MTB routes on a watch?

[mab]

I know there are a lot of cyclists on the forum, and wondering whether anyone has solved the predicament I’m experiencing.

I have literally a couple of MTB routes which I know and love, but I’d like a broader repertoire. When I begin googling, there are numerous sites which pop up priding a mixed quality bag of options... plus the routes I come across are unfamiliar so I’d need to keep stopping and looking at my phone to read the directions once I get there.

Is there a better solution to this?

Ideally I’m looking for somewhere that provides a comprehensive list of routes near to and a little further afield from where I live, and I’d like something along the lines of a cheap Apple Watch or something which could then give me directions at a quick glance. I’m ideally not looking to go down the expensive Garmin device route with whatever route upload complications come with it.

Ideas very much appreciated - thanks!

[R11]

I use The OS maps app on my phone....you can find a destination then click find cycling routes and all those listed by users in the area are shown.

It has live tracking to show you if you’re on the right course...

Can’t recommend it enough and only costs about £25 a year!

you can also download routes and maps in case of poor signal on a ride...

[spanner monkey]

This may be worth a look ......

https://www.trailforks.com/

[higham5]

I have used this site for MTB routes

https://www.alltrails.com/


I wouldn’t rule out a cheap Garmin device. Apart from basic routing using a breadcrumb trail it also opens up Strava as a training guide
Steve

[MakeColdplayHistory]

Out of interest, where in Cheshire are you?
It doesn't answer your question but I'm in Macclesfield and know loads of good trails round here. Pic below is me last night (on Bakestonedale moor) looking down over Cheshire. Thursday night I'm dipping into Derbyshire for a ride round the Goyt Valley and Combs.
So I can't help you with a device but I can advise on which routes are worth riding round my way.

[ptcoll]

You can get a new Garmin Edge 520+ for £160.
That appears to be the cheapest Garmin that does mapping.

I doubt you can get a watch that does mapping for that little.

Pete

[craggie]

You may be able to get a bar mount for your phone but battery life could be an issue. A cheap Garmin would be a better option.

[GMTMaster]

I've opted for the phone approach, ordered a quadlock case, can use it on my bikes and motorbike, will see how I get on with it!

Wanted to go for a Garmin but prefer to have everything on one device and the Apple Watch works well for me.

[Captain Morgan]

I tend to work in reverse unless I’ve a specific destination I’m aiming at, I have either a paper or e map (ViewRanger) on my phone.

Otherwise I head out and look out for interesting trails on or around my home area and consult my e map as needed to link up other trails

When I’m home if I found any great trails I’ve got them on the gps track recorded on my garmin watch

[I a n]

I don't have one - a friend just bought one for his motorbike, but they have versions for cycling as well.
£99
https://beeline.co/collections/beeline-velo

[SlipperySam]

I use a Garmin or Wahoo. Apple Watch is OK too but I don’t get much more than 2.5hrs battery life when tracking a workout with music.

[Captain Morgan]

I don't have one - a friend just bought one for his motorbike, but they have versions for cycling as well.
£99
https://beeline.co/collections/beeline-velo

I recall seeing these a while ago and there were some challenges with uploading and following routes as these have no mapping they simply direct you from waypoint to waypoint. It seems there are still some challenges looking at the comments here.

https://ridebeeline.zendesk.com/hc/e...ing-a-GPX-File

It’s a pity as it looks a really simple legible solution

[mab]

Thanks all - appreciate your thoughts and input.

Ive taken a look at a few of these:

- OS maps look good but unclear whether I can use pre-existing routes (preferred to creating my own)
- trailforks appears to have limited content, at least near me
- alltrails seems to only offer walks/hikes, so presumably I’m doing something wrong
- viewranger looks good with a range of MTB-specific rides that are easy to search for

Looking at these, I also stumbled across Strava Routes which offers a 60 day free trial. Wasn’t aware this existed so more research required.

So... definitely a few for me to try on my next few cycles.

Regarding devices, I do have a very old Garmin which can do breadcrumb routing and which I assume I can upload a gpx file to if I can find an appropriate cable. However, my iPhone is the XR model which has a ludicrously good battery life compared with previous phones so I’ll give that a whirl as everything on one device is very appealing.

[mab]

Out of interest, where in Cheshire are you?
It doesn't answer your question but I'm in Macclesfield and know loads of good trails round here. Pic below is me last night (on Bakestonedale moor) looking down over Cheshire. Thursday night I'm dipping into Derbyshire for a ride round the Goyt Valley and Combs.
So I can't help you with a device but I can advise on which routes are worth riding round my way.

You could cycle to my house in literally 5 minutes from there!!

I’ll pm you.

[Captain Morgan]

This can be useful in finding some er ‘cheeky’ trails but might not be valid row some are more bothered than others about this.

https://www.doogal.co.uk/strava.php

[goregasm]

Don’t know about mapping on a watch but I have a Lezyne Mega C on my MTB. Easy enough to add routes to using the connected app, or if you prefer to roam it has decent real time mapping on a bright enough screen

Edit to add pic