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I'm switching from an android phone to an iphone soon. I use the google maps bike directions all the time to figure out how to get to friend's houses, restaurants, bars and navigating around a new city, usually with no pre-planning on a computer.

On my droid, I just bring up google maps, type in an address, and get bike directions. However, the iphone doesn't have bike directions on the maps app. What is a good native app alternative for the iphone?

I'm not trying to track my rides. Just trying to figure out how to get from A to B.

Update: It does seem that the cycling layer and bike directions are serviceable in a pinch on the google maps website when viewed on the iPhone or android device, but a native app would be more desirable.

Edit: June 2014 : Google Maps on the iPhone does support bicycle routes.

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  • Not quite the same question, but also see: What is a good iPhone app for bikers?
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    May 10, 2012 at 16:06
  • So far, the only thing that looks promising is gpstuner.com which is also available for android. However, the POI is pretty lousy. Try searching for 'restaurant' or 'beer'. No results. Search results are not local either, they search the whole damn globe, way too broad.
    – Benzo
    May 11, 2012 at 13:46
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    The following URL seems to have a list of apps that use open street maps and lists the navigating features (car / bike / walking ) which the app provides. I'll be checking out these apps in more detail that are listed as providing iphone support. However, I'm still looking for personal recommendations as I can't test these apps myself. wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/IPhone#Navigating_features
    – Benzo
    May 14, 2012 at 6:34
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    Surely this is a list question and as such not really a valid SE topic?
    – Unsliced
    May 15, 2012 at 16:19
  • Have you tried using the walking directions the iPhone maps app provides?
    – Glenn Gervais
    May 15, 2012 at 20:15

10 Answers 10

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Have you tried "Get there by bike"? http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/get-there-by-bike-interactive/id457288250?mt=8

The few times i tried it i had good results.

Another alternative, but i have not used yet. http://www.bikemapsapp.com/

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  • I havn't tried anything yet. If I don't find a good replacement for my google maps, I'm not sure I'll actually switch from android to iphone. It's one of those dealbreakers for me.
    – Benzo
    May 13, 2012 at 3:09
  • Any reason not to just use the Google Maps web app, or built in mapping function from iPhone?
    – zenbike
    May 13, 2012 at 5:11
  • Built in mapping does not give cycling specific directions on the iphone like it does on android. The google maps web app has pretty lousy performance as far as I know, at least that's my experience when trying to use it on my android phone.
    – Benzo
    May 14, 2012 at 2:29
  • I don't think I can even view the cycling 'layer' on the iphone mapping app.
    – Benzo
    May 14, 2012 at 2:29
  • Get There By Bike (iTunes Store link) is basically a wrapper around Google's bike directions.
    – Thalecress
    May 18, 2012 at 18:12
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If you are in the UK, use CycleStreets. It's a free journey-planning website designed specifically for cycling, so it can route you across off-road cycle tracks and bridges, and it gives you a choice of faster routes for more confident cyclists, and quieter routes if you want to avoid traffic. As well as the main and a mobile website, they have free apps for iPhone and Android. It uses data from OpenStreetMap (the wiki-like atlas anyone can edit), so even if it doesn't find a route you know is there, you can add the missing link yourself, or ask the developers to improve it.

I use it all the time. Sorry if you're not in the UK, as it's currently UK only: as a not-for-profit they can't yet afford the server capacity to route in other countries too.

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Google Maps for iPhone now has bike layer support and bike-specific navigation starting with update on July 16, 2013, version 2.0

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Tomtom for me. A little expensive but I like having built-in maps so that the mapping works when there is no phone reception. The voice directions are also good enough not to need looking at the phone.

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There's a new free app called Bikepath Country that has simple point A to point B cycling directions. You can also get suggested rides for any area. It's available on Android and iPhone, so whichever you decide to stay with/go to!

iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bikepath/id513898258?mt=8

Website with more info: http://www.bikepathcountry.com

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Try Bike On - Voice navigation for bikers https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bike-on-bicycle-routes-maps/id640958131?mt=8

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  • Welcome to Bicycles Stack Exchange! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.
    – Gary.Ray ♦
    May 2, 2013 at 13:38
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See bikecityguide - available on both iOS and Android.

Its maps & routing are based on OpenStreetMap so if a certain bike route is not available on the map you could add it yourself. They have a couple of city packs - if your city fits that then you're in luck (I goes you could use it in any other city, but those city packs are really bike optimized).

A cool feature they have is the fact that use bike adapted turn-by-turn navigation instructions (see the app and you'll understand) and they also work offline (good to have while traveling)

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keep the android phone, maybe even bolt it to the bike, and use it exclusively for that with the iphone being a hotspot.

i did the research for you, as my wife rather the iphone. There's absolutely no GPS app that does a decent job in text to speech for cars. let alone with bike functionality. You can test yourself. most of them have trial periods. all of them suck. and are around $9/mo plus extra fees for the text-to-speech functionality.

using the iphone as a hotspot allows you to use google maps navigator, which has Bike Routes, and TTS. all that you need.

Also, it being your 'extra phone' you wont feel that bad if you fall or something, as your main phone will be protected in a bag or something. and better have an empty phone stolen then the one with all your info :)

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Check out Strava - it's a little more geared towards training and road cycling, but has some fun features (ex - recognizes hills on your route and ranks your time based on other strava users who have done the same climb).

Whatever you use, don't forget to look up!

http://www.strava.com/

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If you want to walk there is an iPhone app with very detailed instructions. useful if you get somewhere and then want to walk in a circular walk around a city or rural area.

iFootpath.com is for the UK only but works well for fallowing routes with photos, etc.

http://www.iFootpath.com

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