Experiences with navigating using the Flow app

[DieBoy]

I've a Bosch Smart System with a Kiox300 display.

I've (attempted) to navigate unfamiliar routes (downloaded from Komoot) using the Flow app.

I'm interested in other people's experiences of doing the same.

My experience to date has been suboptimal, but I'd like to determine if that's down to my phone's GPS, the fact I ride with my phone in a pocket or bag, or that simply the Flow app is crap for navigation.

 

[Bummers]

My opinion is the flow app is dogturd for anything but road navigation. It was also delayed for some reason where when using komoot on the phone for nav there was no issues.

 

[DieBoy]

I'll expound a bit.

Despite giving the app permission to access precise location all the time, some phenomenon are:

1) Saying I need to turn left in 250 metres then 5 seconds later screaming I'm "off route" because I've now ridden past the turning, forcing me to stop and do a 180⁰. Probably more common the faster I'm riding. I've also experienced this on-road on the way to a trail. It's as if the app is refreshing far too infrequently.

2) Constantly complaining I'm off route if I'm riding 30 centimetres to the right of where it thinks I should be. Common on wider fire breaks and forest tracks. On the occasion there was a parallel track this caused no end of confusion.

3) Being confused about which direction I'm riding. Occasionally as an added "bonus" of turning around due to issue 1.

On one ride told me I was off route and going the opposite direction to what I should. Turned around, the map on the display spun around madly. After 2 metres riding, complaining again I'm off route and need to turn around. After a couple of goes of playing silly buggers I gave up and rode home the way I'd come.

I suspect the app is making the false assumption that I've my phone attached to the handlebars. It shouldn't really be making this error because the app *knows* I don't even own the Bosch phone grip.


So to date trying to navigatie with the Flow app has been unreliable to very frustrating. As I mentioned, I want to eliminate my phone being the problem before I complain to Bosch.

 

[Bummers]

Your point 1 is what I meant when talking about it being delayed. The instruction that a turn coming up in 250m is 20 seconds late so you miss it.
I found it so frustrating to use.

 

[jeff31320]

Hello. Even if it's not ideal, I'm used to import GPX on a Kiox to navigate.
IT was quite "poor but stable" on the old system.
I'm with a Smart System since 1 month, and trying to plan a tour this weekend, the GPX Import led to fully stupid results (150Km instead of 35, an an incoherent trace !!).
for some other GPX it works, for some results are similar

any idea on what could cause this ? I've opened a ticket to bosch , but my ride is in 2 days so ...

thanks for any advice

 

[storrm]

I've a Bosch Smart System with a Kiox300 display.

I've (attempted) to navigate unfamiliar routes (downloaded from Komoot) using the Flow app.

I'm interested in other people's experiences of doing the same.

My experience to date has been suboptimal, but I'd like to determine if that's down to my phone's GPS, the fact I ride with my phone in a pocket or bag, or that simply the Flow app is crap for navigation.

Did you manage to resolve your issues? I was just about to purchase a Kiox 300 for my Rail 9.8 for exactly the same reason you discuss ie. importing komoot runs and using the Kiox to give me turn-by-turn directions. At this rate I'm more likely to get a Garmin 1030+ ;-)

 

[spurty30]

It's not just you , I get exactly the same issue every time I try and use it. It just screams off route all the time and the delay as you say means you miss turns constantly. I don't use it anymore because it's so frustrating!

 

[Mikerb]

I rarely use navigation but have in the past when riding an area new to me. I don't like the idea of having to look at a screen when riding so my method was to download a gpx from trailforks etc to Komoot. Then link wireless earbuds to my phone via Bluetooth and then just listen to the voice instructions. If there is some doubt about a turning that is the only time I then refer to the map on the phone. I used that process in the Peak District, The Beacons and Afan in Wales and it was flawless. Y forks can be the most confusing but referring to the map on the phone even shows a dotted line of what you have to retrace to get back on route.
Part of the problem using something like Flow is that you are using 2 different servers on the www and the Flow app ...hence potential delays

 

[DieBoy]

A couple of updates later (bike firmware and app) and this problem still exists for me.

Unless you're riding at 5kmh the display is updated far too infrequently with your current position and direction.

Quite disappointed with Bosch for this, particularly as everything else with the system is good.

 

[DieBoy]

Recenty downgraded the Kiox to a Purion 400 (Purion 200 or Purion 400 "downgrade"). This, as advertised, doesn't show any navigation (though I don't see why it can't at least display "turn left in 50m", but that's a tangent) so at the weekend I relied on the voice instructions from the app.

"Turn right in 50 metres" it said. Hmm, pretty sure it's this turn coming up ~ 5 meters in front of me, but hey maybe there's another turn further up the path. Ride on and after ~ 10 meters, "Off route! Off route!" screams the tiny voice inside my jacket somewhat hysterically. Sigh, do a 180° and take the turning and after a minute or so it's happy again.

So basically it was as shit as it always was, though I've now eliminated a BT lag problem between the phone and Kiox display as a cause.

On the way back, I ended up using the voice instructions from the Komoot app instead, as I couldn't find a "reverse route" option in the Flow app, and I'd the route originally in Komoot in any case.

And, although I obviously wasn't relying on it half so much on the return, with Komoot *it was fine*. Including when I deliberately choose to not take the shortcut but the next turning - "recalculating route" ... "turn right in 50m" (which was pretty much correct). No hissy fits or being confused.

In conclusion, the Bosch Flow app is simply crap for navigation. Not fit for purpose and selling the Kiox 300 with navigation as a feature feels like a bit of a con.

I'm considering getting a GPS device purely for navigation as I do prefer to look at a map, though I don't want to spend loads especially for features I don't need.

 

[Eliadn]

I have similar issues, the navigation is just poor. But that includes Komoot and RideWithGPS, the trails somehow match very vaguely to the map...

 

[MasterDabber]

I haven't tried using my Kiox for navigation but have used Komoot on my phone. I found that Komoot/phone worked fairly well on simple point to point uncomplicated routing. However, I went on a club ride taking in a lot of singletrack that zigzagged all over some military training land. I wanted to got back and recreate this ride and imported the ride into Komoot and attempted the ride. It got into a real mess as some trails ran quite close to others heading in the opposite direction and it just couldn't handle that. I also found the voice instructions were unreliable. Coming towards a 3 way split in the route it would say things like turn left when, in fact I needed to go straight on (or even turn right).

 

[TPostma3]

The flow app is awesome, but navigating on my kiox300 it’s quite delayed and the distances are unclear sometimes

 

[Badger5]

When people are using the flow app is this the free version or the paid flow+ app? Wondered if there’s was any difference with upgrading and using the connect module?
I’ve recently brought a Whyte E160RS and looking at getting a connect module for security tracking and either a Kiox 300 or Purion 400 to add a screen.

 

[Joecrow]

For navigation I use my mobile phone with the Flow app. and swap out the kiox for a Bosch Smartphone Grip, usually with the route downloaded from Komoot. It seems to be fine on a point to point route but like others have mentioned here I have often had it become very confused to the point of uselessness on round trips where the return route intersects or is very close to the outgoing route. I have a gut feel there have been some improvements in this respect with the Flow app. compared to when I used a mobile with the CobiBike app. and a Smart Phone Hub on my old bike.
Also when I was on holiday this year I hired a bike and used Komoot app. stand alone on my phone. I did not have any problems, for me it worked perfectly and I plan to investigate/test that further.

 

[Slymobi]

I'll expound a bit.

Despite giving the app permission to access precise location all the time, some phenomenon are:

1) Saying I need to turn left in 250 metres then 5 seconds later screaming I'm "off route" because I've now ridden past the turning, forcing me to stop and do a 180⁰. Probably more common the faster I'm riding. I've also experienced this on-road on the way to a trail. It's as if the app is refreshing far too infrequently.

2) Constantly complaining I'm off route if I'm riding 30 centimetres to the right of where it thinks I should be. Common on wider fire breaks and forest tracks. On the occasion there was a parallel track this caused no end of confusion.

3) Being confused about which direction I'm riding. Occasionally as an added "bonus" of turning around due to issue 1.

On one ride told me I was off route and going the opposite direction to what I should. Turned around, the map on the display spun around madly. After 2 metres riding, complaining again I'm off route and need to turn around. After a couple of goes of playing silly buggers I gave up and rode home the way I'd come.

I suspect the app is making the false assumption that I've my phone attached to the handlebars. It shouldn't really be making this error because the app *knows* I don't even own the Bosch phone grip.


So to date trying to navigatie with the Flow app has been unreliable to very frustrating. As I mentioned, I want to eliminate my phone being the problem before I complain to Bosch.

This is my exact experience lol. It's shit at best.

 

[Joecrow]

Further to my earlier post I did raise an issue with Komoot with respect to the round trip problems on my old bike with the Smartphone Hub back in 2020, their reponse was that they provided the route data via an api to the CobiBike app. and they had no control over how it was interpreted. I did raise the issue with CobiBike but never got a response so I pinged Bosch on it and they requested a copy of the Komoot reponse which I sent them and said they would ask developement to look into it. I never heard anything more!