Best apps for tracking bike routes?

Actually, plotting routes is only half the battle - what you really need is to figure out what you're looking for. If you just want to record where you've been, that's one thing; if you want to plan a new route before you head out, that's something else entirely. Anyway, Strava is probably what most people use because it's intuitive and the community is active, but honestly it's become kind of a social tool now and less of a pure tracking tool. If you're not interested in sharing or competing with others, maybe it's not the best fit.

For planning I'd recommend Komoot, which I think is better structured if you want to discover new routes - you can filter by difficulty, scenery, surface type and it suggests pretty reliable stuff. The interface is clean. If you're more old school and just want maps and tracks without too many extra features, Osmand is free and works well, even offline. Then there's always Google Maps which people underestimate, but for bike tracking it's pretty limited.

It really comes down to your style: are you the type who wants a community around you or do you prefer to do your own thing? Do you want detailed data after every ride or just to know where you've been? After years of using these apps I find myself switching between them - Strava when I'm riding with the group, Komoot when I'm exploring new areas. Try a couple for free and see what fits your way of biking.

Don't download an app just because it's popular or because your friend uses it. It really depends on what you need to do - and here's the thing that a lot of people skip over: if you use something that's only designed to record tracks, you end up stuck if you change your mind and want to plan routes with more detail, or share in formats that app doesn't support.

What I'd say from my experience is that it depends on your workflow. If you're the type who just goes out biking, records everything on your phone and then checks where you went, then Strava or similar work fine (though Strava is more social and sometimes it's a hassle if you don't want everyone seeing your routes). But the real black hole is when you discover months later that the app doesn't export data in a format you can use elsewhere. I personally use Komoot because you can plan first, record during your ride, and then edit and share without issues. But it's less straightforward than other apps. If you're doing road stuff and want in-depth analysis on watts, heart rate and all that, then Zwift or Garmin Connect are different beasts entirely. What bugs me is that there really isn't a perfect app - except for one specific purpose. It depends whether you want speed, simplicity, analysis, sharing, or maybe you don't care about the community around it at all. Try two or three for a week and see which one bugs you the least.

The thing is a lot of people get stuck on either Komoot or Strava and that's it, but in my opinion it really depends on how much time you've got!

If you're someone who wants to record everything without thinking and then analyze the data, Strava is perfect for you - but if you're more interested in discovering new routes and don't like making stuff up as you go, then yeah, Komoot is amazing.

Personally I prefer Komoot precisely because you can actually plan ahead and the offline maps are insane when you're out in areas where reception is terrible.

The one thing I'd push back on: don't think there's a perfect app for everyone - try using two of them free for a week and see which one clicks with you!

How much time do you think you'll spend in the saddle each time - half an hour or more than two hours? That changes quite a lot about the choice. You should know that Strava and Komoot aren't competing the way it might seem - they do different things and you often use them together instead of one or the other.

Strava is good at recording and sharing, yeah, but if you're planning new routes (something you used to do only with Google Maps or in your head) then Komoot is really smarter. But who said you can't use Komoot to plan offline and then Strava to record and share? Tons of people do that. On the point they made - the importance of understanding what you actually need before downloading - they're right, but it's not like you have to pick just one app forever. It changes depending on what you're doing that day.

If you do short rides without much planning and just want stats and community, Strava is enough. But if you're exploring new territory, especially in places where the signal is weak, Komoot solves the offline map problem that Strava doesn't have. AllTrail works well too if you prefer focusing on more technical trails and tracks already mapped by others. The important thing is don't wait for the perfect app - it doesn't exist, because it depends on how you ride.