When you start riding a motorcycle, you likely begin with your usual trips around the neighborhood. But as soon as you go online for tips to explore further, you are immediately bombarded with a thousand new things to learn.

Among the gear and the mechanics, there is the confusing world of digital navigation. Suddenly, you feel like you need to understand what a “GPX file” is just to go for a ride. You wonder: what is a GPX file, why does it exist, and why hasn’t anyone killed it yet?

With Stegra.io, you don’t actually need to know what a GPX file is. Whether you create your journey using the new Studio 2.0 on your computer or in the app on your phone, or tablet, our platform handles the complexities for you, keeping your plans in sync across all your devices.

However, you will eventually encounter them—whether you are joining a group ride, signing up for an event, or receiving a “must-ride” trail from a newly found adv-friend. When that happens, Stegra.io offers some of the most comprehensive support in the industry for importing and exporting these files.

Here is everything you need to know.

What is a GPX File?

Think of a GPX file (GPS Exchange Format) as a digital container for your trip data. It is a universal file type that allows different GPS devices and apps to share map information.

Technically, a GPX file is just text, but inside that text, it usually holds three types of data:

• Waypoints: Specific spots you want to mark, like a gas station, a campsite, or a scenic overlook.
• Routes: A planned sequence of points (A → B → C) that tells a GPS where you want to go, leaving the device to calculate the path between them on the fly.
• Tracks: A “breadcrumb trail” consisting of thousands of points that form a precise line. This could be a recording of exactly where someone has traveled (or exactly where you want to ride), regardless of what the map says.

Solving the “Route vs. Track” Headache

If you browse adventure forums, you will see endless debates about “Routes vs. Tracks.”

• The Old Problem: Traditional GPS units handle them differently. If you import a Track, you get a precise line but no turn-by-turn instructions. If you import a Route, you get instructions, but the GPS might recalculate the path based on its own settings, potentially ruining your carefully planned ride.
• The Stegra Solution: We treat everything as a Track to preserve the exact shape of your route (keeping it intact), but we overlay our own Turn-by-Turn technology on top of it.

This gives you the best of both worlds: the precision of a track with the guidance of a route.

The Stegra Terminology

The industry is filled with overcomplicated terms. To make things easier, Stegra.io simplifies the language:

• GPX “Waypoints” are simply called Points of Interest (POIs).
• GPX “Routes” & “Tracks” are simply called Routes.

We group these together because, for the rider, riding with Stegra.io, the experience is the same.

How Stegra.io Handles Imports

Most apps simply display the line from a GPX file and call it a day. When you import a file to Stegra.io, our engine goes to work enriching that data to give you a better riding experience.

The Enrichment Process

When you upload a GPX file, we analyze it to provide:

• Surface Analysis: We calculate the percentage of unpaved vs. paved roads (crucial for adventure riding).
• Duration: We estimate how long the ride will take based on the terrain.
• Turn-by-turn instructions: Unlike many systems that just show a static line, we generate active navigation instructions with voice instructions where road data is available (instructions for pure offroad coming soon).
• Structure content: We structure and separate the content to give you the possiblity to choose what to import.
• POI Matching: We organize your Points of Interest and match them to the correct icons (e.g., fuel, food, lodging).

Control What You Import

GPX files can be messy—sometimes containing dozens of old tracks and random POIs. Stegra.io separates these layers during the import process, allowing you to select exactly which routes or POIs you want to include, and ignore the rest.

How to Import a GPX File

Importing is simple, but the process differs slightly depending on your device.

On the Web (Studio 2.0)

The Studio 2.0 web interface offers the most control, allowing you to filter exactly what you want to bring in.

• On the left sidebar, click Import GPX.
• Drag and drop your GPX file into the window, or click to browse your computer.
• Select Content: Review the file and check the boxes for the specific routes or POIs you wish to import.
• Duplicate Protection: We keep track of what you have previously imported. If the system detects duplicate POIs, it will automatically block them to keep your library clean and clutter-free.
• Save: Choose an existing Collection to import them into, or create a new one.

In the App

Perfect for when you are on the go.

• In the Map View, tap the Routes button.
• Scroll down to the bottom and tap Import GPX.
• Select the file from your phone’s storage.

Note: The mobile app automatically imports the entire contents of the GPX file. If you need to filter out specific tracks or organize complex files, we recommend using the web version.

Merge GPX-tracks

With the new merge tool in the web-based Studio 2.0, you can easily merge GPX-tracks while also getting full turn-by-turn instructions for them (for when navigating with the Stegra.io app). You can choose different logic connection points, whether it being the absolute closest point, head-to-tail, where sections overlap, etc.

If there is a long way between sections and the place you want to merge it, you will get a connection string where you can choose any route mode with any options. You can also reverse the directions of sections directly in the merge tool to get the direction you want across the new fully merged route. You can also split routes at certain places when needed.

Watch our latest video on this: Learn more about this in our latest video, where we also cover the newest route mode options, including the unpaved slider, curvature slider, and the possibility to include or exclude tracks based on track grades.

Exporting from Stegra.io

When you are ready to share your adventure or transfer it to a hardware GPS unit (like a Garmin), Stegra.io exports your routes as Tracks. This ensures that no matter what device you use, the line will look exactly as you planned it, without the device trying to “shortcut” or recalculate your adventure.

Exporting a Single Route

You can export a route by clicking on the route, click the icon with three dots in the bottom of the route details and choose Save and download GPX.

*If your GPS-device can´t handle large tracks you can choose to export as multiple segments.

Collection Exports

Planning a multi-day trip? If you have grouped multiple routes (days/multiple alternatives) and POIs into a Collection on Stegra, you can export the entire collection as a single GPX file. This keeps your multi-day adventure organized in one neat package.

Importing GPX from Stegra.io to other navigation apps

If you—heaven forbid—decide to use a different app for navigation, you must be careful. Ensure that the app can handle GPX Tracks strictly as they are.

Many apps attempt to “smartly” recalculate the route using their own routing engines. If the app tries to alter the route or “snap” it to the nearest recognized road, you will lose the original line and no longer be riding the adventure you planned. You most probably will lose the ability for proper turn-by-turn instructions as well.

The Stegra.io app offers full navigation capabilities, including voice instructions and smart re-calculation for any route mode. We also feature seamless multi-route support—meaning you can load an entire adventure like the TransEuroTrail (which consists of multiple tracks/routes) at once. As soon as you enter a new route, the navigation automatically switches to the one you are on.

This entire experience is available and optimized for iPhones, Android phones, Android Tablets, and iPads, as well as CarPlay and Android Auto devices.

See you on the road!

/Niclas

Plan your next ride in Studio 2.0