Route Planningđź”—
Immediately after loading, Bikerouter is in “Create route” mode. This means you can create route points simply by clicking on the map.
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As soon as the planning mode is active, the pencil icon on the left side of the screen turns blue.
The first point you place is the starting point of the route, and every additional point is appended to the route until you set the last point (destination). In the simplest case, a route consists only of a start and a destination point.
Clicking the button with the pencil icon on the left side of the screen leaves “Create route” mode (alternative: press Esc once).
You can also add points to the route afterwards: simply switch back to “Create route” mode (button with the pencil icon) and add more points.
You can add via points to a route later on without limitation: move the mouse pointer over the route line until a magenta/white circle appears. You can now click and drag it to the desired location on the map. The route adjusts immediately and now runs through this point.
On touch screens (phone, tablet), simply drag a route segment to the desired spot to insert a via point there.
Route points can be removed at any time: simply click a point to delete it from the route.
The position of route points can be changed at any time by dragging: click, hold, and drag to the desired position.
You can reverse the entire route: either use the button on the left edge of the screen (two crossed arrows below the pencil icon) or press R once.
Straight-Line Segmentsđź”—
Sometimes you may not want a route segment to be calculated at all, but instead insert it into the route as a straight point-to-point connection.
This is no problem with Bikerouter. While drawing the route, you can create a segment as a straight-line connection by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the map. That means the route between these two points is not calculated but instead drawn as a straight line between them.
You can also activate and deactivate straight-line mode using the button on the left edge of the screen:
After planning, the straight line is displayed as a blue dotted line:
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Naturally, no details such as surface conditions can be displayed for straight-line segments.
Segments can also be switched between normal routing and straight line at any time afterwards:
A single click on the line of the route segment is enough.
Alternatively, this can be specified in the routing settings of the waypoints sidebar:
Routing Profiles: The Right Route for Every Bike Typeđź”—
Bikerouter calculates the path between two points based on the selected “routing profile.”
Routing profiles allow you to calculate routes for various bike types (road bike, trekking, gravel, etc.).
Each bike type has different requirements for route conditions, and these requirements are exactly what the routing profiles represent. Example: while you might want to ride on smooth asphalt roads with a road bike, you might prefer well-compacted forest paths on a gravel bike.
The routing profiles take these requirements into account and try to find the best compromise between “only perfectly suitable paths for the requirements” and “as few detours as possible to connect those suitable paths.”
Depending on the profile, factors such as traffic lights, permitted maximum speeds on the road, the elevation profile of the route, and much more are also considered.
Some selected profiles for the most popular disciplines can be found as buttons in the main menu (opened via the three bars at the very top left of the page):
In the “More routing profiles” selection field you will find many additional profiles to try out; for example, there are profiles for hiking or water routes.
Alternative Routes: Three Suggestions for Every Tripđź”—
For every route, you can calculate three alternative paths. There are buttons for this in the main menu—or, on larger screens—an option directly in the navigation bar at the top:
For very short routes, a meaningful alternative may not exist: in that case the standard route is displayed even if an alternative is selected.