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Speaking of maps, anyone want to finally make a biking maps app that doesn't suck? Both google and apple maps throw you to busy arterial instead of parallel run

by asdff 4y ago

Speaking of maps, anyone want to finally make a biking maps app that doesn't suck? Both google and apple maps throw you to busy arterial instead of parallel running residential roads that see no traffic at all. They are also both terrible for hills. "Pretty flat" usually just means less than 1000ft of elevation change in my experience. It basically leads you into false flats unless you go through the routing by hand with an actual topographical map (which google maps and these other competitors do not provide, I go to us govt sources).

Doctor_Fegg 4y ago
I’ve been building (OSM-based) bike routing at https://cycle.travel/map https://cycle.travel/map. Web only for now but iOS app in beta testing. Always happy to hear feedback!
- asdff 4y ago
  I tested it out with my typical work commute and the routing seemed pretty reasonable actually, beyond unprotected straights and left turns on major arteries that just aren't going to be easy to do. My issues are of course the osm layer view has a lot of seemingly useless information that I can't make any sense of. Look at the region around Beverly Blvd and Silverlake Blvd in Los Angeles: What is all that red stuff randomly on roads and alleyways supposed to represent? It's also on the stands in the hollywood bowl. Bike lanes are also not demarked on here, although weird things like the 'official' route of route 66 through LA are demarked clear as day although I'm not sure why anyone would ever need that piece of information. There's also a dotted purple line on some streets that I'm not sure what it could possibly represent, because its kinda like the red lines just randomly applied without any significance seemingly. Another issue seems to be that I can't type an address at all, I need to zoom in and choose it with the mouse. Good luck with the project, hope my feedback helps some.
- benhurmarcel 4y ago
  Quite nice; I've also tested my commute and the proposed route is quite good. I usually like https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ but a mobile app would be very convenient.
mongol 4y ago
I have not used it for biking but Locus Map is at least an app where developers care about these usecases. Check it out
ptmcc 4y ago
Strava and Ridewithgps are great for routing bike rides, and derive much of their routing priority from how popular roads and paths are from recorded gps tracks of their users. Still not perfect, since cycling route quality is ultimately a bit subjective, but far better than Google Maps that makes objectively bad bike route decisions.
benhurmarcel 4y ago
For city biking I've had the best routes with https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ https://brouter.de/brouter-web/
jakecopp 4y ago
I wrote an article comparing the algorithms and usability of different cycling apps! https://jakecoppinger.blog/articles/the-best-apps-for-bicycle-directions-2020/ https://jakecoppinger.blog/articles/the-best-apps-for-bicycl...

by asdff 4y ago

Doctor_Fegg 4y ago

I’ve been building (OSM-based) bike routing at https://cycle.travel/map https://cycle.travel/map. Web only for now but iOS app in beta testing. Always happy to hear feedback!

asdff 4y ago
I tested it out with my typical work commute and the routing seemed pretty reasonable actually, beyond unprotected straights and left turns on major arteries that just aren't going to be easy to do. My issues are of course the osm layer view has a lot of seemingly useless information that I can't make any sense of. Look at the region around Beverly Blvd and Silverlake Blvd in Los Angeles: What is all that red stuff randomly on roads and alleyways supposed to represent? It's also on the stands in the hollywood bowl. Bike lanes are also not demarked on here, although weird things like the 'official' route of route 66 through LA are demarked clear as day although I'm not sure why anyone would ever need that piece of information. There's also a dotted purple line on some streets that I'm not sure what it could possibly represent, because its kinda like the red lines just randomly applied without any significance seemingly. Another issue seems to be that I can't type an address at all, I need to zoom in and choose it with the mouse. Good luck with the project, hope my feedback helps some.
benhurmarcel 4y ago
Quite nice; I've also tested my commute and the proposed route is quite good. I usually like https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ but a mobile app would be very convenient.

mongol 4y ago

I have not used it for biking but Locus Map is at least an app where developers care about these usecases. Check it out

ptmcc 4y ago

Strava and Ridewithgps are great for routing bike rides, and derive much of their routing priority from how popular roads and paths are from recorded gps tracks of their users. Still not perfect, since cycling route quality is ultimately a bit subjective, but far better than Google Maps that makes objectively bad bike route decisions.

benhurmarcel 4y ago

For city biking I've had the best routes with https://brouter.de/brouter-web/ https://brouter.de/brouter-web/

jakecopp 4y ago

I wrote an article comparing the algorithms and usability of different cycling apps! https://jakecoppinger.blog/articles/the-best-apps-for-bicycle-directions-2020/ https://jakecoppinger.blog/articles/the-best-apps-for-bicycl...