through bit by bit - thanks all.
I’ve tried most including the OS app but found (paid) OA to be the best for me. (I do use it for walking as much as cycling though!)
OA is the answer.
I was very cynical when OA bought VR, but I'm now a convert. I do it all on my phone (with a laptop next to me for the bigger picture) and ride with the phone in a pocket and just use the voice guidance (with ear buds) that OA has.
Not perfect - 'you have left the route', 'the route is 50 metres behind you' is often heard. I assume this is due to GPX errors and the OS path/BW not exactly where it was originally plotted by OS.
I also have the OS app, but frankly I don't get on with it. Plus I can't see any point in an app that doesn't have UK OS maps available, unless you're skint or a roadie.
I was a ViewRanger user, now an OS maps user. I’ve found the recent versions of OS maps to be pretty good with an annual subscription. Plotting routes is easy either on iOS or through the web app on a desktop and routes can be synced easily across devices. 1:25000 maps covering a route can also be downloaded for offline use. When out and about, the app has been robust for gps location (fast + accurate).