Anything better than a 1:50 for day rides?

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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
My Garmin had all the UK at 1:50 but like I said at the start I do like to just get the map out and see it all before me (I love my Garmin, don't get me wrong, but a small screen is never going to give me the interest or satisfaction)
Ah, but I think the OP was making the point about changing in the hoof. Proper maps are miles better for that.
Oh dear - another thread diverts into 1s and 0s.
Bye!
Assuming that you have a decent printer, it is easy to print out your own personalised maps from the digital ones - best of both worlds, and far cheaper than buying the paper maps unless you are only interested in a small area.
 
OP
OP
Shack

Shack

Senior Member
Assuming that you have a decent printer, it is easy to print out your own personalised maps from the digital ones - best of both worlds, and far cheaper than buying the paper maps unless you are only interested in a small area.
I have to admit I do like maps, and guide books (with maps in) I guess what I really wanted to know was if anyone used any maps that I wasn't aware of (may a subconscious desire to buy even more of those papery loveliness) printing my own would make some sense but if I'm fortunate enough to escape for he AVE a day or longer then the distance potentially covered can start to increase nicely.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
I like paper maps too, but TBH I rarely look at mine now. I nearly always have my digital maps-equipped phone, tablet or laptop with me wherever I am (apart from in the shower, but I wouldn't want a paper map in there either! :laugh:)
There's always the OS laminated maps. Fairly waterproof.
 

Baldy

Über Member
Location
ALVA
Sign up as a search and rescue volunteer and Viewranger will give you free acdess to the UK a for your phone at 1:25000. Advance to Search Manager level and Mapyx will do the same, but at 1:10000, which is truly superb. These are the tools I use, albeit on my tablet.

You can get mastermap at 1:1250, but thats a bit excessive.
Viewranger have sold out, it's now Outdoor active, and it's not a patch on the old Viewranger. Viewranger as we know it will be switched off in twelve months. So much for progress.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
My maps slowly go out of date. Obviously 99+% of roads don't change much over the years but I have been caught out a few times. In Devon one road had been moved. The site of some old clay pits had a road built over it and the original road had been dug up to get at the underlying clay!
I've just found an example...

My 1:50,000 digital map dates back to 2015 whereas my 1:25,000 is 2016. An extension to the A3072 at Crediton had been made between the issue of the 2 maps.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I meant that to be a recognition of the fact that subscription digital maps should never be more than a year or so old, whereas my purchased ones are 5 or 6 years old.

I have some paper OS maps that are 30 years old and they are very out of date in places.

I cycled down from Hebden Bridge to Nottingham once and found my map was going out of date there and then... A new dual carriageway was being built right in front of me! One disadvantage of my digital map soon became obvious - I whipped my Android tablet out to try and plan a diversion and discovered that I couldn't see the screen properly in bright sunlight! I ended up standing with my back to the sun and the tablet under my jersey with the neck of the jersey pulled up over my head... My phone screen is brighter - if I turn it up to maximum brightness and put it in shadow, I can see the digi-maps well enough.
 
OP
OP
Shack

Shack

Senior Member
I meant that to be a recognition of the fact that subscription digital maps should never be more than a year or so old, whereas my purchased ones are 5 or 6 years old.

I have some paper OS maps that are 30 years old and they are very out of date in places.

I cycled down from Hebden Bridge to Nottingham once and found my map was going out of date there and then... A new dual carriageway was being built right in front of me! One disadvantage of my digital map soon became obvious - I whipped my Android tablet out to try and plan a diversion and discovered that I couldn't see the screen properly in bright sunlight! I ended up standing with my back to the sun and the tablet under my jersey with the neck of the jersey pulled up over my head... My phone screen is brighter - if I turn it up to maximum brightness and put it in shadow, I can see the digi-maps well enough.
I think a lot of us would recognise the screen issue, most of the time my Garmin flits between the page full of time/ distance altitude (telemetry?) Etc and the outline of the route height, only occasionally I look at the weeny map (it's an old Garmin 800, I'd like a slightly larger screen but baulk at the price, especially as I'm saving for another bike) I rarely use the turn by turn unless I'm following a route from a guide book (eg the lost lanes series I'm currently enjoying when time allows)
 

Trickedem

Guru
Location
Kent
Hi all I've been scouring around for different, or better maps for day rides and looking through my big box of maps (ranging from car oriented 1 map for the whole country, down to small area specific sustrans maps) and I can find anything that gives me enough detail to explore off piste a little but still have the breadth of detail and cover enough area.
Am I missing something obvious?
I use 1:25 for walking and tend to use the os adventure range (the laminated ones) but they are pretty bulky esp if you have/ need a couple for the ride (see attached from last week)
Maybe I've hit gold already? What do folks use/ think?
I plan most of my rides using OS 1:50k, but I do it online using gpxeditor or bing maps. I was bought up using OS maps and still love using them. I know that if I stick to yellow roads they will be tarmacced and likely to have little traffic on them. I have a complete set of 1:50k maps on my garmin too.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I like paper maps too, but TBH I rarely look at mine now. I nearly always have my digital maps-equipped phone, tablet or laptop with me wherever I am (apart from in the shower, but I wouldn't want a paper map in there either! :laugh:)

That is one big shower that it needs a map. How many others are in there with you?
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
Roads routes I’ll plan with open street map. For walking or off road I’ll use 1:50,000. Have a complete set for GB. They date from 2002, but it’s more than sufficient despite developments since then. I have older (1960/70/80) 1:25,000 for select walking areas.
 

GuyBoden

Guru
Location
Warrington
I have many OS paper maps, I too prefer the newer laminated Explorer Map 1:25,000, you can draw your route on them with a removable felt tip pen and wipe it off later, but they're still not great for unfolding on a windy day.:rolleyes:

Harvey's Superwalker 1:25,000 laminated are my fav maps, they have much more detail and cover essential walking areas.

I've used Dashit for buying maps, they offer good value and fast delivery (but check it's in stock).
https://dash4it.co.uk

The free OS maps online is useful, but they have no contours.
https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/53.29323,-2.24825,14

I like to see contour lines, so I use the online 1:25,000 OS map at https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/maps/, I print the relatively few pages I'll need for my short walks in areas I don't have a map, but you do need to sign up to the forum to get access to the detailed 1:25,000 OS map.

I do have a Garmin Edge, I have the OS UK maps, but use the free TalkyToaster UK maps, they do the job well enough for me and are available free here: https://free.talkytoaster.me.uk/
 
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Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
Paper / laminated OS maps, or least the 1:50,000 Landranger ones, include a free mobile download. The app seems at last to have been fixed so as not to need a web connection to work.
 

Bonefish Blues

Banging donk
Location
52 Festive Road
Bing maps has an OS overlay that you can toggle, select a custom scale, and print a selection after downloading and converting to pdf. I find it very useful for creating my own custom maps and printing on regular A4 paper.
 
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