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Satnav maps out best route for cyclists
Mark Prigg, Technology Correspondent12.06.08
For the cyclist about town it is the ultimate gadget - a satnav to guide you through the streets.
New software, which works on all of Nokia's latest handsets, turns a regular mobile phone into a navigation device that can be attached to a bike using a handlebar mount. The phone displays a map which is constantly updated with the rider's position.
Simon Ainslie, managing director of Nokia UK, said: "In London more people than ever are cycling but finding your way around can be a big problem.
"Our software could get more people riding, as one of the major worries in London is getting lost. Having a satnav really gives you a sense of security."
Some cycling experts have criticised the product, claiming it will distract riders from watching the road.
But Mr Ainslie said: "I use this system every day on my ride to work and we believe that having this device on your bicycle is far safer than having to stop and start on the road constantly while you try to work out where you are."
Tom Bogdanowicz of the London Cycling Campaign said he had concerns both about security and road safety, although he said that in principle a bicycle satnav could be a useful gadget.
"Putting a £400 phone on your handlebars could be an issue but these devices can be very useful for people wanting to find the best cycle routes about town," he said.
"There is a safety issue with people looking at the screen, so I think it is very important that manufacturers develop features like audio feedback."
Rob Spedding, editor of Cycling Plus magazine, said: "There is a safety issue here, but it is really no different to a car driver looking at their satnav.
"These devices have to be used responsibly but overall I think it's a very good idea and very useful for the occasional cyclist who perhaps doesn't know their way around."
Nokia has produced more advanced software for serious athletes. The sports tracker can store details such as location, speed and altitude for each ride and upload it to a website. Friends and family can even track a cyclist's travels in real time.
The company also revealed it is developing a historical London guide for tourists that will send information about various locations in the capital to a user's handset as they travel around.
Mr Ainslie said: "Because we know where you are, we can show on the phone exactly how the street you are in looked 100 years ago. We can give you information and even show pictures and video of the area as it would have been.
"The market for these devices is only just beginning."
Reader views (15)
Not new. I've had several generations of SatNav on my bicycles for many years. Last summer I used a Garmin to find, by mountain bike, Minoan sites in Crete that are quite off the beaten track, even off the goat track! The latest Garmin 705 is smaller than this Nokia with more features, it has cycle paths, and is designed for fitting to a bicycle.
- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark
Does the sat nav show the pavements too?
- Mr S.Port, London
Cyclists are enough of a menace at the moment, without being further distracted by satnav. A few weeks ago, I was hit, and knocked over, by a cyclist whilst crossing correctly on a pelican crossing (the lights were on red for the traffic). The cyclist ran through the red light, into me, and didn't even apologise.
- Richard Daish, St Albans
Why are all these comments so anti cyclist? Perhaps because of all the holier than thou comments from cyclists about every other road user but themselves. If these people spent more time riding safely and less time pushing their relentless biased opinions on to the rest of London cyclists might get a better press (and yes I ride a bike everyday - but I stick to the rules of the road - we used to call it politeness!
- Lee, London. England
Riding round London you need to be watching for the mad and selfish in their tin cans. They will mow you down. Got hooted at today by a van because I was on the roundabout in front of him and he wanted to use the bit of road that I was on. Satnav? Not until there are more bike paths or less traffic.
- Simon Rogers, Penn, UK
I have been driven into twice on my bike in the last week by car drivers looking at their satnav devices instead of where they are going and changing direction without warning. I shudder to imagine the danger, mainly to themselves, of cyclists doing the same.
- Patrick Griffin, Dalston
Wow! Why are you people so anti-cyclists? If you want to do the things they do then just buy a bike. Proper cycle lanes are the answer to both sides problems. If car lanes suddenly disappeared for no reason every couple of hundred yards I'm sure your behaviour would be a little different.
- Mark, London, UK
Getting lost in London? On a bike? Have a word.
- Steve, London
I would have thought Mr Ainslie might know his route to work by now .... "But Mr Ainslie said: "I use this system every day on my ride to work ..". The use of this can't be any worse than cyclists with MP3 players on.
- Sandra, London
Where do all these silly cyclist-bashing posters come from? It's like an organised campaign, sheesh. I commute seven miles through London every day and I can't remember the last time I saw a cyclist on the pavement. Those who do are usually kids, not commuters, but blaming all cyclists 'cos of the activities of a selfish minority is like claiming all drivers are murderers cos Mussolini drove a car!
A cyclist lost a leg after being hit by a lorry at Old Street roundabout on Monday, this is where the ASLs and cycle lanes are routinely blocked by cabs, lorries and motorbikes and the police do nothing.
- Dr Susan Porter, London
Just back from touring France by bike, I longed for a satnav which showed paved paths and tracks, bike lanes, and hills.
- Richard, London England
Improvements Nokia could consider for future versions: (a) the screen goes blank when the cyclist leaves the road and rides on the pavement (b) pedestrian crossings flash up in yellow with the relevant section of the Highway Code in capital letters (c) a wi-fi link to the traffic light system, so that the brakes are automatically applied at red lights.
- Freya, London
If Simion Ainslie of Nokia claims to use on every day, then I would suggest that he is telling porkies.
99% of cyclists do the same journey day-in, day-out as the ride to work and back. Hardly anyone needs sat-nav on their bike.
I have sat nav on my phone which I use in the car, but I doubt that it would be much use on a bike as it wouldn't know all of the legal short cuts that cyclists are allowed to take. Furthermore, it won't suggest a quick 50 yard walk against the traffic on a one-way street, if it saves a quarter mile detour.
- George, London
No doubt it will have default settings directing cyclists onto the pavement and through red lights.
- Philip, London, England
TomTom satnav has had a cycling route option on it for years.
- Tom, Watford UK
