Really hoping Trailforks gets added to the K2
Planned
It's been three months since this post, which has a response indicating that the development team is considering supporting Trailforks but no indication of when we might expect to see it. I have to say I preorderd the K2 based on the positive reviews of the K1 from mountain bikers and the fact that the K1 supported Trailforks. So I was really surprised when I received my Karoo2 and there was no Trailforks app.
I have been able to create and transfer routes, which is okay (though it doesn't seem to support turn-by-turn if it's not a road). But what mountain bikers need from their device is to be able to see the name of the trail they're on, the Trailforks difficulty rating (green/blue/black), upcoming intersections and trail features. When exploring without a route, it's also be helpful to be able to tap the trail you're on and other nearby trails to view the elevation profile, description, trail features, etc to find the gnarliest route when you're feeling good or the easiest way back to the car when you're tired.
I feel without Trailforks functionality, I cannot recommend the Karoo2 to my friends and I'd probably tell them they're better off getting a Garmin which apparently does work with Trailforks, or to just use their phone. Of course if there were to be an update with Trailforks integration or even if just sideloading it worked, then I'd recommend they get a Karoo instead.
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Hey Ken,
Thanks for posting, I can understand the requirement here and as we have informed previously we are surely looking at integrating trail forks on the Karoo 2.
We are working on ensuring that all necessary data fields and adequate support are in place, Our product team is working with the people at trail forks.
Unfortunately, I would not be able to put a finger on when exactly it would be implemented yet as we are looking at making the Karoo 2 more efficient. -
This page lists Trailforks as an integration -
https://www.hammerhead.io/pages/product-specification-list
Does that just mean you can download from TF as gpx and then upload to the dashboard? If so, that's a bit misleading, given the integrations with other services listed alongside TF, such as Strava, MapMyRide, Komoot, etc...
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Gordon, I haven't tried sideloading, see this reddit (apparently it doesn't work)
Jeff - that's more or less what I've been doing to get routes from TF into my karoo2. It does work OK for following an uploaded GPX or FIT route, more so for well developed / well mapped trail systems. Sometimes it will even give you the name of the trail (or at least what it's named in OCM) in turn-by-turn directions. But if I want to see the trail rating or annotations like features I need to pull out the phone for trailforks.
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Hello,
I too would love to see this feature. I ride a lot of off-road, gravel and MTB stuff and the mapping is pretty bad for that. I have been lost now more than once using the Karoo2. I really do love the device, but I have kept my old trusty Garmin 530 and find myself using that for any gravel or mtb rides due to the better mapping and Trailforks integration.
I feel that is a needed requirement to make the Karoo2 usable for more than just road riding
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It's not elegant but I sideloaded Gaia GPS which is owned by the same parent company as Trail forks. I have the premium version of both applications and there is a feature in Gaia where you can enable TF overlays. You have to know the button shortcut to switch between the applications so that you could still record your ride while looking at Gaia. It doesn't work very well but it's good in a pinch if you don't have your phone.
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so, 2 days ago I sideloaded trailforks on my K2 and did a ride with it.when you start the app you will see an error regarding "google play services" which is missing on the device, however, the app seems to start fine.There is no gps error and your current location on the map is displayed so you are able to find all the cool trails and navigate them.You can start recording a ride but at the end I found out I cannot save it.But you can still record in the normal k2 application.So it's not perfect but it is good enough for me.
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