Paper sheets are also lightweight and can be used all day without needing to be charged or putting any additional drain on your computer battery. So they are still used by some ultra endurance racers who need info as they ride like distance/elevation to next town, what stores or lodges will be open and their phone numbers.
I had a brief hunt and there are some automated tool for cue sheets - load in the gpx and it generates a document. I could work it from my phone just fine.
I’d prefer turn by turn instructions rather than documentation of future suffering.
Some modern bike computers have solar charging for extended battery life, and you can also carry an external battery pack which weighs no more than a large paper map.
Here in the Netherlands we’ve got ‘fietsknooppunten’. Numbered junctions with proper bike paths linking them up, and clear signage pointing you to your next number.
https://www.fietsknoop.nl/planner
Just remembering, or writing down a couple of numbers gets you a long way.
As a backup I have OsmAndMaps for pre-loading gpx files to my phone.
I think we might have copied that from you here in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the nice thing is, that by law the have to replace the signs when they are broken/missing (they are legally similar to road signs for cars). However, it sometimes still isn't always possible to just follow numbers because might might have missed or misread a sign, and you might just find out a kilometer later...
Anyway, it's ten thousand times better than in our neighbour state Rhineland-Palatinate
These are available in the Netherlands and Belgium. And as the cyclists there like to travel a little bit further, the network is extended around north of France, the German border, some in Luxembourg. This is a very nice way to travel.
The main problem with cue sheets is they quickly become worse than useless if you accidentally miss a turn, or are forced to detour due to road construction or something (which seems to happen to me all the time). A modern bike computer will immediately alert you if you go off course and automatically re-route to get you back on track. Some of the newer ones also get dynamic updates about road hazards.
I am in team no screen on my bike. I spend way enough time in front of a screen, I don't mind missing a turn and getting lost once in a while. It is not like I am living in extreme wilderness and I still have a smartphone as a backup with loaded maps in case I have any doubt.
I did that for many years before buying a bike computer. If the number of turns isn't large, I memorize all the turns in advance. I finally gave up when I took part in an organized ride with hundreds of turns with no markings on the road.
I still like to memorize the route these days. When I do that, I mostly don't use the map feature of the bike computer: I look at my speed, cadence, and heart rate.
Friend of mine who's a group ride leader has a minimal turn-by-turn in a wireless earpiece paired to his phone, which sits in his pocket and runs a navigation app.
Means he can lead rides confidently and fluidly while also being completely present and aware.
Depends how much riding to new places you want to do without getting lost. If you only ride places you know, or don't mind spending time lost, you don't need live maps.
As I said earlier, I still have a smartphone with me with offline maps so I can still stop for a minute and check if I am unsure of my route.
There is a huge spectrum of possibilities between being totally unaware of where you are going and following a route turn by turn and I kind of feel I have an higher than average awarness of where I am going and where are the cardinal directions.
I like to focus on riding not navigation when I'm out on my bike. When you have to go through 150-200km in a day, having to get your bearings on each country road fork gets tedious quite quickly.
It also helps you judge corners when you're descending on unknown roads.
I shudder at the thought of having to stop and juggle around paper cue sheets/a map...
This is sort of a pipe dream, but imagine taking an Android smartwatch, disassembling the chassis, adding a larger battery, and embedding it in a threadless headset cap.
GPS tracking, maps in a 1.5" screen, bluetooth reports of speed/cadence from one of those little spoke dealies.
You can do this with a regular Garmin smart watch and a bike mount. It doesn't run Android but that doesn't matter. The problem is that it's really tough to read a map on a small display while riding: a real bike computer with a larger display is far superior if you're going to use it for navigation.
I don't want to make advertisement, but what you describe is what Beeline is selling for bicycle and motor bike. I've not tried it. I don't know how good it works.
That made me think: why dont they make a bike mount for my Suunto watch? (Thx to the HNer that suggested checking Suunto out btw), and well, looks like they do: https://us.suunto.com/products/suunto-bike-mount
Wahoo's GPS units are based on Android. You could pair them with a headset top cap holder, though IMO this is not a super ergonomic location for a bike GPS (in front of the handlebars is better).
I'm planning to go cross country sometime soon and still considering whether to get a bike computer or not. Knowing myself, I'll probably just stick to using physical maps. In my experience using them bakcpacking, I feel more immersed in my surroundings because I check them and the map at the same time, wondering when the next mountain will appear, if the river already took the bend I see on the map, etc. It just feels right, and I'm never in a hurry when hiking or riding anyway.
Plus I think I'm scared to crashing while looking down at GPS, and I think usijg maps would always force me to stop.
I understand your concerns. I had similar concerns. The UIs on bike computers are very glanceable by design. I wouldn't go back. I would be more concerned with physical maps. I know myself and I would be tempted to "cheat" by trying to look at the physical map while moving if I was under time pressure to get to a destination.
Another huge benefit of a bike computer is that you can pair it with a rear facing radar. This has transformed my biking on roads. It absolutely doesn't replace looking over your shoulder, but it increases your awareness. You now know that there are three cars approaching from behind so you know what to expect. There is no way I'd go on a long cross-country ride without a radar.
I find the garmin 840 terrible for navigation as the interface is small, and the map always too zoomed in, or not enough.
It’s just so clunky, and reminds me of computers in the early ‘90s.
However, with the Varia radar riding is amazing. I look down before looking back. I only look back of the radar is clear.
The basic setup is the GPS highlighting the path you're supposed to follow.
You don't have to keep looking at it: a quick glance when you're coming to an intersection, to know if you have to slow down and get ready to turn or just keep going.
As other said, it can also provide additional features like warning you about cars coming from behind or reminders to eat/drink.
And contrary to some other comments, it's not another screen asking for your attention.
Setup correctly, it's just a map that refresh itself and follows you.
Allowing you to focus only on your sensations, instead of having to think about where you are, where you're going...
Finally, cue sheets are nice, but even if you don't care about being "lost" or having to find your way by yourself, you'll probably end up on bad roads with lots of traffic.
Meanwhile, if you're just following precisely a nice route going only on quiet roads/paths, you won't end up in bad situations and you'll find your ride more enjoyable.
I've made a PDF of one of my bike club cue sheets from 2014 and put it at https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~cks/tbn/tbn-gatineau-gallop-2014... ; the GPS route that is more or less equivalent to it is https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28370340 (there may be minor differences because the route is more modern than the cue sheet, but it will give you orientation). The cue sheet is written for a group ride (where the group will stay together) and for people familiar with Toronto, so it might be challenging to follow solo unless you were already somewhat familiar with the ride (as the ride leader is expected to be).
The cue sheet is structured the way it is because it's expected it will be folded in half horizontally to fit in a map/cue sheet holder, and perhaps vertically as well (if people have a small holder; you fold vertically first, initially hiding the entire right column since you only need it after lunch, then horizontally). Cue sheet holders typically let you flip them up to see the back, so the exact division of a horizontal fold doesn't have to be perfect. Each numbered section covers a (relatively) distinct section of the ride to make it easier to keep track of where you are in the cue sheet overall.
Cue sheets for different circumstances need different sorts of structure. For example, for some cue sheets it would be quite important to include the distance (cumulative and/or from the previous cue). In others, such as this one, individually numbered cues and distances to them are mostly distractions.
(I'm the author of the linked-to blog entry, and as you can tell I have Opinions on cue sheet design.)
Sure, cue sheets are cool from a cartography perspective, but they were mainly something engineered to achieve exactly what a gps route computer is doing:
- Show where you should go
- Show when you missed, and how you get back on the route
- Change the route mid-trip (how often roads are closed)
All in all, sure they are a cool technology, but like a steam engine, it's mainly a thing to admire while moving on to more modern technology.
I found that the usual American brands for bike computers (Garmin, Wahoo) are more expensive than Chinese brands. If you think a Chinese company handling your ride data is an okay compromise I think the Coros Dura is quite wonderful, with longer battery life (100+ hours) than the competition too.
Paper sheets are also lightweight and can be used all day without needing to be charged or putting any additional drain on your computer battery. So they are still used by some ultra endurance racers who need info as they ride like distance/elevation to next town, what stores or lodges will be open and their phone numbers.
A guy showing off his sheets as he makes his way to third place in the 2023 Tour Divide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJS106xeNA&t=1482s
I had a brief hunt and there are some automated tool for cue sheets - load in the gpx and it generates a document. I could work it from my phone just fine.
I’d prefer turn by turn instructions rather than documentation of future suffering.
I love that someone makes these things though.
https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/i-made-a-printable-cue-s...
RidewithGPS premium will generate cue sheets based on turns (which can be edited manually).
Some modern bike computers have solar charging for extended battery life, and you can also carry an external battery pack which weighs no more than a large paper map.
Here in the Netherlands we’ve got ‘fietsknooppunten’. Numbered junctions with proper bike paths linking them up, and clear signage pointing you to your next number. https://www.fietsknoop.nl/planner Just remembering, or writing down a couple of numbers gets you a long way. As a backup I have OsmAndMaps for pre-loading gpx files to my phone.
Oh, nice!
I think we might have copied that from you here in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the nice thing is, that by law the have to replace the signs when they are broken/missing (they are legally similar to road signs for cars). However, it sometimes still isn't always possible to just follow numbers because might might have missed or misread a sign, and you might just find out a kilometer later...
Anyway, it's ten thousand times better than in our neighbour state Rhineland-Palatinate
Edit: the Knotenpunktnetz NRW, if anyone is interested: https://radservice.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/rrp/nrw/cgi?lang=D... (you have to zoom in a little too see routes ... if you zoom in more, every sign is shown!)
These are available in the Netherlands and Belgium. And as the cyclists there like to travel a little bit further, the network is extended around north of France, the German border, some in Luxembourg. This is a very nice way to travel.
The main problem with cue sheets is they quickly become worse than useless if you accidentally miss a turn, or are forced to detour due to road construction or something (which seems to happen to me all the time). A modern bike computer will immediately alert you if you go off course and automatically re-route to get you back on track. Some of the newer ones also get dynamic updates about road hazards.
I am in team no screen on my bike. I spend way enough time in front of a screen, I don't mind missing a turn and getting lost once in a while. It is not like I am living in extreme wilderness and I still have a smartphone as a backup with loaded maps in case I have any doubt.
I did that for many years before buying a bike computer. If the number of turns isn't large, I memorize all the turns in advance. I finally gave up when I took part in an organized ride with hundreds of turns with no markings on the road.
I still like to memorize the route these days. When I do that, I mostly don't use the map feature of the bike computer: I look at my speed, cadence, and heart rate.
Friend of mine who's a group ride leader has a minimal turn-by-turn in a wireless earpiece paired to his phone, which sits in his pocket and runs a navigation app.
Means he can lead rides confidently and fluidly while also being completely present and aware.
Depends how much riding to new places you want to do without getting lost. If you only ride places you know, or don't mind spending time lost, you don't need live maps.
As I said earlier, I still have a smartphone with me with offline maps so I can still stop for a minute and check if I am unsure of my route.
There is a huge spectrum of possibilities between being totally unaware of where you are going and following a route turn by turn and I kind of feel I have an higher than average awarness of where I am going and where are the cardinal directions.
I like to focus on riding not navigation when I'm out on my bike. When you have to go through 150-200km in a day, having to get your bearings on each country road fork gets tedious quite quickly.
It also helps you judge corners when you're descending on unknown roads.
I shudder at the thought of having to stop and juggle around paper cue sheets/a map...
This is sort of a pipe dream, but imagine taking an Android smartwatch, disassembling the chassis, adding a larger battery, and embedding it in a threadless headset cap.
GPS tracking, maps in a 1.5" screen, bluetooth reports of speed/cadence from one of those little spoke dealies.
You can do this with a regular Garmin smart watch and a bike mount. It doesn't run Android but that doesn't matter. The problem is that it's really tough to read a map on a small display while riding: a real bike computer with a larger display is far superior if you're going to use it for navigation.
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1221709/#devices
I don't want to make advertisement, but what you describe is what Beeline is selling for bicycle and motor bike. I've not tried it. I don't know how good it works.
I’ll save y’all a search: https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-cycling
oh wow, that’s pretty sick. Too big, but on the right track. Thanks!
That made me think: why dont they make a bike mount for my Suunto watch? (Thx to the HNer that suggested checking Suunto out btw), and well, looks like they do: https://us.suunto.com/products/suunto-bike-mount
Wahoo's GPS units are based on Android. You could pair them with a headset top cap holder, though IMO this is not a super ergonomic location for a bike GPS (in front of the handlebars is better).
I'm planning to go cross country sometime soon and still considering whether to get a bike computer or not. Knowing myself, I'll probably just stick to using physical maps. In my experience using them bakcpacking, I feel more immersed in my surroundings because I check them and the map at the same time, wondering when the next mountain will appear, if the river already took the bend I see on the map, etc. It just feels right, and I'm never in a hurry when hiking or riding anyway.
Plus I think I'm scared to crashing while looking down at GPS, and I think usijg maps would always force me to stop.
I understand your concerns. I had similar concerns. The UIs on bike computers are very glanceable by design. I wouldn't go back. I would be more concerned with physical maps. I know myself and I would be tempted to "cheat" by trying to look at the physical map while moving if I was under time pressure to get to a destination.
Another huge benefit of a bike computer is that you can pair it with a rear facing radar. This has transformed my biking on roads. It absolutely doesn't replace looking over your shoulder, but it increases your awareness. You now know that there are three cars approaching from behind so you know what to expect. There is no way I'd go on a long cross-country ride without a radar.
I find the garmin 840 terrible for navigation as the interface is small, and the map always too zoomed in, or not enough. It’s just so clunky, and reminds me of computers in the early ‘90s.
However, with the Varia radar riding is amazing. I look down before looking back. I only look back of the radar is clear.
When it squawks - check behind.
If you're going to be looking at maps often, the 1040 is just the 840 in a larger form factor.
(I can't recommend the newer x50 series -- they made the screens a lot brighter, at the cost of significant battery life.)
The basic setup is the GPS highlighting the path you're supposed to follow.
You don't have to keep looking at it: a quick glance when you're coming to an intersection, to know if you have to slow down and get ready to turn or just keep going.
As other said, it can also provide additional features like warning you about cars coming from behind or reminders to eat/drink.
And contrary to some other comments, it's not another screen asking for your attention. Setup correctly, it's just a map that refresh itself and follows you. Allowing you to focus only on your sensations, instead of having to think about where you are, where you're going...
Finally, cue sheets are nice, but even if you don't care about being "lost" or having to find your way by yourself, you'll probably end up on bad roads with lots of traffic. Meanwhile, if you're just following precisely a nice route going only on quiet roads/paths, you won't end up in bad situations and you'll find your ride more enjoyable.
Bone conduction headphones would allow for audio directions.
I do like my bike computer, if only to show me my speed. It also beeps when the radar detects a car behind me.
What do we think about merging the bike computer into sunglasses https://flow.minimis.life ? Been building about 3 years
Would be nice to see an example of one of these cue sheets, I'm curious about the layout.
I've made a PDF of one of my bike club cue sheets from 2014 and put it at https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~cks/tbn/tbn-gatineau-gallop-2014... ; the GPS route that is more or less equivalent to it is https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28370340 (there may be minor differences because the route is more modern than the cue sheet, but it will give you orientation). The cue sheet is written for a group ride (where the group will stay together) and for people familiar with Toronto, so it might be challenging to follow solo unless you were already somewhat familiar with the ride (as the ride leader is expected to be).
The cue sheet is structured the way it is because it's expected it will be folded in half horizontally to fit in a map/cue sheet holder, and perhaps vertically as well (if people have a small holder; you fold vertically first, initially hiding the entire right column since you only need it after lunch, then horizontally). Cue sheet holders typically let you flip them up to see the back, so the exact division of a horizontal fold doesn't have to be perfect. Each numbered section covers a (relatively) distinct section of the ride to make it easier to keep track of where you are in the cue sheet overall.
Cue sheets for different circumstances need different sorts of structure. For example, for some cue sheets it would be quite important to include the distance (cumulative and/or from the previous cue). In others, such as this one, individually numbered cues and distances to them are mostly distractions.
(I'm the author of the linked-to blog entry, and as you can tell I have Opinions on cue sheet design.)
Here's an article - even Tour de France riders regularly use those: https://7seizh.info/tour-de-france-tales-quand-une-affiche-v...
I’ve made a mental note that carbon bars allow a flatter surface for sticking cue sheets.
I've seen them take many forms, but here's one following the official layout of the Audax Club Parisien, for one of their BRM: https://www.audax-club-parisien.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...
Sure, cue sheets are cool from a cartography perspective, but they were mainly something engineered to achieve exactly what a gps route computer is doing:
All in all, sure they are a cool technology, but like a steam engine, it's mainly a thing to admire while moving on to more modern technology.can anyone recommend a cheap but good bike computer with turn-by-turn nav? (for mountain biking)
I found that the usual American brands for bike computers (Garmin, Wahoo) are more expensive than Chinese brands. If you think a Chinese company handling your ride data is an okay compromise I think the Coros Dura is quite wonderful, with longer battery life (100+ hours) than the competition too.
How cheap do you want?
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/06/garmins-new-edge-mtb-cyc...
actually, i think i'll use an old android phone...