best apps for cycling?
 

Im looking to download an app for my iphone, which is the best?

An ideal app would: log training, be ad free, connect to a fit bit with heartbeat detector, and provide a map and statistics for each ride.

I tried 'em all, every popular app, between late 2015 and summer/fall 2016 before settling on two: the paid version of Cyclemeter (iPhone only) and the freebie version of Strava.

The paid version of Cyclemeter was good enough for my purposes -- the main reason I paid for it was because I'd enjoyed using the free version for several months, and it did almost everything I wanted except: auto-pause (the paid version enables auto-pause); option to obscure precise starting/stopping point - in case you don't want to share maps that trace back to your home via social media (Strava already has this option). I emailed Cyclemeter about that privacy feature. They replied quickly and said they'd pass that along to the programmers as a feature request.

But I also use Strava because it's so popular and I enjoy seeing what my friends and fellow cyclists are doing locally. I'm not competitive and don't really care about KOMs, but it is interesting to see some feedback on personal bests for certain familiar routes. It's useful objective feedback because I've noticed that on days when I feel faster than usual, I'm not necessary faster; and days when I feel sluggish I'm actually riding faster than I realized. But my overall average has gone from only 12 mph to just shy of 14 mph over the past year, so I'm unlikely to every break any records. I just regard the data as a useful marker to balance out my personal impressions of how I'm doing.

I used Wahoo Fitness, a complete freebie, and enjoyed it. Simple, fast, very basic, with auto-pause/restart. But it was too limited and couldn't show or share the data I wanted with other apps. It's a good freebie for folks who just want something very basic, simple and fast for an older iPhone.

I tried Map My Ride, Ride With GPS and others but they didn't seem intuitive or show me the info I wanted. But I know other riders who use and enjoy them.

I second the use of Cyclemeter. I also tried all the popular, and some not so popular, iPhone apps and Cyclemeter stood out over all of them. I've yet to see one that has so much customization and data statistics as Cyclemeter. I don't think you can go wrong. Plus, if you opt to get the Elite version, you pay once a year rather than once a month for the paid versions of the other popular cycling apps. As mentioned, the only truly free on is Wahoo Fitness but it's very limited on features compared to other cycling apps.

I've had good luck with Cyclemeter.

I've used Wahoo Fitness and had plenty of luck with it. Heart rate, speed, cadence (more helpful is your phone can handle ANT+, but that's any cycling App). I also share to Strava as well. So I am not sure when those here last played with Wahoo, but it is definitely good to play with. I just got a Garmin Edge 820, so that does everything I need it to do along with uploading to Strava automagically. I'd have no problems using Wahoo though.

Strava.

I use Strava... easy to use, and I like all the extra info about calories burned and stuff like that.

Strava and MapMyRide you have to pay for the stat like HR info.

Runstastic HR info is free.

I tried them *all* and found Runtastic Roadbike Pro to be the best. The free version is fine too. I found both its interface and map integration to be much better than any of the others (including Strava which for some reason seems to be a favorite with others). It's web portal that you can use from a desktop computer is extremely good too, even without a pro account.

Cheers
TRJB

good suggestions. I've been using Strava but i've gravitated toward Ride with GPS recently.

Regarding my earlier comment back in February...
...turns out Wahoo Fitness will communicate complete data to Strava. So while Wahoo Fitness doesn't show much data within the app, it does record it and can share it to Strava and other apps.

That's handy because Wahoo Fitness displays speed much larger and more readable on my iPhone 4s, so it could be useful for realtime monitoring if I used a handlebar mount (I don't for now).

I was using polar beats, However after the last couple android updates the app is freeing and not wanting to respond after running for 2-3 hours. I just got the wahoo speed sensor and Strava does no support it, so i am going to be using the Wahoo app and upload to strava. I am hoping to get a Wahoo Element Bolt in about a week and that should get rid of all my app issues.

Also don't forget to run Charity Miles. Free app, no cost, donates $0.10 per cycle mile to a charity of your choosing. I just start it and leave it when I ride.