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Basic offline route-tracking / recording app on iOS

by Morgulwarrior
Mon, Aug 07, 2017 11:36
4

I recently downloaded Map-My-Ride and installed it on my old iPhone 5S (with no mobile internet) which I then mounted on the bike. I loaded up a route via Wi-Fi before I left and it happily tracked my progress against this route over several hours a couple of weeks ago.

I tried the same thing yesterday and on checking my progress after the first half hour, it had dropped the loaded route and was only showing where I had cycled so far on the day. When I then tried to re-start, it realised there was no internet connection and just refused to do anything.

My understanding is that if a loute has been loaded into the phone's memory, it should happily hook into the GPS and need no 3G or 4G link to track - am I wrong ?

I just want a simple, no-frills, offline route loading/tracking app and I'm now not sure I trust this one to work for me. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, basic iOS app that won't bombard me with unwanted extras ?

Thanks !

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4 comments

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dottigirl | 7 years ago
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For volunteering for RL, we were instructed to download Avenza PDF Maps as a tool. I didn't use it on the day, but it seems to work OK. Not sure where you get the maps from though.

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kevvjj | 7 years ago
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I have a premium subscrition to OS Maps (£20 annually). You can purchase maps and download them onto your device. Using the web version you can plot routes etc. As long as you have the offline map on your device it will happily display the route and show your progress. You can try a free version before spending your money but it will require a mobile data signal.

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kil0ran | 7 years ago
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Komoot will let you plan offline routes. Very cyclist-friendly in that you can specify whether you want a road, mountain bike, or gravel route, and it will provide estimated ride times based on your fitness. I think the offline map for your local area is free, or you can purchase upgrades to unlock other areas. I know my area pretty well now so don't use it much on-road but it has been excellent for finding gravel tracks and varying my usual on-road commute routes.

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hughw | 7 years ago
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Not my area of expertise, but I believe most phones use aGPS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS), so they use the data connection to make the GPS start up quickly

Also, it's not always possible to download the map files if the app uses something that isn't open street map - for copyright reasons

One I've used is ViewRanger, which appears to be able to download OS Maps - but you have to pay for them, and it also does tracking. I've never used it for cycling, so I can't speak as to how it works for cycling.

Also, maybe consider a specific GPS device - you can get some Hiking-type units for about £100 that do most of what you want, though you might have to do some fiddling around with cable ties to get it to mount to the bike

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