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Tech Komoot vs. RWGPS

hellerphant

Maximum Pace
Mar 23, 2022
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So I will be using my phone for at least the next 3-6 months before I eventually get a Wahoo, and I'd like to cut down the subscriptions I use etc. Keeping in mind that my Japanese is basically no existent outside of very basic Kanji (hiragana and Katakana no problem).

My use case is finding cool routes in areas I will be exploring. For example, find me a cool route near a station so I can get on the train, get off, and get a nice varied road ride. I won't be planning routes from scratch typically, perhaps adapting existing ones from the community. Eventually I'll be using a Wahoo Roam, so the idea would be my saved routes etc. will work on that device.

RWGPS seemed okay but really drained my battery. I also had issues with the Turn-by-turn navigation not working, or not unlocking my phone screen. It seems to have more Japanese routes on there though, but the Map is all in Japanese characters so I just have to trust!

Komoot has a much nicer interface in my opinion, however the routes all seem to be made by a handful of foreigners who love tacos...? Like, so many of them are loops that lead to Taco stores, at least in the Tokyo area haha! The turn-by-turn navigation worked fine, but got all the street names wrong (was speaking German I think...?) but the battery was good. Did a 3hr trek yesterday and came home with 65% battery and I was using my Aftershocks to play music over bluetooth that entire time too.

So people here - is RWGPS the way for Japan? It seems like Komoot is just not really set up for the routing that I'm looking for. But perhaps it's just the Tokyo region that is lacking.
 
This link should get you to my RWGPS page. https://ridewithgps.com/users/411756 If you go to the 'collections' page you'll find pics and write ups of rides and road conditions along the way.

I'd recommend you start with Yabitsu. If you follow the route below, you can ride up the north side (it's not as steep as the south) then take the train back from Hadano. It is a very nice ride and the train will have you back in Machida in about 30 minutes.

 
take the train back from Hadano
It's been a while, but I once read (here?) that there's a bike shop or two in Hadano that does a brisk business selling rinko bags. ;)
 
I think that if you are willing pay for RWGPS, you can download the routes to your phone and then use it offline. It should save a good amount of battery.
Otherwise, you can buy a top tube bag to store a battery pack and charge your phone while navigating. ;)
 
I think for any phone-based recording and routing a USB battery pack (I'd recommend 50 mAh or more) is the way to go. A top tube bag or a handlebar bag is perfect for this. I have a phone holder on the handlebars of both my bikes (same model of holder). The battery pack takes away the battery life anxiety you may have with a phone. Following a course tends to involve more viewing of the screen which is particularly heavy on power use. Ideally the phone screen should be off as much as possible if you want to maximize battery life. A screen lock can be a real pain when you want to navigate.

This is where dedicated GPS units have a big advantage. Their little LCD screens tend to do without backlights except at night and are much lower resolution that phone screens so altogether much less power hungry. That's why they can be "always on" and still get good battery life.

I use Strava (free version) and RWGPS (paid version), both for uploading rides and RWGPS for planning rides. Occasionally I will also record shorter rides or parts of rides or hikes in the middle of a ride with either app. I don't really use them for following pre-planned routes on the bike, for that I have my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. For other unplanned navigation I use Google Maps on the phone. I don't have any experience with Komoot.

You will see some of us post links on Strava or RWGPS to rides we've done. If you follow these accounts you will see rides that people do and these courses are usually a good starting point for exploring new areas.
 
I've found that if you're going to be tracking a ride via phone, airplane mode + gps is the way to go. Obviously you won't be able to ... phone in the meantime, but you're riding the bike anyway so you don't need to.
If you have everything turned on, battery seems to disappear for no reason considering you're not even touching the thing...
 
Even when you get your Wahoo, you will still have to either (1) plot your own routes or (2) download them from somewhere else. I personally use Komoot, where I plot my routes - most of the time I just write the destination and the app does the rest. The app gives you one free region to start with, and then you can buy other regions individually (or the whole pack). For example, I have Tokyo (free), but then I also bought Shizuoka-ken where sometimes I ride. Finally, I then upload/sync the file to my Wahoo.

I also, sometimes, just download someone else's route from Strava and then upload it to Komoot where I can make some changes (and then sync it back to Wahoo - this is automatic).

As for the phone, that is the last resort, and I pretty much just use it to plot another route and then sync back to Wahoo, all via Komoot.

Good luck with your decisions. Picking up a new system can be daunting because there are so many options. And in the end, it will be your experience that will dictate what is best for you. However, it sure sucks to spend money on something, just to later realize that's not what works best for you.
 
Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I will continue to try RWGPS, and also tweak Komoot to see if I can get it where I want it.

Even when you get your Wahoo, you will still have to either (1) plot your own routes or (2) download them from somewhere else. I personally use Komoot, where I plot my routes - most of the time I just write the destination and the app does the rest. The app gives you one free region to start with, and then you can buy other regions individually (or the whole pack). For example, I have Tokyo (free), but then I also bought Shizuoka-ken where sometimes I ride. Finally, I then upload/sync the file to my Wahoo.

I also, sometimes, just download someone else's route from Strava and then upload it to Komoot where I can make some changes (and then sync it back to Wahoo - this is automatic).

As for the phone, that is the last resort, and I pretty much just use it to plot another route and then sync back to Wahoo, all via Komoot.

Good luck with your decisions. Picking up a new system can be daunting because there are so many options. And in the end, it will be your experience that will dictate what is best for you. However, it sure sucks to spend money on something, just to later realize that's not what works best for you.
Your post gives me an idea. I could take rides from RWGPS or Strava and then add them to Komoot and tweak them to my liking. This is probably the best option for me, as I prefer the Komoot app in terms of interface and usability. Glad to hear it works well with Wahoo too!
 
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