Best cycling gps apps (no data usage)

[BilboSmeggins]

Well, at the moment, I’m not using anything. I’ve been away from cycling for a few years, and have my new trike coming Wednesday. I’m just getting things in place, as I intend to cover some distance. I had a Garmin unit some years ago, although I’m buggered if I can remember the model. It had maps, and turn by turn instructions. But the most annoying thing was the map became a static graphic every time you came to a junction, and it was very hard to decipher the information, ie, was I going the right way? And if I deviated off course, well, that was the end of that.

I’ll have a peep at OSMand, but am still quite tempted by the Wahoo. I had a look on eBay, and 2nd hand units command almost as much as new. So I figure I could buy a new one, trial it, and recoup most of my money if the results are less than satisfactory. I think the battery life is going to be the big killer for my original phone idea.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

At the risk of annoying the crap out of you......

The Wahoo will not help you to plan a route.
It will help you to follow a route that you have already planned.

And given you're on a recumbent trike, the planning is the important thing.

So, if you do want to try out the Wahoo, you'll need to be familiar with the planning options that are out there, before you can use it.

And when you get familiar with the planning options, then they will all work on your old phone, albeit with different functionality.

(By planning options I mean apps/sites like OSMand, RideWithGPS, Strava, Komoot, Bikemap, Cycle.Travel and lots of others)

As for the battery issue. My wahoo is good for at least 10 hours without recharging, longer if I deactivate the unnecessary leds etc.
However, I have a hub dynamo, so running low is never an issue for me - I can just plug it in while I ride.
A simple solution to your battery problem is a battery pack.

Just to clarify; I do not recommend OSMand for the planning stage, unless I'm on the road as it has to be done in the app - phone or tablet. I only use it on the road. If I wanted to navigate by OSMand, I'd plan a route on Cycle.Travel and follow it in OSMand.

 

[BilboSmeggins]

You’re not gonna annoy me, lol. Much too old to get wound up over trivia these days. I very much appreciate the sage advice you have given me thus far. Regarding planning ON the Wahoo, I realise that’s a no-no, so I’d very much be planning routes from the comfort of my Mac at home.

In an ideal world, I’d like to be able to make my way across the country utilising nothing but Nation Cycle Routes. But we all now how hit and miss that can be. One minute you’re happily following the blue signs, the next minute, you’re at a junction with 5 exits, and the signs have evaporated. Either that, or they have joyously routed you directly through a city centre.

Well, I took the plunge, and a Wahoo Bolt should be arriving Tuesday with a bit of luck. Impetuous is my middle name . I’ll have a brief session acquainting myself with it as a stand-alone unit, then I’ll marry it up to some Mac-friendly routing software. At least that’s the plan

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Enjoy the new toy..... and the new bike!

 

[BilboSmeggins]

Thank you. I do like a gadget