You can scout out interesting-looking roads and hills and devise a route that suits you cycling requirements precisely, so you can pack in as many hills as possible or avoid them altogether. Planning a route using mapping software or an app has certain advantages. Why plan a route using mapping software or an app? This is ideal if you’re new to an area, you're on holiday and aren’t sure where to cycle, or you just want to ride somewhere different.
Some devices just let you put in the postcode or address and will calculate a route for you to follow, but it's better if you can manually plot a route to suit the distance you want to ride or the time you have available. > Check out the best cycling computers 2023 They function much like a car sat nav and you can create your own routes to follow.
Why follow a route on your bike computer?Īlthough basic GPS bike computers offer only simple metrics (how fast you’re going, the distance you've ridden, and so on), more expensive computers with bigger, clearer screens provide mapping and navigational facilities. While you can still navigate roads and tracks using paper maps, affordable GPS (Global Positioning System) bike computers – like Garmin Edge and Wahoo Elemnt devices – and smartphones with mapping apps mean that most of us these days follow routes without turning a page.
