I submitted some feedback about Classic Open Route Service to the dev team and they asked me to add it here to generate additional discussion, so here you go:
I’ve been using classic-maps.openrouteservice.org extensively these last three years for “bikepacking” in various areas of Europe (= moutainbiking on a mix of side roads and ATV/4x4 trails with camping equipment on long distances).
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I generally use the “Normal bike” setting, originally assuming it would mean mostly paved roads with a bit of easy gravel here or there.
In practice, “Normal bike” means roughly 50% of paved road, 25% gravel and 25% hardcore mountain bike trails, including some hiking trails that are not even easy for hikers. I actually like it this way, because I travel with a proper mountain bike and most of my gear on my back, but nearly every day I end up on some steep hiking trails where I have to carry my bike and paniers over my shoulder, which is probably not what most users expect from “Normal bike”. -
When biking (again, “Normal bike” option), the itinerary tends to make you avoid trafic in a slightly too aggressive way. You are typically crossing a tiny village on its main street and the itineary makes you stop and climb to a parallel street for just a 100m. It’s probably tricky to adjust this, but the algorithm should try to value a certain “continuity” over avoiding main roads by any mean.
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Downloading .gpx files behaves differently depending on the browser: on Brave mobile, it adds .xml after .gpx, so you have to rename the file locally; on Via Browser mobile, it downloads the file with a name made of a long string of numbers without any extension. Maybe Open Route Service should force the file name with more “authority” onto the browser.
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Adding a waypoint should add an empty field at the END of the list, as most users add waypoints in chronological order.
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The biggest annoyance, in my opinion, is that the “responsive” version is less usable on mobile than the classic one. You should actually try to create itineraries on a phone in the middle of nowhere by pasting start and end coordinates, you will realize how inconvenient the responsive version is on a phone.
All in all, Open Route Service allows me to create very smart itineraries, which is why it has remained my default route planner for years, and the unexpected hiking trails are part of the fun in my case, but it certainly has some room for fine-tuning. I also want to thank the team for such a wonderful tool.
Hope that helps.
Cheers!