Viewranger

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
gordonyoung
Posts: 39
Joined: 16 Sep 2009, 10:44pm

Viewranger

Post by gordonyoung »

I have always used Viewranger along with the Open Cycle Map for my cycle touring. Not just for Europe but Australia and Canada as well. Viewranger has now told their user base to move to Outdoor Active as they have been bought out. The Outdoor active open street map with a cycling overlay is nowhere near as good. I wrote to them and they replied:

"I've fed this back to Outdooractive's cartography team, but at present you are seeing all they offer. They have been clear to us that Open Cycle Map will not be added, and they are working to make their cycling activity layer better."

I also bought a new Android phone and it has version 11 which seems to be giving problems with both Viewranger and Outdoor active (I think because the way an App uses Location has changed).

I am now in the situation where Viewranger is not working properly and they won't be updating their app as they are discontinuing it; paid my annual subscription for Outdoor Active and they don't have the Irish OS maps nor a decent open cycle map!

It is real shame as Viewranger was very good. Had all the data for my recent trip on the Velo Danejec! (Poland)

I suggest that anyone using Viewranger writes to them to say how important the Open Cycle Map is for touring.
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CJ
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Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 9:55pm

Re: Viewranger

Post by CJ »

I agree with you. I don't know why so many cyclists love Ordnance Survey, they've never even tried to depict cycling facilities properly. Open Cycle Map is a much more useful map for cycling than anything from OS and Viewranger is/was a most convenient way of viewing that mapping on a phone. I will miss it very much when it goes.

So: does anyone know of any other means of navigating via Open Cycle Map on a phone, without paying rent for what is, after all, open source mapping, made by the people for the people!
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
rualexander
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Joined: 2 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
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Re: Viewranger

Post by rualexander »

gordonyoung wrote: 5 Oct 2021, 8:57pm

I am now in the situation where Viewranger is not working properly and they won't be updating their app as they are discontinuing it; paid my annual subscription for Outdoor Active and they don't have the Irish OS maps nor a decent open cycle map!
If you are a Viewranger member then you shouldn't have paid an Outdoor Active subscription as Viewranger members get a year's free membership at Pro+ level as part of the transition deal.
Psamathe
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Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Viewranger

Post by Psamathe »

CJ wrote: 3 Feb 2022, 6:27pm I agree with you. I don't know why so many cyclists love Ordnance Survey, they've never even tried to depict cycling facilities properly. Open Cycle Map is a much more useful map for cycling than anything from OS and Viewranger is/was a most convenient way of viewing that mapping on a phone. I will miss it very much when it goes.

So: does anyone know of any other means of navigating via Open Cycle Map on a phone, without paying rent for what is, after all, open source mapping, made by the people for the people!
If you are on an iPhone than I recommend MapOut https://mapout.app. Its a low cost one-time purchase which you then get all mapping with regular updates downloadable for offline use. Targeted at outdoor activities (hiking and cycling). Based on OSM but includes cycle network overlay (you'll have to look through their documentation or contact the developers as to where their cycle network info comes from or if it is adequate for what you are looking for. Vector mapping so continuous zoom down to full detail.

For my own use I find it's main strengths are very good clear rendering and good focus on altitude profiles (mapping includes contours, etc. but app gives altitude plots over a gpx route/track as well as an altitude prlot between two points (touch & hld two fingers and drag points around).

It does not do "turn by turn navigation" but will draw a gpx over a map showing your current location (updating as you move).

Ian
sjs
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Joined: 24 Jan 2010, 10:08pm
Location: Hitchin

Re: Viewranger

Post by sjs »

Locus Map Pro will download Open Cycle Map for a couple of pounds per country (I think, having just investigated). It's also a quite capable navigation and routing app, for Android.
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CJ
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Re: Viewranger

Post by CJ »

sjs wrote: 3 Feb 2022, 7:58pm Locus Map Pro will download Open Cycle Map for a couple of pounds per country (I think, having just investigated). It's also a quite capable navigation and routing app, for Android.
I am not an iPerson, so that sounds like the app for me. Thanks, I will also investigate.
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
Pendodave
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Joined: 3 Jun 2020, 8:27am

Re: Viewranger

Post by Pendodave »

sjs wrote: 3 Feb 2022, 7:58pm Locus Map Pro will download Open Cycle Map for a couple of pounds per country (I think, having just investigated). It's also a quite capable navigation and routing app, for Android.
Thanks for this. I currently use osmand for turn by turn. Does anyone have any thoughts on a comparison before I have a poke around?
Jules59
Posts: 420
Joined: 16 Jan 2019, 2:34pm

Re: Viewranger

Post by Jules59 »

Im a big fan of OsmAnd.
I use it for cycling, walking and driving. A useful feature for me is that it doesn't need real time data link, only GPS. It works best if your phone has a built-in compass, otherwise it doesnt know which way you are facing until you move.
sjs
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Location: Hitchin

Re: Viewranger

Post by sjs »

I don't know enough about Osmand to make a comparison, but it does seem to share many of the same capabilities as Locus, so perhaps it boils down to personal taste. I don't know if it deals in Open Cycle Map though.
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Sweep
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Re: Viewranger

Post by Sweep »

Another fan of OSMand here.
I don't use it for live navigation but have done offline routes on it though.

I would recommend that anyone take a serious look at it.
Sweep
Psamathe
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Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Viewranger

Post by Psamathe »

Sweep wrote: 5 Feb 2022, 6:21pm Another fan of OSMand here.
I don't use it for live navigation but have done offline routes on it though.

I would recommend that anyone take a serious look at it.
I have the impression that most OSMAnd users are Android based (and CJ stated he is not an iDevice user). But OSMAnd on iPhone has been pretty poor/buggy. I have tried it on several occasions (subscribing to various of the in-app purchases) but have always given-up because bugs are just too disruptive. But Android users seem to report their version as much more stable (I believe it has been on Android for a lot lot longer).

Ian
matt_twam_asi
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Joined: 29 Apr 2008, 10:56am
Location: West Sussex

Re: Viewranger

Post by matt_twam_asi »

sjs wrote: 5 Feb 2022, 5:26pm I don't know enough about Osmand to make a comparison, but it does seem to share many of the same capabilities as Locus, so perhaps it boils down to personal taste. I don't know if it deals in Open Cycle Map though.
OpenCycleMap is a cycle-focussed rendering of OpenStreetMap data. Osmand can be configured to show the OpenCycleMap render (which requires data while in use) or alternatively can show its own (offline) cycle-focussed rendering OSM data.
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Sweep
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Location: London

Re: Viewranger

Post by Sweep »

Psamathe wrote: 5 Feb 2022, 7:37pm
Sweep wrote: 5 Feb 2022, 6:21pm Another fan of OSMand here.
I don't use it for live navigation but have done offline routes on it though.

I would recommend that anyone take a serious look at it.
I have the impression that most OSMAnd users are Android based (and CJ stated he is not an iDevice user). But OSMAnd on iPhone has been pretty poor/buggy. I have tried it on several occasions (subscribing to various of the in-app purchases) but have always given-up because bugs are just too disruptive. But Android users seem to report their version as much more stable (I believe it has been on Android for a lot lot longer).

Ian
My experience of OSMand is on Android.
If CJ is an android rather than "i" user I think it worth a good look.
Sweep
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CJ
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Re: Viewranger

Post by CJ »

sjs wrote: 5 Feb 2022, 5:26pm I don't know enough about Osmand to make a comparison, but it does seem to share many of the same capabilities as Locus, so perhaps it boils down to personal taste. I don't know if it deals in Open Cycle Map though.
Does Locus really deal in Open Cycle Map though? I've searched all the public information I can find about Locus, both the Pro and the Free/Subscription version, and can't find any mention of that specific mapping. All that Locus seems to offer is their own cycling slant on the OSM database, a 'Lomap' for cyclists. Maybe that has all the things I like in OCM, maybe it doesn't. As I cannot find any mapping samples big and varied enough to depict all those features, I do not know and cannot tell without adding the app to my phone, which I am loth to do because it's low on memory already and the Pro version (which I'd probably choose rather than paying rent not to be bombarded by adverts) is paid for.

Is there anyone who's got Locus Pro already who can confirm that it gives them actual Open Cycle Map, downloadable for offline use? Or, if they think the Cycling Lomap is just as good, please could someone post an image of a section of Lomap that depicts all the different kinds of cycling facility/non-facility (roadside cycle track, on-road cycle-lane, rail-trail path, bridleway, footpath with steps, cycle shop...) plus various classes of roads of course and enough terrain to show how it renders contours and/or gradients?
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
Richard Fairhurst
Posts: 2030
Joined: 2 Mar 2008, 4:57pm
Location: Charlbury, Oxfordshire

Re: Viewranger

Post by Richard Fairhurst »

CJ wrote: 3 Feb 2022, 6:27pm I agree with you. I don't know why so many cyclists love Ordnance Survey, they've never even tried to depict cycling facilities properly. Open Cycle Map is a much more useful map for cycling than anything from OS and Viewranger is/was a most convenient way of viewing that mapping on a phone. I will miss it very much when it goes.

So: does anyone know of any other means of navigating via Open Cycle Map on a phone, without paying rent for what is, after all, open source mapping, made by the people for the people!
The GaiaGPS and AllTrails apps both have real OpenCycleMap. They both have free and premium options: I'm not sure how much you'll get without a premium subscription, but it might be worth trying.

Ultimately, to deliver the maps, Andy (who runs OpenCycleMap) has to pay for his servers. OSM often says "OpenStreetMap data is free for everyone to use. Our tile servers are not" (I think I probably wrote that line...!), and the same generally holds true of anyone who's providing map tiles based on OSM data. Unfortunately putting up a server with "free tiles for everyone" generally lasts about a fortnight until it gets completely bombarded and unusable. :(
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