Anyone know of a sat nav with the *shortest route* option available ?

[Philnewbike]

Hi there

Satnavs used to have a shortest route option - the one that took people through dirt roads, through fords, over mountains, and generally got them into trouble etc  - but I can't find a satnav that has this anymore. I have tried google Maps, Waze and a few of the obvious ones and they have lots of options but not this one. Please could someone suggest an App that still does this?

Reason: I want to avoid motorways (yes, this can be done on some apps like google's) and dual carriage ways (not an option in satnavs I have tried) and go by the prettiest most silly windy uneconomical direct route without going near a main road 

Cheers!
phil

[twowheeladdict]

My Garmin Zumo 660 has shortest route.

I also have maps.me on my smart phone since it allows download of maps because I am always where cell coverage is spotty.  It doesn't have shortest distance, but you can place stops between start and finish to force a particular route.

The Garmin Zumo 395LM can be bought for a couple hundred.

[GeorgiaGuzzi]

The scenic app has all those setting, as well as downloadable maps. I’m pleased with it.

[twowheeladdict]

The scenic app has all those setting, as well as downloadable maps. I’m pleased with it.

Cool.  Going to give it a look at.

[Daniel Kalal]

...I want to avoid motorways...

Phil, it sounds like you are limiting yourself to phone apps, which generally aim for an audience that wants a simple approach to getting from point A to point B expediently.  I think you'll find that the dedicated GPS devices will give you more options.  Any Garmin device, for instance, will let you control for shortest time or shortest distance along with additional limits for unpaved roads, tollways, major highways, and so forth.  I've learned to quickly toggle all these options, on the fly, to get me through larger towns as fast and painless as possible, but to still keep me off the multi-lane highways when I'm away from towns.

[Wayne Orwig]

My thought differ from Daniels.

I prefer smartphone apps, and ditched my overpriced and unreliable Garmins years ago.

For most street routing, I use CoPilot. It has offline maps, so works everywhere. It allows you to route by quickest, or shortest. And a few other setting like toll roads and ferries.

Even Waze has an 'avoid freeway', and 'dirt roads' option.

I sort of prefer OSMand, for the map view settings, but the routing options are pretty good also.

But if you really want to get in trouble, check out Kurviger. It is online, and an app. That will get you off the beaten path.
https://kurviger.de/en

[Daniel Kalal]

...I use CoPilot...

CoPilot is a good product.  I used it in my car for several years.

[LowRyter]

You might try "Bicycle Mode"  That one might approximate closely to what you ask. 

I have it on my Beeline App.  Actually the "motorcycle mode" is glitchy but the bike mode works well.  I like to program some of my own routes which takes some time.

[twowheeladdict]

My thought differ from Daniels.

I prefer smartphone apps, and ditched my overpriced and unreliable Garmins years ago.

For most street routing, I use CoPilot. It has offline maps, so works everywhere. It allows you to route by quickest, or shortest. And a few other setting like toll roads and ferries.

Even Waze has an 'avoid freeway', and 'dirt roads' option.

I sort of prefer OSMand, for the map view settings, but the routing options are pretty good also.

But if you really want to get in trouble, check out Kurviger. It is online, and an app. That will get you off the beaten path.
https://kurviger.de/en

I've had my zumo for at least 300,000 miles.  One of the great features is custom routing that let's you specify the exact  route you want, or enter a bunch of waypoints and have it optimize the route. 

The smartphone apps have tried to change my route in the middle of s drive/ride forcing me to press no or it will automatically change it.

[Wayne Orwig]

I've had my zumo for at least 300,000 miles.  One of the great features is custom routing that let's you specify the exact  route you want, or enter a bunch of waypoints and have it optimize the route. 

The smartphone apps have tried to change my route in the middle of s drive/ride forcing me to press no or it will automatically change it.

Depends on the app. Just as my old Garmin would reroute and toss away my plans if I was not careful.

That is one of the reasons I like the CoPilot app. I could set up a multi-day route, and it would not toss out my plan if I got off route. But I can get it to recalc the route if I want.

Basically, It depends on the app, and the Garmin, I'm sure.

[Daniel Kalal]

Cheers!

I think these discussions can be helpful to a person looking to buy a SatNav/GPS device or phone-app, but be aware that ultimately, it is like asking the entire WildGuzzi forum to pick your next motorcycle for you.


There are any number of ways to use the GPS, and that will affect which solution will work best for you.  For instance, I have never put together a detailed multi-day route; I doubt I ever will.  It does not fit the way I do my trips.  The farthest out I would ever enter a destination would be around two hours—and it is not likely that I would even arrive at that destination before changing my plan and entering another.


Mostly, I use the GPS as a high-quality moving map, without any guidance at all.


So, while we can all tell you what works best for us, there is a limit to how appropriate that advice will be for you.

[OldMojo]

The scenic app has all those setting, as well as downloadable maps. I’m pleased with it.

I would like to try this one, but no Android version yet 

I've tried most of the other big names, and quite a few of the more obscure bike oriented ones. Most get deleted before I even leave the house.

[Wayne Orwig]

Mostly, I use the GPS as a high-quality moving map, without any guidance at all.

 

I find that the best. I can go exploring anywhere and find a simple moving map very helpful.

I also like where I can put in a destination, and I get a simple arrow, like a compass, point to my destination. I then decide on the roads to get there. Sometimes it doesn't work well, most times it is great. either way I had an interesting ride.

[Philnewbike]

The scenic app has all those setting, as well as downloadable maps. I’m pleased with it.

sounds good but I don't have that listed on the UK google Play store :(

[Philnewbike]

Phil, it sounds like you are limiting yourself to phone apps, which generally aim for an audience that wants a simple approach to getting from point A to point B expediently.  I think you'll find that the dedicated GPS devices will give you more options.  Any Garmin device, for instance, will let you control for shortest time or shortest distance along with additional limits for unpaved roads, tollways, major highways, and so forth.  I've learned to quickly toggle all these options, on the fly, to get me through larger towns as fast and painless as possible, but to still keep me off the multi-lane highways when I'm away from towns.

So modern Garmins still do this? Great. I have an ancient Garmin that does this but it is too slow and has a dim screen for a motorbike... I will look into a new Garmin if they still have the shortest route option 

[Philnewbike]

My thought differ from Daniels.

I prefer smartphone apps, and ditched my overpriced and unreliable Garmins years ago.

For most street routing, I use CoPilot. It has offline maps, so works everywhere. It allows you to route by quickest, or shortest. And a few other setting like toll roads and ferries............ ...

But if you really want to get in trouble, check out Kurviger. It is online, and an app. That will get you off the beaten path.
https://kurviger.de/en

Thank you. I have downloaded Copilot and it does have the shortest distance option (though it also has only given me a 14 day period before I have to pay... it didn;t say how much) 

[Philnewbike]

I think these discussions can be helpful to a person looking to buy a SatNav/GPS device or phone-app, but be aware that ultimately, it is like asking the entire WildGuzzi forum to pick your next motorcycle for you.


There are any number of ways to use the GPS, and that will affect which solution will work best for you.  For instance, I have never put together a detailed multi-day route; I doubt I ever will.  It does not fit the way I do my trips.  The farthest out I would ever enter a destination would be around two hours—and it is not likely that I would even arrive at that destination before changing my plan and entering another.


Mostly, I use the GPS as a high-quality moving map, without any guidance at all.


So, while we can all tell you what works best for us, there is a limit to how appropriate that advice will be for you.

I understand your point, but I think it mainly applies to the US. In lil' old England you need to make a road choice every few minutes even deep into the countryside, hence why I'd like a satnav that does direct routing - I don't want to input way points (google can do that) or just avoid motorways (highways) because in the UK we have dual carriageways which are basically motorways with 2 lanes - too fast and scary for me  . I just want to the sat nav to do zero clever calculating and just plot the direct route... and then as you suggest, I can decide whether to follow