July 2, 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Brasov, Romania
Why Is Navigation Still the Weakest Link in Micromobility
Over the years, bikes got smarter, batteries got better and displays went digital. So, the cities adapted, yet one part of the ride still fails, constantly. Navigation.
It remains the leftover feature, often adapted or borrowed from cars and pasted into apps with good intentions but terrible results.
At MagicLane, we’ve dedicated over 30 years of experience in maps, routing, and navigation to solving this persistent failure.
We’ve built a location intelligence platform that deeply understands the unique needs of e-bikes and scooters, logistics fleets and shared mobility platforms.
Why Bike Navigation Is Still a Joke
As cyclists still get routed down highways and E-bikes drain batteries on hills & terrains they didn’t expect. We also see logistics riders lose time when coverage drops.
The root of the problem lies in insufficient maps, which often lack detail about surface types, bike lanes, legal paths, and access rules. Add to that routing engines originally built for cars, and it’s no surprise the directions feel off. Most critically, current solutions make poor use of rider, vehicle, and environmental data ignoring factors like ride style, battery capacity, terrain difficulty, or local regulations.
“Nearly 63% of riders say they’ve ended up on unsafe or non-bike-friendly roads when following Google Maps.”
- Bicycling Magazine
We know it’s not a glitch. It’s what happens when tools built for cars or general maps get copy-pasted into cycling.
Google Maps wasn’t made for this. Urban mobility platforms need something tailored and so do e-bike manufacturers.
Bikes Deserve Their Own Stack
So worked to build maps that prioritize bike lanes, legal paths, surface types, and access restrictions. The routing engine adjusts based on ride style, battery limits, and terrain. Also offering SDKs that run offline without fallback or dependency.
Since our mission is to put Privacy-first we make sure nothing gets tracked. This isn’t AdTech in disguise.
We don't profile or re-sell user behaviour insights. Our platform is built in the EU, with privacy designed into the protocol & not patched on after compliance knocks.
| For e-bike manufacturers | For urban mobility platforms | For developers |
|---|---|---|
| Full routing that lives on the device. Navigation works in tunnels, in basements, and in the middle of nowhere. Updates match the battery, the screen, and the rider’s expectation. | Better fleet performance. Routes adapt to regulations. Signal blackouts do not kill the ride. Privacy is locked in at the protocol level. | An SDK that actually lets you build. Every component is modular. You can use your own UI. You can run logic inside your own system. You do not rely on a cloud black box. |
What’s Next? Sidewalks!
We’re also working on sidewalk detection, because we like a challenge and we see a clear need for it.
Our sidewalk intelligence can help distinguish paths from roads with pinpoint accuracy, return real-time confidence scores, and visualize results live on the map.
It's built for safety & designed for compliance. Ready for cities, AV fleets, and mobility operators that want proactive, cloud-first sidewalk data.
This capability will soon evolve into broader road type detection, identifying bike paths mixed-use trails, pedestrian zones, and more. It's a key milestone in our journey to set a new standard in micromobility navigation.
Launching soon: It’s already in pilots & already making a difference. And yes, it’s already yours to try. Ask for a Demo here.