Komoot

[Mikerb]

maybe old news for some but I recently found the Komoot app and it looks pretty good! I wanted to be able to navigate a 20 mile trail that is completely new to me and I do not have a Garmin etc....and I am generally not that interested in such devices so I was looking for a way to run that trail without getting lost whilst not having to invest in tech I would rarely use. Komoot is a mapping application running on Android with the option to select a specific sport...obs in my case MTB...….which then gives access to a fair number of graded MTB trails within the app but also enables the download of a GPX file from somewhere like Trailforks etc. As it happened the trail I want to ride was already on the app. You get one region ( in my case South Powys...South Wales UK to cover the Brecon Beacons National Park) free. You can apply for additional regions or pay a single fee for the lot ( £30). The trail I want ( The Gap) is loaded ready for next weekend when I am in the Brecon Beacons National Park...….so I have not as yet actually used it but it tells me Navigation is aided by voice commands etc similar to Blevo. I just need to find a safe way to mount my phone on the bike now!

 

[Mikerb]

OK I bought a holder for my phone on the bike. Decided against bar mounting which seems far too vulnerable to me. I went for top tube mounted bag where the phone sits in a sleeve in the top of the bag. So then I decided to run a trial of the complete set up for navigation......the bag and my Komoot mapping application. I selected a local circular 10 mile route on Trailforks and downloaded it as a .gpx file into Komoot. Komoot has a different naming convention....the Routes are called Tours. I connected earphones to my phone.....the bag has a waterproofed hole for the lead.....and I had already paid Komoot £9 for a download of a map of a Region, in this case the whole of Dorset ( UK county). You get one free region but I had already selected my free region in South Wales.
The phone has to have internet access to grab the Komoot app but once the "Tour" you want to navigate has been selected no internet access is required ( the map I paid for is saved on the phone).
The navigation is done via voice commands just like a car sat nav and the map on the phone screen only comes on when there is a voice command...or if you deliberately wake it to check the map and your progress. I found the navigation really good, even on moorland where there can be a maze of different trails in all directions. Komoot works anywhere in the world...in fact you can buy a worldwide map for £30... I just did not fancy the size of download to my phone for that! I paid £10 for the bag/phone holder in Argos....and that worked well, not budging despite some pretty lumpy singletrack and rock gardens; I have the entire county I live in plus one I am going to visit saved to my phone for £9. So as a complete route planning and navigation system it cost me £20. Result!!

 

[Mikerb]

As a bonus I was also able to carry my key, wallet, power pack, and energy bars in my bag.