Anyone Else Feel the Need for a Better Way to Track Routes?

[BharathVinzenz]

Hey everyone,

I've been riding my Rad Power Bike for a while now, and something has been on my mind during my rides. I've found that while my bike itself is fantastic, I feel like there's room for improvement when it comes to tracking my routes and performance. Now, I'm not super technical or anything, but I've been using this tool that relies on GPS to keep track of where I'm going, and I feel like it's helping me get more out of my rides, but I also see some areas where things could be better. I'd love to hear what others think about this.

Here's the thing: I love exploring new paths, but half the time, I forget to mark down where I've been or how long a route took me. That's where the tool I'm using comes in handy. It automatically logs my route based on my GPS location, which is cool because I don't have to think about it too much while I'm riding. But as much as I appreciate that feature, I feel like I'm missing something. Like, am I the only one who wishes there was a more interactive way to get feedback during the ride?

For example, I thought it'd be great if the tool could somehow suggest better routes based on my past rides or even challenge me to take a new route. Right now, it just records my data, but I think it would be motivating if it gave me prompts while I was out there, like "Hey, there's a scenic route 2 miles ahead" or "How about trying this alternative route that might save you some time?" That way, I'm not just riding the same path every time. Does anyone else think that could make rides more interesting?

Now, here's another thing. The tool also tracks my speed, which I find pretty inspiring. Knowing how fast I'm going at different points of my ride has helped me push myself a little harder, especially on uphill sections where I usually slow down. I got the idea from one of my cycling buddies who uses a dedicated cycling tracker. For those unfamiliar, a cycling tracker is a device or tool that monitors various aspects of your ride, like speed, distance, and sometimes even elevation or calories burned. A real-time cycling distance tracker, for instance, provides live updates on how far you've traveled during your ride, which can be really motivating for those aiming to hit specific goals or improve their performance. While that's a more advanced gadget, I've found this tool's speed tracking to be enough for my needs. It's not as detailed as a professional cycling tracker, but for a casual rider like me, it does the trick. I'm curious, though—do any of you use something more advanced, or do you stick with simple tools like this one?

But one area I'd really like to improve is the accuracy when I ride through areas with spotty GPS signal, like in heavily wooded areas or between tall buildings. Has anyone found a good workaround for this? Sometimes my ride data will get a bit wonky in those spots, and I end up with gaps in my routes. It's not a huge deal, but I wonder if there's a way to smooth out those issues, or maybe there's something I'm missing when setting up the tool before heading out. I thought about syncing the data with my phone's offline maps, but I'm not sure if that would actually help.

I'm also interested to know how others use these GPS-based tools to track things like elevation or distance over time. I've just been using the basics—speed, distance, and route—but I feel like there's more I could be getting out of this if I knew how. Any advice or tips from those of you who've been at this longer would be awesome. And if anyone has experience with these tools on different types of terrain (like mountain biking versus road biking), I'd love to hear how it works for you.

So yeah, just throwing this out there to see if anyone else feels the same way or has found solutions to these small but kind of nagging issues. I'm pretty happy with my setup overall, but I know there's always room for improvement when it comes to getting the most out of my rides.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and learning from you all!

[Naranja_CT5+]

Can you tell us the name of the app you are using now?
UPDATE:
Oops I did not noticed the link Onlinecompass .net Obviously you are using your phone browser while cycling.

From time to time I still used Speedometer 55 pro (they have free version too). I bought it a few years ago for my motorcycle but I also used it on my Trek bicycle. I like it because I can use my old iPhone that's not activated anymore.

To track my ebiking. I use Strava the free version. It's like a social media of cycling. Depending on your privacy settings, it shares routes of cyclists that's been around the areas you've been cycling. It tells you if you break speed record of your routes. It also allows you to pause recording if you stopped for lunch or groceries. But lately they are aggressively nagging me to upgrade to their paid subscription based service.

Thirdly I use Google Maps waypoints to plan my trips. I can visually see how steep of a slopes before I even get out of the house. Plus it gives you an approximate amount of time it's going to take you to finish your ride.

My wish is that RAD utilizes Bluetooth so that we can use our phones for display module.

[John Rose]

What OS are you using? iOS, Android, or something else?

To answer the main question: No. I'm not really interested in anything more than the basic tracking info - route, speed, and distance.

As far as finding alternate routes goes, there's always the Google Maps app, which often offers several different routes when you ask it to give directions. Plus you can have it select bike-friendly routes versus car, transit, or walking.

[later]
It looks like the Maps app for iPhone (iOS 17) has auto/cycling/transit/walking route selection preferences too, with options to avoid hills and/or busy roads.

Neither of them can track your progress though, as far as I can tell.