GgarryP
Elite Member
Had a great ride with beautiful weather yesterday following a route generated by the Kurviger app through the mountain roads in western North Carolina. Some of the roads were new to me and a pleasure to ride with very little traffic on some nice side roads.
Kurviger was first created in Germany a couple years ago and translated to English which explains the domain (Kurviger.de/en). I used the Pro version ($10.00) which provides voice guidance which worked well. The screen contrast and info windows made the map easy to read and follow even with bright sunlight and a dark visor.
This app was created specifically for motorcycle adventuring and has some interesting features. It's pretty easy to start using (see docs.kurviger.de for instructions) but looks pretty powerful once you learn it well. Kurviger is an android app but routes laid out on the web version can be imported into the Scenic app for iOS users.
My initial route was generated on the website by selecting a general direction from my starting point, approximate round trip length, road type (direct, curvy, extra curvy), and other selections (avoid unpaved roads, etc.). Then I added a few intermediate waypoints to refine the route and sent it to my phone. I think you can also generate a new route on the app. I also saved it as a *.kurviger file so I can ride the same route or open and modify it later.
The selections are preferences used by the software to generate the route. They are not absolutes. For example, one of the side roads was gravel for about a mile even though I had selected "Avoid unpaved roads." This also could have been due to the map data not being complete for that road.
The voice guidance was reasonable with turn alerts at 2 miles, 1 mile, 0.2 miles, and at the turn. On city streets this adjusted to 0.4, 0.2 and at the turn. The display was easy to read at a glance to avoid any confusion. The app also calculates a new route if you diverge from the designated path.
The web page version can also show a graph displaying the elevation changes; yesterday's ride had a range of 4,000 ft. As you drag the cursor along the graph the location is shown on the route.
It's not perfect but the developer seems very engaged in improvements. The main flaw I experienced was a few times when turn directions were provide for an intersection with a side road when it was clear that the route continued on the same road.
Kurviger works with OSM (Open Source Maps(?)) and provides some indication of topography but doesn't show actual terrain like Google Maps or Google Earth.
Route planning requires an internet connection but you can download maps to your phone so navigation doesn't.
Based on this one trial I'm very pleased with the app and give it 5 stars. Of course, I haven't tried most other routing apps and have only done some spotty research online so take it with the required salt.
Garry
Kurviger was first created in Germany a couple years ago and translated to English which explains the domain (Kurviger.de/en). I used the Pro version ($10.00) which provides voice guidance which worked well. The screen contrast and info windows made the map easy to read and follow even with bright sunlight and a dark visor.
This app was created specifically for motorcycle adventuring and has some interesting features. It's pretty easy to start using (see docs.kurviger.de for instructions) but looks pretty powerful once you learn it well. Kurviger is an android app but routes laid out on the web version can be imported into the Scenic app for iOS users.
My initial route was generated on the website by selecting a general direction from my starting point, approximate round trip length, road type (direct, curvy, extra curvy), and other selections (avoid unpaved roads, etc.). Then I added a few intermediate waypoints to refine the route and sent it to my phone. I think you can also generate a new route on the app. I also saved it as a *.kurviger file so I can ride the same route or open and modify it later.
The selections are preferences used by the software to generate the route. They are not absolutes. For example, one of the side roads was gravel for about a mile even though I had selected "Avoid unpaved roads." This also could have been due to the map data not being complete for that road.
The voice guidance was reasonable with turn alerts at 2 miles, 1 mile, 0.2 miles, and at the turn. On city streets this adjusted to 0.4, 0.2 and at the turn. The display was easy to read at a glance to avoid any confusion. The app also calculates a new route if you diverge from the designated path.
The web page version can also show a graph displaying the elevation changes; yesterday's ride had a range of 4,000 ft. As you drag the cursor along the graph the location is shown on the route.
It's not perfect but the developer seems very engaged in improvements. The main flaw I experienced was a few times when turn directions were provide for an intersection with a side road when it was clear that the route continued on the same road.
Kurviger works with OSM (Open Source Maps(?)) and provides some indication of topography but doesn't show actual terrain like Google Maps or Google Earth.
Route planning requires an internet connection but you can download maps to your phone so navigation doesn't.
Based on this one trial I'm very pleased with the app and give it 5 stars. Of course, I haven't tried most other routing apps and have only done some spotty research online so take it with the required salt.
Garry
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