It’s spring at last and that means one thing – more miles on the bike. To help you keep track of your progress, we’ve put together, with the help of Formby Cycles, ten of the best and most popular cycle apps for real road warriors.
1. Map My Ride
One of the longest-running and simplist cycle tracking solutions. It allows users to monitor distance, speed and time. You don’t need any fancy device because it will work on your smart phone. It has social sharing features and web integration so you can share your rides and progress to Facebook and other platforms.
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Price: Free
Website: http://www.mapmyride.com/
2. Strava
Strava is fast becoming a social media platform amongst cyclists, runners and swimmers. After uploading runs, rides and more users can like or comment on workouts. You can monitor performance stats like heart rate and power if you’ve used a HR monitor on the device from which you uploaded the workout. You can take on challenges, create routes and access the routes of other members.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free, with option to pay for premium features
Website: https://www.strava.com/
3. My Virtual Mission
Good if you have overarching cycling goals, rather than a desire to track shorter rides. The idea behind My Virtual Mission is to give you motivation to take on impressive challenges, without having to disrupt your life. You set a distance goal you want to reach in a set period, such as the distance between London and Edinburgh, and then cover it as you complete daily rides in your local area.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free
Website: http://www.myvirtualmission.com/
4. Bike Hub Cycle Journey Planner
For in-depth route planning this is the app you need. It combines GPS with intricate local mapping, so you can plot out your rides in detail and even avoid obstacles such as steep inclines. There are also helpful location-based features, like showing you where the nearest bike shop is - useful if you need another inner tube on the go.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free
Website: http://routes.bikehub.co.uk/
5. CycleMeter
Focused around getting you fit, this app, only on iPhone, turns your phone into a powerful fitness computer — with maps, graphs, splits, intervals, laps, announcements, zones and training plans. It will record your steps all day and cadence during workouts and you can view terrain and traffic maps on Google maps. With the relevant accompanying accessories or sensors, you can stop and start workouts from an earphone remote, record heart rate, bike speed, cadence, and bike power.
Available for: iOS
Price: Free, with premium version available
Website: https://abvio.com/cyclemeter/
6. RiderState
Become the king or queen of your area. This app collects data from thousands of people and lets you know who has dominated your town or city by riding through them regularly. You can compete with other users to ‘take over’ an area. Great fun to see the size of your digital kingdom increase. It also encourages you to get on your bike more often.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free
Website: http://www.riderstate.com/
7. Kinomap Trainer
This one works with a turbo trainer and as well as creating your own workouts you can also ride through a video of a real-life route with automatic resistance alterations when you hit a hill or wind. It even has GPS camera integration that lets you create your own videos that others can follow. It’s linked to Facebook too so you can follow friends and access their rides.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free to download, requires £7.99 per month subscription
Website: http://www.kinomap.com/
8. CycleMaps
Another route-plotting aid designed for commuters and touring cyclists. You can find a custom route, take a recommended route or choose the quickest route depending on your needs.
Available for: iOS, Windows Phone
Price: Free on iOS, with additional features available to buy, £3.09 on Windows Phone
Website: http://cyclema.ps/hello
9. Garmin Connect
For owners of one of Garmin’s GPS gadgets, the accompanying app is a must-have. You can sync your workouts from your device through your phone and use Garmin Connect as a record of all your rides, runs or other workouts. It tracks distance, speed, elevation, heart rate and is easy to navigate.
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Price: Free, but needs to sync with separate Garmin device to function fully
Website: https://connect.garmin.com/en-US/
10. Endomondo
If you need a bit of encouragement from your cycling tracking app when you head out on your bike, Endomondo’s personal trainer capabilities will be a motivational blessing. It will shout out encouraging phrases while you are in the saddle to help you reach your goals. And while it is suitable for cyclists, it also lets you monitor fitness across a range of other activities.
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry
Price: Free, with additional features available to buy
Website: https://www.endomondo.com/
Written by Helen Croydon, journalist and member of the Triathlon England media team. Follow her on Twitter: @Helen_Croydon
