Trailforks vs MTBProject which one do you prefer?

[grskier]

Either that or DGAF about it.

I'm not a great climber, that's the one feature I use the most if I'm climbing something I'm not too familiar with.

[skaredshtles]

only used mtbproject (and not much at that) but this thread encouraged me to DL trailforks too.

Trailforks has way better Crusty Butt coverage. At least last time I looked into it...

[skaredshtles]

I'm not a great climber,

Me neither.

But I'm a really adept hike-a-biker.

So IDGAF about that gradient thing. Although I can see it being useful in "which way to ride DH" decisions...

[mtngirl79]

Trailforks has a flagging feature. If you see a trail that someone created that shouldn't be public you can flag it and the admins will look into pulling it. Once stuff has been removed from public view and someone goes to try and re-create it the system will not keep re-posting it.

Some bellingham trails that shouldn't be on trailforks have info if you search their names but arent on the map...

[californiagrown]

Some bellingham trails that shouldn't be on trailforks have info if you search their names but arent on the map...

IDK which ones you are talking about specifically, but there are a couple like this i know of in the Bham area and they are on there because the main builders are the admins of those trails on TF and are happy to have them be as public as they are. Actually, one of them was featured heavily and named in a Pinkbike frontpage video the other week and a shitstorm of vocal locals followed. The main builder's comment that he was cool with it being named and recognized for its awesomeness was lost in the "who is more local" toughguying.

By the same token, there is another zone in the "general" area that was put on TF once a couple years back, and one of the main builders contacted pinkbike and got that shit permanently deleted and it is impossible to even try to draw trails in that area anymore haha. I think that is a really nice feature of the program, but nothing is foolproof or perfect.

[shirk]

IDK which ones you are talking about specifically, but there are a couple like this i know of in the Bham area and they are on there because the main builders are the admins of those trails on TF and are happy to have them be as public as they are. Actually, one of them was featured heavily and named in a Pinkbike frontpage video the other week and a shitstorm of vocal locals followed. The main builder's comment that he was cool with it being named and recognized for its awesomeness was lost in the "who is more local" toughguying.

By the same token, there is another zone in the "general" area that was put on TF once a couple years back, and one of the main builders contacted pinkbike and got that shit permanently deleted and it is impossible to even try to draw trails in that area anymore haha. I think that is a really nice feature of the program, but nothing is foolproof or perfect.

Yep nothing is perfect.

I assume that was Sully's BHam video? Sullivan's gone from xc whippet to hardcore hucker in a season.

The ability to blackout whole zones is nice.

[snowaddict91]

Also depends on coverage in the area for me. But overall I find TF easier to use.

[californiagrown]

Yep nothing is perfect.

I assume that was Sully's BHam video? Sullivan's gone from xc whippet to hardcore hucker in a season.

The ability to blackout whole zones is nice.

Yup, thats the one.

[mtngirl79]

I just watched the video and the bickering in the comments probably draws more attention than the video... the non galby stuff could easily be galby if you arent from here.

[SchralphMacchio]

I use both as well.

Even though both are crowdsource-generated data, I always figured that because mtbproject was affiliated with IMBA and now REI, it was less likely to have less-than-sanctioned trails that I've been more likely to find on trailforks. But I'm sure it just varies regionally.

I do find that trailforks isn't always friendly on Chrome from a computer, and the ride descriptions can be tricky when showing up to a new (to you) zone that is a dense trail network - it's just hard to try to get a feel for what the day might look like. That's where the content for mtbproject is a bit better for researching a new zone - showing a suggested loop and usually offering a richer description of the overall ride and the various trail sections that are connected.

If either one will allow me to cache a base-layer topo for offline mobile access, that's going to be the one I end up using more!

[geomorph]

I find open street map is better for the trails here in NH.

[mmmm...pow!]

I think TF is a better app, at least for the Tahoe area. I don't travel nearly enough, so I haven't had to depend too much on using one or the other to find rides, though on the few few occasions I have TF worked pretty well. I'm not a stravatard, so I use TF to log rides just so I have an idea of mileage and vert, however accurate it may be. I kinda like that there are inconsistencies an imperfections, it leaves at least a little bit of adventure.

[goldenboy]

Trailforks has way better Crusty Butt coverage. At least last time I looked into it...

Haven't used either, but for local coverage, I'd recommend the CBG app that the tourism association created. Plus you can play the Trailquest game and win stuff...

[Danno]

Haven't used either, but for local coverage, I'd recommend the CBG app that the tourism association created. Plus you can play the Trailquest game and win stuff...

Really? What's the app name, I'll be down that way in a few weeks.

[evasive_MT]

Trailforks.

It's been amazing to see this develop for Trevor, he started with some local trail info here on the Shore, his initial beta was embedded into our NSMBA website to allow us to show trail maps online. He's done an amazing job working to support the local trail advocacy organizations allowing them to control what does and doesn't get shown. There are also some amazing tools in the background that really help. The trail report issues can be routed directly to the builder responsible for a trail. So when you post a pic of a tree down on the trail and report it the builder gets notified.

I've been extremely happy to use the Routes feature to create our maps for the evening enduro series that the NSMBA runs. It's a slick tool that lets me build a course quickly and mark out the timed stages. It integrates smooth with the Events section.

Maybe not that anyone cares but it's awesome that the owners of PB bought it and from my understanding have no intentions to monetize it. To my knowledge you'll never see ad's on it and they have the resources to continue expanding it and developing it.

This. Trevor and Brent have been very responsive and supportive. And the bottom line is that I just prefer the TF model over the MTBproject model. I’m a map guy- I want to see how the network lies on the landscape. If I want a specific ride, they have the route feature. MTBproject on the other hand is mostly a collection of routes. Makes sense given their heritage, but it’s not what I want out of a MTB trail database.

[toast2266]

This. Trevor and Brent have been very responsive and supportive. And the bottom line is that I just prefer the TF model over the MTBproject model. I’m a map guy- I want to see how the network lies on the landscape. If I want a specific ride, they have the route feature. MTBproject on the other hand is mostly a collection of routes. Makes sense given their heritage, but it’s not what I want out of a MTB trail database.

X2.

Mtbp makes it unnecessarily difficult to just look at individual trails and piece together my own route. Occasionally, having a predetermined route is nice, but a lot of the time whoever designed the routes on mtbp skips a bunch of the interesting trails, and the app makes it harder to find the sort of trails I want to ride.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[evdog]

I have the same complaint about MTB project. I was sure someone told me there is a way to switch off routes in MTB project so that it only shows trails, but can't find that now so maybe I'm wrong and it was TF being able to switch routes on. But yeah, that's one of the things that makes MTB project harder to use.

[Name Redacted]

Really? What's the app name, I'll be down that way in a few weeks.

I think this is what GB was talking about. Not an app, but maybe there's a version that is. Great for trail condition reports too.
https://crestedbuttemountainbike.com/trails/

[TahoeBC]

As others have said use both

If a topo is handy and I don't feel like carrying my GPS, I been using the alltrails app, I just use the free version
https://www.alltrails.com

Found I can zoom into the area of interest while I have wifi/cell coverage which caches the topo/trail data so its available while offline then I can see where I'm at on the topo at anytime.

Nice thing about this it has topo maps and trails for the whole world, used it to navigate trails in Switzerland and for backcountry skiing in Japan during the last year.

[adrenalated]

I think this is what GB was talking about. Not an app, but maybe there's a version that is. Great for trail condition reports too.
https://crestedbuttemountainbike.com/trails/

There is an app, it's called CBGTrails.
I haven't used it out on the trail, just played around with it on my couch. My impression is that the interface is not nearly as polished as MTBProject and Trailforks, the trail descriptions are minimal, and there is no route creation feature or recommended rides. However it is by far the most complete and comprehensive map of the trails in the area. So, super useful for locals familiar with the trails, or if you want to try something obscure, not as useful for visitors looking to hit the classics.

As for MTBProject being route-heavy... on the web, you can set the map to display trails only. You can't on the app but you can still pull up the trails list and scroll down to trails so I've never seen a problem with it. I still wish it had a private route builder like Trailforks does. That said, the Trailforks route builder works well for me about 20% of the time. I'm on Chrome exclusively and someone else said they have issues on Chrome, so maybe that's the problem. The Strava route builder works better but is missing a lot of trails.

[Dantheman]

Maybe not that anyone cares but it's awesome that the owners of PB bought it and from my understanding have no intentions to monetize it. To my knowledge you'll never see ad's on it and they have the resources to continue expanding it and developing it.

Did not know that, very cool.

I agree with those who prefer the general look and feel of TF. TF has better coverage here so day-to-day I never use MTBP, but I always check both when in a new area. I also really like that TF has a separate color code for dirt roads; dirt roads aren't readily on identifiable on MTBP until you actually click on one and read the (hopefully accurate) description.

[smmokan]

It's funny... it seems like 50/50 between the UI of Trail Forks vs. MTB Project. I personally prefer MTB Project, I find it more user friendly and easier to use in the field.

The guys at TF reached out to me last year at some point asking for my feedback since I've integrated MTBP into some of my wesbite... so I sent them a list and they proceeded to argue why I was wrong. Interesting way to collect user feedback, I guess.

[grskier]

It's funny... it seems like 50/50 between the UI of Trail Forks vs. MTB Project. I personally prefer MTB Project, I find it more user friendly and easier to use in the field.

The guys at TF reached out to me last year at some point asking for my feedback since I've integrated MTBP into some of my wesbite... so I sent them a list and they proceeded to argue why I was wrong. Interesting way to collect user feedback, I guess.

You sure about that