VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square

[andyoxon]

Non been here for a while.  What do people use to plan explorer rides these days?  Did Strava remove veloviewer tile functionality from their route creator?  Can't seem to find it.

[Zed43]

Good old Garmin Basecamp, I download unexplored tiles in .kml format from veloviewer.com and import that into basecamp. I double check my routes by uploading the track to statshunters.com and check if I missed a tile.

[lissotriton]

Non been here for a while.  What do people use to plan explorer rides these days?  Did Strava remove veloviewer tile functionality from their route creator?  Can't seem to find it.

You need to install the Chrome extension.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/veloviewer-strava-plugin/kdgpnlmocdpeckamipkkdblnfcpkgbno

[sg37409]

Regarding "losing tiles", has anyone noticed VV doing this at the turn of the year ?  Am wondering if VV optimises old rides once/year and that led to my tile total reducing by 59 recently since I last noted it at the end of October

[andyoxon]

Thanks Zed.

Cheers lissotriton, I'd forgotten it was a Chrome thing.

You need to install the Chrome extension.

[Jack_P]

Non been here for a while.  What do people use to plan explorer rides these days?  Did Strava remove veloviewer tile functionality from their route creator?  Can't seem to find it.

this site https://vv.fork.pl/ allows you to add a custom layer to different route planners. i use it with the brouter.de site and it works very well


I also have signed up with a Veloviewer imitation/inspired site called Squadrats which has a very good plugin that works well with several sites. i use it on RidewithGPS

[Jack_P]

Regarding "losing tiles", has anyone noticed VV doing this at the turn of the year ?  Am wondering if VV optimises old rides once/year and that led to my tile total reducing by 59 recently since I last noted it at the end of October

I took a screenshot of the top tilers overall at the end of 2022, late 31st Dec and comparing to a look just now I would say this is not the case, if it was going to affect anyone it would be these guys who on average gain from 5k to 10K of new tiles per year


When this has happened in the recent past it is because of changes the user has made in strava, if you change a security setting (or maybe strava itself as they now cut of the start and end of rides) Strava then flags your rides affected as changed, veloviewer then reimports them and this has appled its latest algorithm to rides and removed tiles. This definately happened in 2021 to several people.

[L CC]

I also have signed up with a Veloviewer imitation/inspired site called Squadrats which has a very good plugin that works well with several sites. i use it on RidewithGPS

How different are the squadrats, sizewise, from tiles?
I'm loathe to sign up for another one, but I can't stand the Strava route maker, and binning that off would make me happy.

[Solocle]

I also have signed up with a Veloviewer imitation/inspired site called Squadrats which has a very good plugin that works well with several sites. i use it on RidewithGPS

How different are the squadrats, sizewise, from tiles?
I'm loathe to sign up for another one, but I can't stand the Strava route maker, and binning that off would make me happy.

Judging by the map, identical:

[Ivo]

Nope, I'm missing a few squadrats where I've them accredited by Veloviewer.

[sg37409]

... I would say this is not the case, if it was going to affect anyone it would be these guys who on average gain from 5k to 10K of new tiles per year

... if you change a security setting (or maybe strava itself as they now cut of the start and end of rides) Strava then flags your rides affected as changed, veloviewer then reimports them and this has appled its latest algorithm to rides and removed tiles. This definately happened in 2021 to several people.

Thanks for this - seems likely.

[andyoxon]

Non been here for a while.  What do people use to plan explorer rides these days?  Did Strava remove veloviewer tile functionality from their route creator?  Can't seem to find it.

this site https://vv.fork.pl/ allows you to add a custom layer to different route planners. i use it with the brouter.de site and it works very well



I also have signed up with a Veloviewer imitation/inspired site called Squadrats which has a very good plugin that works well with several sites. i use it on RidewithGPS
...

Thanks for this.    Just tested it out with Brouter.  I can get the basic grid, but no colour coding / cluster data is shown.

[JonBuoy]

Non been here for a while.  What do people use to plan explorer rides these days?  Did Strava remove veloviewer tile functionality from their route creator?  Can't seem to find it.

this site https://vv.fork.pl/ allows you to add a custom layer to different route planners. i use it with the brouter.de site and it works very well



I also have signed up with a Veloviewer imitation/inspired site called Squadrats which has a very good plugin that works well with several sites. i use it on RidewithGPS
...

Thanks for this.    Just tested it out with Brouter.  I can get the basic grid, but no colour coding / cluster data is shown.

Did you feed your VeloViewer ID into the vv.fork.pl page, set the access permissions and press the 'Refresh Explorer Stats' button?

[andyoxon]

Did you feed your VeloViewer ID into the vv.fork.pl page, set the access permissions and press the 'Refresh Explorer Stats' button?

No, that'll be why.  OOI if one shares VV data with vv.fork.pl, does that mean one can only revoke access (if desired) by fork.pl, by revoking access to VV in Strava.

[Solocle]

Nope, I'm missing a few squadrats where I've them accredited by Veloviewer.

As far as I can determine I'm missing one.

The grid itself has to be identical, otherwise more would be missing. The culprit is the algorithm.

But being able to plot VV tiling routes in RidewithGPS is unaffected by that, and Squadratinhos make for a fun side quest locally.

[Davef]

[Davef]

I feel I have southerly bias. 2/3 of my max square is south of my home.

[L CC]

I still don't live in my square.

Have you seen those County Durham moors? 

[NorthumberlandNick]

Is there a problem with the Strava Veloviewer extension in Chrome? It doesn't seem to come up any longer when editing routes for me.
Looks like Strava have changed the route edit page a bit - I`m guessing this might have messed it up.

[Davef]

Is there a problem with the Strava Veloviewer extension in Chrome? It doesn't seem to come up any longer when editing routes for me.
Looks like Strava have changed the route edit page a bit - I`m guessing this might have messed it up.

I concur. Was working last week. Just going to plan some title grabbing over the weekend and it has disappeared.

[carlosferreiro]

I'd been trying out the Statshunter plugin and that is still working on Strava.

[Davef]

I thought I would try the stats hunter one and before I got it working…. Veloviewer is back ! (As personal heatmap).

[Kamoshika]

I mostly lurk (fairly infrequently) on here, but just wanted to post to say thanks for the Sqadrats tip. It's taken it a few days to import all my Strava activities, but now it's done it's great. I've long used Ride With GPS and the Squadrats Chrome plugin that works with that is fantastic. I also really like the Sqadratinhos which will make my (whispers quietly) running more interesting, trying to fill the gaps in my grid locally.

I've only noticed one tile that VV gives me but Sqadrats doesn't, but to be fair I think the road that I've used many times doesn't actually pass through the tile, and it's only GPS wander that's caused VV to credit me with the tile, so I'll revisit that and take a road that definitely passes through.

[Kamoshika]

Tile hunting on a slightly bigger scale: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/26/chartbuster-cyclist-rides-7000-miles-across-every-ordnance-survey-map

[The_Mikey]

Taking cost of parts into account and the time it will take, (I'm estimating based on my own experience of servicing my own bike, I don't work in a bike shop and some of those jobs I won't do since I don't have the tools and patience to do,  I'm more likely to buy replacement components in some circumstances than service the existing ones )   I'm thinking between £250 - £300.