Tarmac, or not tarmac
Surface is a preference, not a surprise. You set how much of it you want, and the route tells you how much you got.
/// Not a magic box
You give the engine its orders.
Today you want the scenic line. Tomorrow you are short on time and go direct. You will take a T5; the friend you walk with stops at T3. No algorithm decides the right route for you — you tell it how you move, and it recalculates.
/// Straight from the router
Every preset, and what it actually changes.
This panel is not a screenshot and not a description. It is read from the routing engine itself, so what it says a preset does is what the preset does. Pick a sport, pick a preset, and read the settings it moves.
- 01 Presets One tap and the engine changes trade. Every sport has its own — a road preset and a hiking preset are not the same list with different words on it.
- 02 Switches Skirt the towns, avoid steps, stay on cycleways, plan for wet ground. Independent of the preset, so you can take a fast route that still avoids the centre.
- 03 Advanced SAC difficulty, off-road preference, uphill and downhill penalties, mass and power for the time estimates. Ignore them and nothing is worse; reach for them and nothing is hidden.
Route preferences
Sport
Preset
Tarmac and easy paths — nothing that forces you to walk.
What it changes- Max difficulty (SAC) T1 · Hiking
- Preferred difficulty (SAC) T1 · Hiking
Seeks paths over roads and takes rougher ground.
What it changes- Max difficulty (SAC) T2 · Mountain
- Preferred difficulty (SAC) T2 · Mountain
- Path preference 1
- Footing quality 0.4
Prefers rivers and forests, bypassing towns.
What it changes- Max difficulty (SAC) T1 · Hiking
- Along rivers and lakes Yes
- Forests and parks Yes
- Bypass towns Yes
And the switches
Along rivers and lakesForests and parksBypass townsQuiet roadsAvoid stepsAvoid ferriesAvoid mud
Preset
Standard mountain hiking: trails up to T3.
No overrides — the profile stays exactly as it is tuned.
Only easy, well-trodden trails (T1).
What it changes- Max difficulty (SAC) T1 · Hiking
- Preferred difficulty (SAC) T1 · Hiking
Accepts demanding, alpine terrain (up to T5).
What it changes- Max difficulty (SAC) T5 · Demanding alpine
- Preferred difficulty (SAC) T3 · Demanding mountain
Prefers forests and rivers, bypassing towns.
What it changes- Forests and parks Yes
- Along rivers and lakes Yes
- Bypass towns Yes
And the switches
Along rivers and lakesForests and parksBypass townsQuiet roadsAvoid stepsAvoid ferriesAvoid mud
Preset
Straight and fast to the goal — highways included. Ignores elevation and traffic.
What it changes- Avoid traffic None
- Consider elevation No
The default behaviour, a good compromise.
No overrides — the profile stays exactly as it is tuned.
Prefers rivers, forests and quiet roads, bypassing towns.
What it changes- Along rivers and lakes Yes
- Forests and parks Yes
- Bypass towns Yes
- Quiet roads Yes
- Avoid traffic Most
And the switches
Along rivers and lakesForests and parksBypass townsQuiet roadsAvoid stepsAvoid ferriesAllow motorwaysFix via-point detours
Preset
Maximum off-road: seeks trails and single-track.
What it changes- Off-road preference 2
- Path preference 30
Even more technical: rough single-track too, ignores surface smoothness.
What it changes- Off-road preference 3
- Path preference 40
- Accept rough ground No
Unpaved and gravel roads in balance, the default behaviour.
No overrides — the profile stays exactly as it is tuned.
Prefers smooth surfaces and roads, to cover distance.
What it changes- Off-road preference -1.5
- Path preference 5
And the switches
Avoid busy roadsAccept rough groundAllow stepsAvoid ferriesBeeline on isolated stretchesFix via-point detours
Preset
Unpaved and tarmac in balance, the default behaviour.
No overrides — the profile stays exactly as it is tuned.
Max light off-road: seeks gravel roads and paths, avoiding steep climbs.
What it changes- Prefer unpaved Yes
- Avoid steep climbs Yes
Prefers forests and rivers, bypassing towns and noise.
What it changes- Forests and parks Yes
- Along rivers and lakes Yes
- Bypass towns Yes
- Quiet roads Yes
Follows quiet cycle routes, away from town centres.
What it changes- Follow cycle routes Yes
- Bypass towns Yes
And the switches
Prefer unpavedFollow cycle routesAvoid steep climbsForests and parksAlong rivers and lakesBypass townsQuiet roadsAccount for trafficWet conditionsFix via-point detours
Preset
The profile as calibrated: smooth tarmac, climbs paid for dearly, descents used.
No overrides — the profile stays exactly as it is tuned.
Avoids elevation at nearly any cost — with no gears, every climb is paid for.
What it changes- How much to avoid climbs Extreme
Keeps the rhythm: penalises the lights, crossings and traffic that break your stride.
What it changes- How much stops weigh Strong
- How much to avoid traffic Strong
Skirts setts and cobbles: rideable, but long stretches of vibration.
What it changes- Avoid cobblestones Yes
And the switches
Along rivers and lakesForests and parksBypass townsAvoid cobblestonesAvoid stepsAvoid ferriesBeeline on isolated stretches
Then, if you want, there are the advanced ones.
Presets and values come straight from the router.
/// Why it is worth a tap
Same start. Same finish. Different day.
Between two points there is never one route — there is a fast one, a quiet one, one that keeps you off the main road, one that adds four hundred metres of climbing because you asked for them. A planner that returns a single line has made those choices for you and not told you which. Here they are the interface.