u/FlyThink7908

Dear Komoot team,
I know you‘re doing your best but please fix the app before introducing any new features to it or changing the ui again. Priorities!
Even now, the app is borderline usable.
What I mean by that:

1. KEYBOARD is broken: typing is glitchy, slow and after a certain amount of words, the cursor just stops so that you basically continue typing blindly. If you then try to start selecting words, it will delete characters randomly and ultimately block the "send" button. Also, you cannot copy from any comments while you‘re typing them. The action shows up but it won’t be stored into the memory system.
   Hyperlinks or links to other users are cut off when they‘re at the very end of a comment. Generally, it would be best to be able to respond to users UNDER their comment and not having to @ them (which many older users fail to understand).
   So, in order to type into the text field to describe my trip or answer comments, I either have to type it beforehand before I copy and paste it or use the web browser. This basic issue has been persistent since THREE years!

2. PHOTOS: Why can’t I annotate my photos in the app but have to use the web app for that? Why are photos uploaded via app not showing up on the map? If you do so at home when private sector mode enabled, they don’t show up at all even though they‘d been taken elsewhere. Also, why can’t I not just upload pictures without geo data? On the web app, every image needs to be assigned to a location, resulting in potential privacy issues. At least the pictures show up in one place unlike on the web app which mixes my own photos with the highlights or others and does not give my pictures room to breathe. The large annotating text that is placed on top of the photos is absolutely disrespectful as well as gathering all pictures taken in one location into a slide show instead of showing them all side by side. Many users will not take the time to swipe through.

3. UPLOADING TOURS: The new design celebrating the end of a tour is nice but not polished. Buttons aren’t optimised for my smaller iPhone screen so "skip" or "select reasons to improve that tour" don’t even show up. I have to tap blindly. Annoyingly, even days after I completed a tour, the app randomly shows that "congrats you finished it" screen. Ugh.

4. PRIVACY SETTINGS FOR TOURS: Why can’t I, as a public profile, not have a default option to hide all new tours instead of having "visible for all" as the preselected option? Just yesterday, when I uploaded that tour, the app showed me "only visible to you" but then decided to randomly change it to "public". When I found out, an hour has passed and many people had already given my tour a like. My main goal for that hike was photographing and I would have uploaded the pictures from my camera later - but these people will never get to see them since the algorithm will not show them the tour a second time since the app manipulated my plan. Incredibly frustrating if you put so much effort into content.

5. PLANNING / TRACKING A TOUR: Since the major update, the map is still too overcrowded with irrelevant highlights making it overwhelming. Even as a local (pioneer!), I often barely recognise my surroundings on the map. Highlights are all over the place, e.g. you get to see and rate MTB trails when road biking (not talking about general highlights such as landmarks but sport specific ones!). While tracking a tour on a hike, the app is basically locked in that screen and I e.g. cannot answer comments. When spontaneously wanting to add a waypoint on an otherwise unplanned route, the app does not change the start of the tour to my current location. Regarding rerouting, the algorithm isnt particularly smart either.
   A stable internet connection is needed for rerouting and planning even though the whole area is stored offline. Guess where you don’t have that? In the woods.

6. OVERALL PERFORMANCE still lacking: It takes ages to load my profile and show my routes, even offline. Oftentimes, when I’m not patient enough and start scrolling or searching, the app will crash. There should be a quick offline mode without the attempt to load that social media like homepage.
   When trying to rate highlights, my input won’t even show up after I voted. I have to tap onto Said highlight again to show it. And btw: the tips aren’t shown fully. Only the first 3-5 tips are shown and then repeated as a loop, so new tips won’t even show up. You should also be able to sort tips so that news (e.g. shelter burned down, BBQ place closed indefinitely, viewpoint now illegal to access etc.) will spread around.
   And why do I even have to rate highlights beyond my sport? Like why are MTB specific highlights relevant on a road ride? The newly introduced gravel leaderboard is a hot mess but that’s a different story. When adding new highlights, the app takes several minutes until the highlight is created and added to my profile whereas on the web, it‘s there immediately.

That‘s the list of issues I can think off from the top of my head. As a daily user, they unnecessarily make my life harder. Please get your priorities straight and finally focus on basic functionality before introducing the next features.

Overall, I can’t imagine why you won’t focus on mobile first when that‘s likely your prime user group. Who even uses desktop anymore? Many casual people from all age groups (20-80 years!) don’t have a PC anymore, only their phone.

Ever since I got it, my 2024 Carbon Topstone was predominantly used as an allroad type bike, running 44x10-44 XPLR and 40mm GK slicks. Now that I modded it for more gravel use with a 40x10-52 mullet and 48/44 tufo Thundero/speedero, I traded in some road performance.

This got me thinking: Do I finally pull the trigger and get a road bike?
Now, I got massive commitment issues to become a real roadie.

To preface: I‘m not a racer, only occasionally sprinting, but endurance focussed, enjoying long days in the saddle. Usually, my rides are 3-6h long with lots of climbing (1.000m per 35-50km, 2.000m in 100km per usual), only occasionally including flat segments. Statistically, my average speed is 22kph for ~200W normalised power. In the near future, I want to finally reach distances beyond 250km.

Upon launch, the new Synapse seemed like the perfect bike for me. Massive tire clearance in a beautiful frame with a storage compartment. Then I took a closer look and realised: the geometry is surprisingly not too dissimilar to my last gen Topstone.
So apart from the lacking rear suspension, it would mainly be around gearing and tires (to put it bluntly). And aero.

I‘m mainly worried about handling. On descends, the Topstone with its long wheel base and slack head tube angle is stable like a train on rails which I really appreciate, considering the bad road conditions. Withstanding scary cross winds is a nice bonus. This in turn makes is not the most agile and lively bike, let alone the most efficient.
However: Wouldn’t the synapse with "medium aero" still be noticeably faster / more efficient than my gravel?

Now the inner maximalist says: skip the boring endurance bike and go for the racer. Fittingly, the new SSE Gen 5 base model with vision aero wheels and carbon handle bars can be had for around 3.600€ on sale.
The synapse 4 with the same 105 di2 is ~3.000€ but would at least need different wheels and likely different bars - ultimately costing ~4.000€ in total.

Currently, I’m still recovering from a traffic accident after I got run over by a car, but I‘m still "young and fit" (as my doctor said), therefore probably could tolerate a more aggressive fit. But is a race bike really the ideal bike?

Even on 32mm tires, road surface is my main concern. Furthermore, to skip segments or get around high traffic roads, my usual routes feature some cat 2 gravel for a few hundred meters or steep cobble stone climbs (up to 20% lol). I could make sacrifices in routing but I would obviously be restricted to known paths to avoid negative surprises when exploring.

Despite my very high mileage, my lack of experience in road bikes makes me very confused. Right now, the synapse feels like the rational choice; the SSE is what the heart wants.

Meine aktuelle Karre, ein 2024 Cannondale Topstone Carbon, klettert zwar gut, aber ich vermisse die Leichtigkeit in der Ebene bei längeren Asphaltabschnitten. Bergab werde ich ungewollt zum Verkehrshindernis, weil spätestens ab 60kmh Schluss ist mir Treten. Das verwundert wenig beim aktuellen Set-Up: Für mehr Geländegängigkeit (und für den verletzungsbedingten Wiedereinstieg nach schwerem Verkehrsunfall) habe ich nun umgebaut auf 40x10-52 Vokuhila (Pardon: Mullet) mit 48/44mm Tufo Thundero/Speedero auf 18mm „tiefen“, dafür leichten Felgen. Gewicht: fahrbereit gut < 9kg.
Zuvor war‘s eher allroad-mäßig: 40mm GK Slicks, 42cm Lenker, 44x10-44 XPLR Antrieb.

Nun will ich mir doch den Traum vom Renner erfüllen - und habe wieder Commitment Issues.
Das neue Cannondale Synapse stach mir direkt ins Auge. Mit seinen 42mm Reifenfreiheit (48mm vorne!) wirkt es perfekt für mich, die Diva, die unermüdlich über schlechten Belag klagt.
Beim Geometrievergleich zeigt sich: Die Karre ist praktisch mein Topstone ohne Hinterrad-Federung. Krass, wie schnell sich die Lücke geschlossen hat.

Nun, ich schätze die stoische Laufruhe durch den langen Radstand und flachen Lenkwinkel besonders bergab sehr, zumal es auf den schlechten Straßen teils doch recht ruppig zugeht. Zudem sind für so manche Abkürzungen oder zur Vermeidung des Verkehrs auf der Hauptstraße doch regelmäßig kurze suboptimale Abschnitte (mittelgrober Schotter, Kopfsteinpflaster bei bis zu 20% Steigung) zu überwinden. Starker Seitenwind auf der Abfahrt bleibt zudem mein Kryptonit.

Andererseits frag ich mich: Wo wäre der große Unterschied zum aktuellen Rad? Laut der Werbung sei wohl alles ærodynamisch optimiert worden und nun vergleichbar mit älteren Wettkampfrädern, wenngleich natürlich der Fahrer selbst noch den größten Unterschied macht.

Ein Maximalist würde nun sagen: Nimm das Super Six Evo, das in der 5. Generation nochmal mehr den marginal gains frönt und sag dem langweiligen Endurance Gute Nacht. Und ja, bei den aktuellen Sales ist das SSE Gen 5 mit Vision Aero-Laufrädern und Aero-Carbon-Lenker ein ziemlicher „Schnapper“. Beim Synapse 4 mit 105 Di2 müsste man noch bessere Laufräder sowie den Carbon-Lenker nachrüsten und käme somit auf ~400€ mehr.

Ein super aggressives Bike könnte ich vermutlich 2h lang tolerieren, aber nun gehen meine Touren doch eher 3-6h; geplant sind endlich Ultradistanzen jenseits der 250km.

Schwarzwaldtypisch geht es hier stets bergauf (1.000HM alle 35-50km, meist sind‘s 2.000HM auf 100km; letztes Jahr hatte ich insgesamt 400.000HM auf 25.000km gesammelt) und danach schnell bergab. Ne Stunde flaches Tal mit 30er Schnitt geht schon, aber ist nicht immer meins. Der statistische Schnitt über alle Touren liegt daher bei 22kmh - wobei man sich dann schon fragt: braucht es unbedingt æro?

Ich fühle mich schon arg überfordert. Einerseits bin ich durch meine relativ hohe Laufleistung kein Anfänger, andererseits schon. Generell war die Beratung im Fachhandel bisher eher mau, sodass ich den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht mehr sehe.

Wie handhabt ihr starke Windböen auf der Abfahrt?

Fernab des Verkehrs ist es das eine, doch auf der Straße das andere. Wenn ich dann plötzlich Abfahrten im Eiertanz mit 40-50kmh fahre, die ich sonst mit 60-80kmh nehme, wird mir schon etwas unbehaglich - besonders, wenn der Verkehr hinter mir ungeduldig wird. Dabei ist es geradeaus das eine, bei langgezogenen Kurven das andere.

Eigentlich bin ich im Schwarzwald sehr geübt im schnellen Bergabfahren, doch ich merke, wie mir unter stürmischen Umständen der Puls hochgeht und es im schlimmsten Fall zu Vermeidungsverhalten kommt, sodass ich dann doch den langen flacheren Umweg nehme.

Nun bin ich aktuell noch auf einem Gravel unterwegs, das 2023er Cannondale Topstone Carbon, das nun von der Geometrie her heutzutage eher als konservativ gilt. Dessen Reifen sind 40-48mm breit (aktuell Tufo Thundero/Speedero mit ~2 bar tubeless, davor Gravelking Slicks) auf 18mm tiefen XC-Felgen (Stans Crest mit Tune-Naben).

Mein Lenker (Easton EC90 AX) ist mit 120mm Drop für einen Gravellenker recht tief, aber natürlich komme ich damit nicht in eine extrem aggressive Position.

Nun, da ich das letzte Jahr Tausende Kilometer rein auf Asphalt abgespult habe, spiele ich schon länger mit dem Gedanken an ein „richtiges Rennrad“ für mehr Tempo. Nur als Beispiele: Das Cannondale SSE wäre ein Traum, ein Cube Agree beim aktuellen Budget eher die Vernunftsentscheidung.

Dabei stellt sich mir die Frage: Wie verhält sich ein aerodynamisch optimierter Renner mit modernen tieferen Felgen (50mm) unter solchen Extrembedingungen?

Meine letzte Sorge ist, dass mir die Karre zu nervös wird und ich mich in den Routen stark einschränke - aber was meint ihr?