iphone app for turn by turn?
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 611
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From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Bikes: raleigh carbon competition, trek 6500 hardtail
iphone app for turn by turn?
is there an app out there where I can map out a ride, load it on the iphone and then get turn by turn directions like a gps for your car? I am not familiar with all the back roads and neighborhoods of tulsa and want to go car light. Only problem is, I really don't wanna get lost and find myself, a.)in the Ghetto, b) on a busy arse road and get ran the f over by the crazies here. Thanks for the help!
#5
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Before this turns into a phone battle..
I use Mapquest (Free) on my iPhone that gives you turn by turn and automatically updates when your off route. Problem is they do not have a "bike route" function, however I do mainly just ride in the streets so it is not bad and it works Other than that I have not found an app that works with a bike route.
Good luck, let me know.
I use Mapquest (Free) on my iPhone that gives you turn by turn and automatically updates when your off route. Problem is they do not have a "bike route" function, however I do mainly just ride in the streets so it is not bad and it works Other than that I have not found an app that works with a bike route.
Good luck, let me know.
#6
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 611
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From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Bikes: raleigh carbon competition, trek 6500 hardtail
i don't want it to turn into a phone battle, I used to think the droids were sweet, also thought screen freezes and phone locking up was just a normal thing about smart phones.............then i got the iphone and everything has been much nicer now!
#9
Fat Guy on a Little Bike


Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 15,946
Likes: 371
From: Philadelphia, PA
Bikes: Two wheeled ones
Before this turns into a phone battle..
I use Mapquest (Free) on my iPhone that gives you turn by turn and automatically updates when your off route. Problem is they do not have a "bike route" function, however I do mainly just ride in the streets so it is not bad and it works Other than that I have not found an app that works with a bike route.
Good luck, let me know.
I use Mapquest (Free) on my iPhone that gives you turn by turn and automatically updates when your off route. Problem is they do not have a "bike route" function, however I do mainly just ride in the streets so it is not bad and it works Other than that I have not found an app that works with a bike route.
Good luck, let me know.
I have no interest in a phone battle, so I'll just say that those who use Android were found to have an average 10 point IQ deficiency when compared to those with iPhones, as well as reduced sex appeal
#11
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 808
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From: Beaverton, OR
Bikes: It's the motor, not the bike, right?
#12
Full Member

Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 463
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From: North East
Well, there is this - https://www.endomondo.com/login - which is pretty awesome and.......works on Iphone and Android. Not sure about turn by turn, but it will upload your route to their website, and you can refer to it later. I've heard of people mounting their smart phone to their bike and using it for navigation.
#13
1. If you got the scratch for an iProduct, then pony up the dough for a real GPS.
2. Those maps are only as good as the people programming/uploading them. And I've seen a bunch of instances when they were just plain wrong.
3. You'll learn the roads better by riding them. Mapquest gonna tell you where the 'Ghetto' is at?
4. INCOG has a bunch of info about all of the trails/MUPs and designated bike routes in town.
2. Those maps are only as good as the people programming/uploading them. And I've seen a bunch of instances when they were just plain wrong.
3. You'll learn the roads better by riding them. Mapquest gonna tell you where the 'Ghetto' is at?
4. INCOG has a bunch of info about all of the trails/MUPs and designated bike routes in town.
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#14
Thread Starter
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 611
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From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Bikes: raleigh carbon competition, trek 6500 hardtail
i have the google gps, it is turn by turn, but you put in an address and it maps it for you, I was referring to something like mapmyride, where i can put in a route, map it out, then be able to follow it by gps navi, mapmyride does not do this.
#15
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 343
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From: East Metro Atlanta, GA, USA
Bikes: Giant Sedona (Mid 90's), Giant Seek 2, Greenspeed Anura
Skobbler does turn-by-turn on iPhone. Skobbler uses OpenStreetMap data.
EDIT: Oops, missed your second post. I don't know if Skobbler will do what you're looking for...
EDIT: Oops, missed your second post. I don't know if Skobbler will do what you're looking for...
#16
Erect member since 1953
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,000
Likes: 38
From: Antioch, CA (SF Bay Area)
Bikes: Trek 520 Grando, Roubaix Expert, Motobecane Ti Century Elite turned commuter, Some old French thing gone fixie
I haven't seen this myself, but it might do what you want.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cycle...330595774?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cycle...330595774?mt=8
#17
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,978
Likes: 4
From: Atlanta
Bikes: Cannondale T700s and a few others
Gamin has apps for the iphone to make it act like their GPS.
Problem is it sucks the **** out of the battery.
https://www8.garmin.com/apps/
I have been thinking about getting this set up because they have a piggyback battery. It also works with ANT devices alowing you to have it run cadence speed and heart rate sensors if you like that sort of thing.
https://www.wahoofitness.com/
Problem is it sucks the **** out of the battery.
https://www8.garmin.com/apps/
I have been thinking about getting this set up because they have a piggyback battery. It also works with ANT devices alowing you to have it run cadence speed and heart rate sensors if you like that sort of thing.
https://www.wahoofitness.com/
#19
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Changed jobs recently...now stuck with a BBerry
#20
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 92
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From: Fort Collins, CO
Bikes: 1981 Raleigh Super Record, 2012 A. Homer Hilsen
I've been fiddling around with Waze in my car lately. It seems to do what it's supposed to. I haven't had any trouble with it doing silly routing or anything, but I haven't given it a really tough route yet.
I haven't tried it on the bike yet though. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...323229106&mt=8
I haven't tried it on the bike yet though. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...323229106&mt=8
#21
I use Navigon for iPhone. It has a setting under Route Profile that allows you to select Car, Motorcycle, Bicycle, or Pedestrian.
I use an Evotek 4lock mounting system to securely mount the phone to the bike.
I'm not sure why you would want to map your own route and load it on the phone since Navigon will map out bike-specific turn-by-turn directions for you but there is an article out there on google that describes back-loading a custom route into Navigon on a jail-broken iPhone. Personally, I don't see the need as the app already does it for you.
That being said, I rarely use turn-by-turn; rather, my day-to-day app is Cyclemeter.
I use an Evotek 4lock mounting system to securely mount the phone to the bike.
I'm not sure why you would want to map your own route and load it on the phone since Navigon will map out bike-specific turn-by-turn directions for you but there is an article out there on google that describes back-loading a custom route into Navigon on a jail-broken iPhone. Personally, I don't see the need as the app already does it for you.
That being said, I rarely use turn-by-turn; rather, my day-to-day app is Cyclemeter.
Last edited by G1nko; 01-03-12 at 02:10 PM.
#22
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 22
From: Raleigh, NC
Bikes: Downtube 8H, Surly Troll
Lot of people missing the part where the OP doesn't want an app to get him to a particular location, but rather an app that let's him follow a predetermined route.
What I use is MotionX GPS. I do not know if or how it can be made to do turn by turn, which is something I would really like as well. What I can do is create a route on Google Maps by putting in a start and end location and then dragging the route around until it goes where I want. Then I use the instructions on this page to get the Google Map route into MotionX.
In MotionX it does not show up as a route, but as a series of waypoints that mark your turns. If you're in the habit of checking your screen regularly, and your battery holds out, that's sufficient to keep you on track. It also works if you just want to double check and make sure you're taking the right turn.
What I'd like, and what it sounds like you would like as well, is something that would prompt you at the turns to remove some of the necessary vigilance when looking for the next turn. I keep thinking that MotionX is almost there, but I can't find a way to get that functionality out of it.
Also, when using MotionX, it's good to keep all your routes in separate folders in the app, keep them backed up, and delete them from the app as necessary. Because it's just a bunch of waypoints, overlapping routes can be confusing.
What I use is MotionX GPS. I do not know if or how it can be made to do turn by turn, which is something I would really like as well. What I can do is create a route on Google Maps by putting in a start and end location and then dragging the route around until it goes where I want. Then I use the instructions on this page to get the Google Map route into MotionX.
In MotionX it does not show up as a route, but as a series of waypoints that mark your turns. If you're in the habit of checking your screen regularly, and your battery holds out, that's sufficient to keep you on track. It also works if you just want to double check and make sure you're taking the right turn.
What I'd like, and what it sounds like you would like as well, is something that would prompt you at the turns to remove some of the necessary vigilance when looking for the next turn. I keep thinking that MotionX is almost there, but I can't find a way to get that functionality out of it.
Also, when using MotionX, it's good to keep all your routes in separate folders in the app, keep them backed up, and delete them from the app as necessary. Because it's just a bunch of waypoints, overlapping routes can be confusing.
#24
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2
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I use Waze in my car and it works pretty decent although I do miss the Google Nav from my old Android. Waze let's you search listings on Google, Bing, Yelp, Foursquare and more and then it provides voice guided turn by turn directions and will reroute when you get off track. I haven't tried it on a bike yet though but I definitely recommend it for your car. Plus, it's free!
#25
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,782
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta, GA. USA
Bikes: Surly Long Haul Disc Trucker
I use the TomTom app on my iPhone. It is the best app I've used for bicycling. It has an offline database and offline routing, POIs, bicycle routes, turn by turn spoken instructions. It will prompt me yes/no to take gravel roads if that's part of the best bicycle route.
But I have not tried Navigon for iPhone. I see that takes a $50 investment. I'm not inclined to take the plunge just to find out what it's like. I'm curious though if Navigon is better.
Not everything is perfect with TomTom. I guess my biggest gripe is that if I pull over to the side of the road the app will usually get confused and tell me to turn around even though I'm pointed the right direction. Once I get moving it will correct itself. But it won't show me the time/distance to the next waypoint on the main screen if it thinks I need to turn around, so that's frustrating.
It finds very creative bicycle routes that use the street network. Sometimes it will even send me thru a mall parking lot as a way to get from one street to another that don't have a more straightforward intersection. It finds tons of little shortcuts on quiet roads. I like that. But to this day, it will not route me on offroad bicycle trails - those are apparently not part of TomTom's database. I keep thinking they'll correct that but they don't.
The Google app for the iPhone added turn by turn directions last year but they don't work worth a crap. The google app frequently gets confused and starts "shouting" rapid-fire directions that conflict with each other. Other than the fact that TomTom gets confused when I pull over and stop, the turn by turn directions are excellent and well timed for typical bicycle speeds. And by pressing my finger on the lower left of the screen, I can get an audible direction of what to do from here such as "in 1/4 mile turn left on...". So if I'm not coming up on a turn immediately I can still find out when the next stop will be without studying the screen.
Are there any Navigon users out there that find that to be particularly good for cycling?
But I have not tried Navigon for iPhone. I see that takes a $50 investment. I'm not inclined to take the plunge just to find out what it's like. I'm curious though if Navigon is better.
Not everything is perfect with TomTom. I guess my biggest gripe is that if I pull over to the side of the road the app will usually get confused and tell me to turn around even though I'm pointed the right direction. Once I get moving it will correct itself. But it won't show me the time/distance to the next waypoint on the main screen if it thinks I need to turn around, so that's frustrating.
It finds very creative bicycle routes that use the street network. Sometimes it will even send me thru a mall parking lot as a way to get from one street to another that don't have a more straightforward intersection. It finds tons of little shortcuts on quiet roads. I like that. But to this day, it will not route me on offroad bicycle trails - those are apparently not part of TomTom's database. I keep thinking they'll correct that but they don't.
The Google app for the iPhone added turn by turn directions last year but they don't work worth a crap. The google app frequently gets confused and starts "shouting" rapid-fire directions that conflict with each other. Other than the fact that TomTom gets confused when I pull over and stop, the turn by turn directions are excellent and well timed for typical bicycle speeds. And by pressing my finger on the lower left of the screen, I can get an audible direction of what to do from here such as "in 1/4 mile turn left on...". So if I'm not coming up on a turn immediately I can still find out when the next stop will be without studying the screen.
Are there any Navigon users out there that find that to be particularly good for cycling?




