Openfietsmap - how often updated?

[fhills]

I started using openfietsmap a while ago

from here:

http://www.openfietsmap.nl/downloads/europe

and am very pleased with it - having cycle routes show up so clearly on the GPS is great - especially when they aren't always signed on the ground.

But unless I'm missing something the maps don't seem to have been updated since April so in one area of Europe which is lightly covered by OSM I have been using raw OSM so that I get all the updates available.

Anyone got any idea how often openfietsmap is updated/when the next update might be?

Apologies if I've missed something.

[fuaran]

The Benelux and Germany Openfietsmap is updated weekly, but it seems the rest of Europe isn't.

There is "OpenFietsMap Lite" available here, worldwide coverage: http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/
It is usually updated every week or so. Its not quite the same as the full OpenFietsMap, eg it doesn't include contours, but it does still highlight cycle routes etc.

[fhills]

The full one has just been updated.

[Ningishzidda]

Can someone clarify?

These maps are added to / edited by the users?  Yes?

Who checks the additions?

[frankly frankie]

Its essentially a wiki so the quality of the mapping varies between:
slapdash (there's a road between A and B 100 miles apart so I'll just join them with a straight line)
and obsessive (the letterbox goes this side of the lamp post)
and everything in between.

After all, a rough map is better than no map at all - but the problem comes IMO when you want to update existing dodgy data that someone else has supplied, with your own which you believe is better.

For example there one road in France which I ride along every year (so now have 16 GPS tracks for it including Sheila's and mine) where my tracks wander into the big lake alongside (reservoir actually) for 2 or 3 km.  The data for the lake is tagged 'IGN'.  The road is unmapped, apart from the data I provide.  Do I:
a) defer to the alleged IGN data and assume my 16 tracks over 8 years are all wrong, and just draw the road round the existing mapped lake
b) nudge the whole lake sideways to get the road onto dry land
c) nudge just this portion of the lake thereby changing its shape

[tom_e]

For a small number of tracks, I'd do (a) for a quiet life.  But 16 isn't small.

I would never do (b).  I have done things like (c). 

Think of what happens if a number of independent mappers on different parts of the lake each do (b).  The lake moves around like some kind of overgrown Ouija board thing.  That might even be how your bit of road got covered in lake in the first place.  If each independent mapper follows strategy (c), you move safely towards a more accurate lake.

To put it another way, it seems much more likely that the (apparently slightly incorrect) lake is only a roughly correct shape and needs adjusting than that it is a perfect shape in slightly the wrong location.  Check the history and any source tagging if it looks more like the latter.


Regarding trustworthiness, it seems to work pretty much like wikipedia.  A huge problem in theory, usually works very well in practice.  Check another source before planning anything important.

[Ningishzidda]

c)

[BikinOn]

Not certain how frequently the openfietsmap site updates but the additions I made were in there within a month.

frankly frankie - where does the satellite overlay place the road and the lake?

Personally I've used OSM for quite a few years now and never had any problems, even finding it better than the Garmin alternative in some places. To be fair, much of my "off the beaten track" riding has been in California where there may be a higher percentage of geeky riders. 

[Ningishzidda]

On a Garmin device, Topo GB, City Navigator or Discoverer are the 'Recommended' maps for the unit.

Any others are 'Alternatives'.

[fuaran]

Recommended by Garmin who want to sell you stuff. Topo GB or Discoverer are pretty rubbish for on-road cycling, and City Nav lacks any cycle paths. OSM maps can be much more useful than those.

And Garmin are now switching to OSM anyway, starting with the Edge Touring.

[Ningishzidda]

Recommended by Garmin who want to sell you stuff. Topo GB or Discoverer are pretty rubbish for on-road cycling, and City Nav lacks any cycle paths. OSM maps can be much more useful than those.

And Garmin are now switching to OSM anyway, starting with the Edge Touring.

True.

There are a few Orgs who have included canal tow paths in their rides. So for die-hard routesheet followers, OSM or OCM are the maps to have.

I avoid canals like the plague and don't mind riding the road distance to not use a tow path.

If I enter an event with a canal tow path or a 'rough' cycle path ( as seen on Google Satellite ) that cuts 10 - 15 miles of road riding, I might even forsake the entry fee and stay at home. If its not too much detour, I will take another route around the cycle path.

This means cycle paths don't need to feature on my SatNav mapping. Others relish in going 'off-road' along puncture risk paths.

There is only one mapping option on TomTom. Roads and some properly paved cycle paths in town centres and suburbs. Suits me.