Cyclestreets on android?

[Sweep]

Anyone having issues with it?

I mostly use cyccle.travel for touring routes, but for some things, especially anything in an urban area, I often prefer cyclestreets.

Have used for years on a pc and on a chromebook using the web interface.

All well, but on android I have the following issues.

* It keeps directing me to a "mobile" site where I have to select start and finish by placing crosshairs on a map - far more faffy than must typing in addresses.

* There then seems to be no way to save the route/export it as a gox.

* If I manage to get the thing to the desktop site, I am presented with the handy boxes to type start and finish points into, but then nothing seems to happen.

Any clues anyone? It's driving me bonkers.

[mjr]

Use the tinkle thing on their site to ask the developers? I've never had it working on mobile but I just use other sites.

[Sweep]

Ta

I find it bizarre that one is effectively blocked from using the normal desktop web version.

[DevonDamo]

Any reason why you're not using the Cyclestreets app? I've found that works fine and gives exactly the same routing as when I use the website. You can search for places by clicking on the top right button and choosing 'find place.' You can also download the UK map to use offline (although you still need to connect to the internet if you want it to calculate a route.)

Edit to clarify: I'm talking about using the app as your sat nav rather than to export GPX files from. It's 'LiveRide' function does the job pretty well.

[mjr]

Any reason why you're not using the Cyclestreets app?

Don't want another battery-vampire data-guzzler memory-squatter to do a task that a web browser should be able to do, perhaps.

Edit to clarify: I'm talking about using the app as your sat nav rather than to export GPX files from. It's 'LiveRide' function does the job pretty well.

Already got a sat nav, thanks. Osmand. It can calculate routes offline. Sometimes it's nice to have a choice. Like the OP, I don't understand why cyclestreets doesn't work on mobile browsers.

[DevonDamo]

Erm... was just suggesting one potential solution to the OP. If you're handling his admin, then I will point out that you can have multiple sat nav apps on your phone (I've got 6, including OSMand, 3 of which have offline maps) and some phones have very long battery life, but I'll assume you'll be crossing the Cyclestreets app off his list of solutions.

[Richard Fairhurst]

There appears to be a new version of the app on the way: https://www.cyclestreets.net/blog/2018/ ... programme/

[crazydave789]

I bimbled around last year with cycle streets offine when google failed to do anything without a connection, the map pack is a reasonable size and it works well enough.

[Sweep]

Any reason why you're not using the Cyclestreets app? I've found that works fine and gives exactly the same routing as when I use the website. You can search for places by clicking on the top right button and choosing 'find place.' You can also download the UK map to use offline (although you still need to connect to the internet if you want it to calculate a route.)

Edit to clarify: I'm talking about using the app as your sat nav rather than to export GPX files from. It's 'LiveRide' function does the job pretty well.

I don't use these things for liveride features devon. And the last thing I want on a bike ride is something talking to me. I use the various systems, including the excellent cycle.travel, for generating gpx files, which I then post edit a bit before dumping onto an etrex20 as point to point routes.

Have dim memories of using the app in the past and not finding it useful.

[DevonDamo]

Blimey - seems like a lot of work just to get a route up when the cyclestreets routes normally seem pretty sensible. I don't like having my phone talking to me either, but I just turn the voice function off.

Anyhoo, the answer to your original question is that you need to use a browser on your phone which allows the 'user agent' to be set as Desktop. The one I use is called Opera and I've just confirmed that when I go onto http://www.cyclestreets.net, it takes me to the full webpage and I was able to export a .gpx file of a test route I just planned.

There are a few versions of Opera available, but the one that I use is just called 'Opera'. (i.e. not 'Opera mini,' 'Opera mobile' or 'Opera Classic.') To change the 'user agent' to Desktop:
- go into Settings
- scroll down two thirds of the way to the bottom and there's a 'Default user agent' option in the 'Content' section
- Change that from 'mobile' to 'desktop.'
- Done.
(NB: If you find the browser still keeps taking you to the mobile site, you can solve this by Settings>Privacy>Clear Browsing data>[Select all and OK])

I think it's worth changing to Opera anyway, as it's a powerful browser, but very user-friendly (once you've got used to it) and has a very effective built-in ad-blocker.

[mjr]

Not used Opera since the Nokia E60 (released 2007). There doesn't seem much point to use such "black box" apps which could be doing all sorts of dodgy stuff in the background now there's the likes of Fennec (formerly Firefox Mobile).

Anyway, I'm sure you'll be interested to know that selecting "Request Desktop Site" in Fennec or "Desktop View" in the built-in browser still doesn't allow me to use cyclestreets. In the built-in browser, I still get redirected to the broken mobile site. In Fennec, I get the "nothing seems to happen" behaviour mentioned in the opening post.

I suspect it works for you mainly because Opera is now so rare that cyclestreets doesn't recognise its desktop user-agent code and try to shunt you to the broken mobile website.

[DevonDamo]

mjr - Fennec isn't the new name for Firefox Mobile. It's a separate browser, which has been based on the original Firefox software, but maintained by Open Source developers and not distributed on the Google Play market. You might trust this version more, as it's Open Source, but that's no guarantee - there are numerous examples of malicious code being slipped into Open Source software. If you want the official Firefox Android App, then look on the Google Play market for 'Firefox Browser.' (If you want to stick with Fennec, the other thing you might want to try is going into its Settings and deleting all your cookies and browsing history and then relaunching cyclestreets.net - you might find it now opens up in its Desktop form.)

Every time you use an on-line service, you are exposed to a security risk. (Booked your tickets via the British Airways website? Read the news today - the hackers now have your credit card details...) So nothing is fully secure, but if you're trying to scare people away, then you need evidence before decrying something as an untrustworthy "black box" app. And a quick Google search will tell you that there isn't any evidence to suggest Opera is less trustworthy than any other browser. It's a mainstream app: 2m downloads of latest version, which is in the same league as Firefox's 3m dowloads of the latest version. It's therefore exposed to the scrutiny of Google and the rest of the world's tech-nerds. There are no current reports of security flaws over and above any other browser. Like the British Airways website, it could bite you on the bum, but that's a gamble you have to take when using anyone else's software. I manage this risk by (1) using 'official' versions of software (2) keeping software and system patches up-to-date and (3) not doing anything 'risky' online - I don't consider plotting cycle routes 'risky.'

Sorry to get all nerdy on you, but answering this question has been like wading through treacle. It shouldn't be. Neither Fennec nor Chrome will give you a desktop version of CycleStreets. Opera will. That's what the OP asked for.

[mjr]

mjr - Fennec isn't the new name for Firefox Mobile. It's a separate browser, which has been based on the original Firefox software, but maintained by Open Source developers and not distributed on the Google Play market.

I didn't say it was the new name for Firefox Mobile. I said it was "formerly Firefox Mobile" which is a way of saying "based on the original Firefox software" more succinctly, in a way that most non-techies will understand.

You might trust this version more, as it's Open Source, but that's no guarantee - there are numerous examples of malicious code being slipped into Open Source software.

Relatively few compared to how much is released, but at least the malware has to be "slipped into" it. With black box software like Opera, they can just stick malware straight in there because no-one other than the makers can see inside and "the scrutiny of Google and the rest of the world's tech-nerds" is just looking at the outside and has missed stuff so many times before.

Every time you use an on-line service, you are exposed to a security risk.

That doesn't mean it's not worth trying to be secure instead of giving up and BOGU.

I manage this risk by (1) using 'official' versions of software (2) keeping software and system patches up-to-date and (3) not doing anything 'risky' online - I don't consider plotting cycle routes 'risky.'

"Official" software has had tons of security and privacy holes. Many unintentional, some intentional. Opera and Google and the like don't share our aims. If pressed, they would sell their own grandmothers for glue if it was profitable.

Not doing anything risky online - do you consider buying plane tickets "risky"? Also there's an element of risk in plotting cycle routes for most people because it can tell the browser maker where you're going, although often not when, but they might make a reasonable guess if your browser is in an unusual-for-it location near the start of the route you plot. Maybe that's data you're happy to share. Maybe it's not. But maybe check the browser privacy policy closely. And then hope that the black-box app does what the policy says, because you've no way to check it yourself.

Sorry to get all nerdy on you, but answering this question has been like wading through treacle. It shouldn't be. Neither Fennec nor Chrome will give you a desktop version of CycleStreets. Opera will. That's what the OP asked for.

The OP actually asked "Anyone having issues with it?" You seem to have answered several different questions while asking questions like "Any reason why you're not using the Cyclestreets app?" and then bickering with the answers while trying to start a micturation contest over the smallest simplifications.

[DevonDamo]

The thread itself refutes your assertion. I've suggested one solution which you quibbled with, on the OP's behalf, based on your personal preference not to use your smartphone for navigation. I then gave him exactly what he wanted (you can argue that black is white, but he evidently just wanted to export a .gpx file him his mobile browser.) Again, you quibbled with this workable solution and offered none of your own. And suddenly the poster (who apparently doesn't use any software unless it's open source) is butt-hurt that I'm clearly not impressed with their constructive input to the thread...

[mjr]

The thread itself refutes your assertion. I've suggested one solution which you quibbled with, on the OP's behalf, based on your personal preference not to use your smartphone for navigation. I then gave him exactly what he wanted (you can argue that black is white, but he evidently just wanted to export a .gpx file him his mobile browser.) Again, you quibbled with this workable solution and offered none of your own. And suddenly the poster (who apparently doesn't use any software unless it's open source) is butt-hurt that I'm clearly not impressed with their constructive input to the thread...

The thread itself refutes your many assertions. Note especially where I mentioned which navigation app I use!