article by Peter Fryer
With more and more people turning toward cycling again, it is important to take advantage of everything that will provide you with a better riding experience.
Many people opt for cycling to reduce carbon footprint, while others do it for fitness purposes. Some may also switch to cycling to avoid traffic congestion.
Whatever the case, you can take advantage of many free and paid cycling apps to make things work in a smooth way.
Having a smartphone while cycling around town or even through the woods can prove extremely useful, especially when you have right type of apps installed on it.
Some cycling apps can help you stay safe while riding. For instance, you can install an app on your smartphone that will tell your loved ones about your current location. You can also cycle with peers in a group with every group members have a specific app installed on their smartphones. These apps will give estimated time of arrival for each cyclist in the group, and when your friend does not arrive on time, you can go see if they are having some issues, like a flat tire or even a crash.
Cycling apps are small yet robust applications designed for your smartphones. You can have these apps installed on iPhones, Android phones, and other platforms as well.
It is important to confirm if the app you are going to install is compatible with your phone.
Once installed, the app can perform a number of tasks, from tracking your fitness and finding the potholes to mapping your rides to fixing your bicycle.
You can use your smartphone in many different ways and make cycling a more fulfilling and safer experience. From planning to navigation and tracking your training, cycling apps can help you handle everything on your smartphone. Some interesting apps can turn your phone into a small bike computer.
What’s more, you can also find cycling apps that help you ride while following local laws. This saves you from running into any trouble, especially when you are in a new place, blazing new trails.
Another interesting use of cycling apps is that you can use them to repair your bike and find what upgrades you need to make to conquer new trails.
And of course, you can use an app to track and achieve your fitness goals because some apps come with several sensors that check your heartbeat and help you get an idea about how many calories you have burned in a single riding session.
Another good use of cycling apps is that they track and record important ride details and then let you share them with others in social media networks.
Many apps have their own communities and websites where other cyclists share their experience and stats – Strava is an example – whereas other apps allows you to upload your details to Facebook and other social media channels to connect with millions of other cyclists around the world.
When you are not really sure about how cycling apps can change your riding experience, you can always start with some free apps. There are quite a few of them available to help you perform different cycling related tasks in a more systematic way. Here are some options to consider.
This free app is a perfect choice for anyone who likes to keep track of different things while riding. It allows you to ride, record, snap, and share with utmost ease. At the same time, the app provides you with improve like distance, calories burned, speed, GPS tracking, and much more. Another good thing is that the app provides you with detailed graphs and maps of your stats, giving you a chance to share your experience with others too.
This is a workout tracker and does not cost you a penny. Along with cycling, it can also be used to track other fitness activities, including running and more. It helps you keep track of your overall speed and shares details of how much distance you have already covered. You can connect it with other Bluetooth enabled devices and share important data. With the availability of many sensors, the app can also help you find personalized information your calories burnt and heart rates.
This is a trails and maps app that you can use to find more information about different interesting and fascinating trails. It comes with a built-in type of navigation system that allows you to find different outdoor adventure opportunities. The apps is so popular and effective that hundreds of search and rescue teams also rely on it. You can download it easily and create your own routes – it is equally simple to download specific pre-created routes from a large library of community and expert generated rides.
This all-in-one app comes with an impressive list of features. It maps riding, GPS cycling, mountain biking, calorie counter, and workout tracking. You can connect the app to more than 400 devices and can easily be logged over to more than 600 different activities. It helps you be an active member of a community with over 30 million members. You can share your achievements and activities with other users in a quick and effective way.
This is another app available for all mobile users and is perfect for tracking bike rides, duration, distance, pace, elevation gain, speed, calories burned, and much more through GPS. It also makes it extremely easy to track your routes and get quick updates on elevation, speed, and other ride data. In no time, you can download information about your current location and use it to plan your rides with utmost ease.
Just like many other apps in this category, it helps you track your routine and cycling speed with utmost ease. It is better that many other similar apps in that it helps track distance traveled along with the number of calories you have already burnt. You can use it for other fitness activities as well, but it is just as effective when it comes to measuring your cycling activities.
When trying to lose weight by cycling or another activity, you can always take advantage of this app by MyFitnessPal. The best thing about the app is that it contains a large database of food, so it becomes a lot easier to calculate exactly how many calories you have eaten by eating certain food items. Interestingly, it also gives you access to its recipe counter where you can track homemade meals too. Both android and iPhone users can use the app.
This small yet powerful app is something you should have on your mobile even if you do not limit yourself to cycling only. It comes with some features you seldom find in other similar apps. It helps you track your location, routes, and records everything about your activity, but it can also be as effective in recording activities like motorcycle touring, skiing, boating, hiking, and climbing. Its user-friendly design is yet another reason why it is a popular app in its category.
If you are looking for a free app for training, look no further than Motivo app. You can certainly find other more robust apps to track your training routines, but the best thing about this app is that it provides you with structured workouts to help you achieve your long term fitness goals. Other apps offer workouts with no structure, and that is why you will be better off opting for Motivo.
You can try this app if you are looking for a good app for tracking your rides. The good thing is that you can use it to track different distance-based sports. It provides you with audio feedback while you are on rides. It means that you do not need to check your mobile to get some details about your data. The app can also be used as a heart rate monitor. Moreover, you can share all your data on social media in no time, which will help keep you motivated to achieve your fitness goals.
Provided by the Cycling UK Charity, the app was originally introduced for cyclists because they are more likely to get injured by potholes. Interestingly, the app is now being used by motorists, delivery drivers, and everyone else. It is extremely easy to use the app, thanks to its simple interface. All you have to do is write about your location, name the hazard type (poor road work, debris, manholes, etc.), and share information about the estimated depth, size, and distance from the kerb of the hazard. By using the app, you will know if there will be a hazard on your selected route. The information also helps the authorities to correct those problems.
This free app is available for iPhone users and works amazingly well to help you get quick information about where your friends are. The app is designed carefully to improve group-ride logistics. It also promotes on-bike safety and is therefore a must-have for new cyclists. It offers a direct access to a map that shares information about the location of your friends. You can use it to get some information about the progress rate of your friends while are on different routes. It also tells you where your friend should be in 20 minutes, and if they do not reach there, you may want to go check on them to see if they are experiencing any issues. It is an extremely useful app, but of course, you need to ask your friends to allow you to track them before you could use this particular app.
While free cycling apps usually serve the purpose well, you may consider spending some money to enjoy some additional features. Here are some paid cycling apps to try.
Available for iPhone, the app costs you somewhere around $4.49 but changes your phone into a cycling computer. It provides you with GPS-enabled real time maps along with in-ride tracking, interval tracking, long-term ride storage, a calories-burned estimation, and many other features. This paid cycling app comes with a fully customizable interface, so it is extremely easy to generate and use maps and graphs. By synchronizing with Google Maps, the app always helps you move in the right direction. You can even check Street View to ensure that you are on the right route. The app can also be turned into a music player, so you can use a cyclist playlist to keep you motivated throughout your ride.
While you can use this app free, you will be able to use some additional features for spending £1.99 only. The app lets you play with numbers in an easy way. From frame geometry angles to power data, it can handle everything. You can use the app to compare tire width, gear rations, and crank length. To make it work, all you have to do is spin the sprocket and chainring graphics to different positions and then adjust the cadence along with speed settings through little sliders you find on the side of the screen. The comparison will help you determine the right number of teeth for your cassette. If you find it difficult to get up hills with your existing components, you can use this app to determine what cassette to use and if swapping the chainrings will work better. This is an extremely useful app for a cyclist who always finds it confusing to determine with cassette to buy. The app is available for both iPhone and android users.
It is a cycling app as well as a website, and is so impressive that people who use it once cannot do without it. The basic concept may not look that unique to begin with. However, you can certainly rate it among the best cycling app for mapping rides and following results. The app records multiple routes that you cycle with the help of a GPS device. You just need to activate it before you start your ride and it will do the rest. Once you are finished, the app will upload all the data to the website for you to view and compare. You can also be an active part of a community using this particular app.
The app makes it extremely simple to use it with your existing tech, such as fitness trackers, GPS watches, and more. It comes with a feature called “Beacon” that lets your friends and loved ones know about your exact location, so they can find you in case you cannot maintain a contact with them. Interesting, it can also serve you as a fitness tracker because it shares information about elevation ridden and calories burned during a ride. While you can use it without paying a penny, you will be able to enjoy some interesting features by becoming a premium member. Both iPhone and Android users can take advantage of it.
When you find it difficult to determine exactly what type of road bike is suitable for your style of cycling, you can turn to Size My Bike for assistance. You can get this app for £3.77 only and use it before buying your very first bike online. The app makes use of six body measurements to help determine which road bike is going to work for you properly. You can also use it to determine the size of mount bikes. It is important to point out that it is available for both iPhone and Android users – iPhone users can get it for $4.99.
It is another interesting cycling app designed to handle a number of cycling related tasks. You can use it to capture riding videos to get an idea about your position. It also works great on a static trainer and helps you measure different riding position angles. It also considers different distances to analyze your riding position more efficiently. You have to pay £3.99 for this app, but it is available only for iPhone users.
This app is based on the best-selling book titled “100 Greatest Cycling Climbs”. By using this app, you will be able to locate all of the hills they have covered in the book. You can ride them all and get information regarding each climb on the go. The interesting thing is that it records your stats and then lets you compare it with other cyclists to know where you stand. You have to pay £5.99 to get this app, and both android and iPhone users can install it.
If you are looking for a way to make your home/turbo trainer workouts a lot more effective, you should certainly install this app on your phone. When you start the app, it automatically connects to a trainer. Once connected, you can ‘ride’ along the trainer while watching the video of a pre-selected route. The trainer’s resistance will change from time to time to match the terrain. You can use a GPS-enabled camera to record a route and then add it to the app to use later. Interestingly, the app lets you ride with as many as 10 people at the same time. It is equally simple to record and post your stats to social media and other ride-logging sites. Be sure to check the list of compatible turbo trainers before buying the app. You can have to pay £7.99 to get the app with all its premium features.
This is a paid cycling app designed to help you track fitness results in an easy way. By using the app, you will be able to record your training and compile everything into summaries, graphs, and more. By synchronizing with Google Maps, the app provides you with correct information about the terrain and traffic. It records your stats and allows you to share it with others in the cycling community. It works just fine when you are engaging in other activities, such as skiing, walking, running, and more. You can find it on Google Play and App Store for free, but the Elite version costs you £ 9.99.
You can download a free 7-day trial of this interesting and highly useful cycling app to see if it suits your style of cycling or not. Many cyclists look no further than The Suferfest when they are on the lookout for a robust indoor cycling app. It offers access to a wide range of cycling training videos, most of which are set in the officially licensed race footage from the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Paris-Roubaix. The use of amazing soundtracks will keep your heart pumping throughout your training session. Interesting, the app offers a 10-week plan to help you build your mental strength by giving you access to Yoga for Cyclist workouts.
Conclusion
The fact of the matter is that cycling is good for your health and lets you enjoy a great time in lovely outdoor settings.
Interestingly, you do not need to be a pro cyclist to enjoy your ride, but you should definitely take your time to determine how you can kit out your phone with useful cycling apps.
Some of them are free, while others will cost you some money. However, they are all going to help you in some ways.
Just be sure to know your purpose behind cycling and then select an app to help things proceed in a smooth way.
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