Trailforks - Now behind a paywall

smitho

smitho

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Just logged into Trailforks and discovered it’s now behind a paywall (except for a small square around your home).

At the risk of starting another paid Strava bin fire it does seem a bit unreasonable and disingenuous to me.

Getting riding of formerly free features and making you pay for is probably not the most well thought out business plan and will always sting customers a bit, but Strava I understand. Ultimately it’s a business that needs to make money.

Trailforks on the other hand is a database that has been built upon user data and contributions on the premise that it was (quoting their website before they removed it) “FREE! We will never charge for the access to the trail data on this website”.

For Aussies living in metropolitan areas the free area is pretty useless given the distances between trails.

It’s only a few dollars, and nothing outrageous but just seems to have capitalised on something they got for free in good faith.


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goobags

Likes Dirt
smitho said:
Trailforks on the other hand is a database that has been built upon user data and contributions on the premise that it was (quoting their website before they removed it) “FREE! We will never charge for the access to the trail data on this website”.
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In their defence, from my reading the website will be free and only the app limited. I’m assuming the main perk of the app is being able to have offline data pre downloaded.

Unfortunately this is a bit of the ‘cloud strikes again’ issue that smart home devices are seeing. A business model that does not stack up. More and more server throughout and no revenue stream.


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Minlak

Minlak

custom titis
If something is free then you are the product - I would assume they have been unable to successfully transpose the data into advertising and on selling opportunities and thus we need money from the user.
The other unique situation you run into now is that people will shy away from free service assuming it’s a tarp of some kind and stealing their data - the payment option makes them feel value.
 
Minlak

Minlak

custom titis
I hardly used it before to know what may not be working I can see any trails I search for as well.
 
foxpuppet

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
This happened a while back. When forts announced you had the chance to sign up and get the sub at half price for as long as you keep using it.


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Stredda

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
I was a bit disappointed when they announced that they were going to a subscription platform but mainly for the reason of getting more riders using Trailforks. I thought that it could dissuade new users from jumping on board as it is a great tool to navigate, manage trail networks and raise funds for clubs and trail associations.
They promise that they will be able to provide a better product with a proper income stream coming so I suppose time will tell.
I still think it is worth the subscription, especially if you travel around.
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
It's only $18 a year unlike strava at $80 a year, but I reckon it's the best thing ever because it will give the trail networks a break. I'm seeing more and more wankers modifying trails that have been around for years because they don't have the skills to ride them. A trail builder builds a trail for a certain experience and not for some self-centred flog to make other lines or remove features to suit their skill set.
 
M

mooboyj

Likes Dirt
I paid for it and use it every second ride or so. I have also used it to recon race routes and used it for some day walks.

I don't normally pay for things like this, but it has proven to be useful on multiple occasions, so am happy to pay for it. I see it being used a lot again when I do my first Derby trip.
 
ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Flow-Rider said:
You can use Alltrails for free mapping
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Just looking at Adelaide, it has a few missing... though most are there. No description or rating and doesn't tell the difference between a dedicated MTB singletrack and a dirt road. Maybe in the settings though...

The good thing about Trailforks, up until now is people uploaded new trails and kept it up to date. Now that its pay... albeit a very small amount. There will be a lot who have kept it updated in the past, probably wont bother now.

I have noticed lately that any trails that were not 100% bicycle legal have all disappeared.

Still, I'll probably pay the $18.


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droenn

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Dang, not sure I want to fork out for yet another service...

I bought Trail Buddy (Kowalski trail maps) to support the local trails, but it hasn't been updated in ages :( (unless I need to do that manually?)
 
Stredda

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
ozzybmx said:
The good thing about Trailforks, up until now is people uploaded new trails and kept it up to date. Now that its pay... albeit a very small amount. There will be a lot who have kept it updated in the past, probably wont bother now.
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All admins got free subscriptions so in areas that have good active admin users the trail networks should be still kept up to date
 
Flow-Rider

Flow-Rider

Burner
ozzybmx said:
Just looking at Adelaide, it has a few missing... though most are there. No description or rating and doesn't tell the difference between a dedicated MTB singletrack and a dirt road. Maybe in the settings though...

The good thing about Trailforks, up until now is people uploaded new trails and kept it up to date. Now that its pay... albeit a very small amount. There will be a lot who have kept it updated in the past, probably wont bother now.

I have noticed lately that any trails that were not 100% bicycle legal have all disappeared.

Still, I'll probably pay the $18.


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Not meant to upload illegal trails to trail forks, that's one of their policies, not much is up to date or current in Brisbane with trail forks either. I usually look on Strava to see if anyone has ridden the trail recently or see the route they've ridden. If you can download MTB openmaps to your GPS unit, you can pretty much find your way around most networks.
 
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