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What are you using for GPS maps?

DSquared

Idiot on wheels
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Joined
Feb 11, 2022
Member Number
631
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169
Location
Burlington, WI
Whether you use a phone or a dedicated GPS, they are paperweights without good maps.

I have random OSM maps on my Garmin now that the last City Navigator version I bought is obsolete for street use. They work well enough to help me find my way home when I am on a street adventure. I think I have a couple states worth of the Locus Maps on my phone as well.

For off-highway use here in the Midwest you can't beat VVmapping(no affiliation). They have an ORV and Snow Overlay depending on what hobbies you have. The biggest thing I found on the ORV map this weekend was that this map possesses the MI Commercial Forest Land borders. So I could ID all the corners of a piece of property that I am scouting.

So what are you using?
 
I use https://kurviger.de/en to plan maps out on the computer. Export the GPX to OSM. We did a trip about a week ago and it was perfect. But yea, OSM for everything. The only downside is that its not door-to-door. You have to go to nearest intersection. But for what I use it for, its perfect.
 
I tried kurviger and locus for planning a trip. I get to a point where they reroute to get to a point a couple of hundred feet from the last waypoint. They want you to u-turn and come in from the opposite direction. Is there a way to avoid this. Planning app is useless if you can't go the way you want.
 
I'm using Backcountry Navigator on Android for offroad. I don't know that it's any better than the other choices but it's the one I learned and it gets the job done. Google Maps for street riding.
 
Edited for clarity.
They are then loaded into a Garmin Montana with topo and city navigator. or E 32 if I’m riding in Mexico.
Better?
 
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I need to wean myself off of Garmin products but am too lazy or old to relearn.
For you folks that don’t use Garmin, talk me through the process.
I store my tracks in a pc as a document.
Then I open, bundle and modify them in Map Source.
They are then loaded into a Garmin Montana with topo and city navigator. or E 32 if I’m riding in Mexico.
I don’t do auto route because, well because that’s why!
what would I gain by switching?
and what should I switch to?
Post this next door in Garmin vs Phone. If you want turn by turn, Locus Maps will do it but I've only done it A>B not a specific route.

There's plenty of good info here but let's keep it focused on map products instead of devices.
 
I did a short test ride today with Gaia route on OsmAnd maps on my Galaxy S10E. Didn't have my profile set up correct in the app and lost the turn by turn after making changes alongside the road. Visibility was good in the bright sun. Used standard GPS function to get home from MC club. Now I need to decide which phone to get just for use on bike. Both apps free by the way.
 
Whether you use a phone or a dedicated GPS, they are paperweights without good maps.

I have random OSM maps on my Garmin now that the last City Navigator version I bought is obsolete for street use. They work well enough to help me find my way home when I am on a street adventure. I think I have a couple states worth of the Locus Maps on my phone as well.

For off-highway use here in the Midwest you can't beat VVmapping(no affiliation). They have an ORV and Snow Overlay depending on what hobbies you have. The biggest thing I found on the ORV map this weekend was that this map possesses the MI Commercial Forest Land borders. So I could ID all the corners of a piece of property that I am scouting.

So what are you using?
I am using the latest Garmin Maps in my Garmin XT. They work great.

Curious, why do you say City Navigator doesn't work for Street use?
 
I am using the latest Garmin Maps in my Garmin XT. They work great.

Curious, why do you say City Navigator doesn't work for Street use?
I think I bought the maps in 2014-15. They work but are obsolete at 7ish years old.
 
I think I bought the maps in 2014-15. They work but are obsolete at 7ish years old.
Depends where you ride. In a lot of places they haven't put in a new road in the last 50 years.

Not trying to get you to buy an new GPS, but some Garmin's come with life time maps now.
 
Plot and plan at a desktop with Basecamp, then upload to the gps with a cable.
 
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That


...Gaia does this wirelessly, and sends to all devices you use Gaia on.
I am liking the cloud approach. In three minutes of use, I don't see a method to import my own background map. Am I missing it or is that a premium feature?
 
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