Probable dumb question on biking distance tracking
 

hey guys,

so first off i am not in any shape way or form going for some racing type training and to be honest am not serious enough to track watts, heart rate etc etc.
That said i enjoy the background tracking of distance that google maps gives me on my timeline, and have noticed it tends to be a bit unreliable on numbers. ( have seen chunks of 3 to 5 miles not being accounted for, mostly when doing a round or 2 on a small island in the middle of river here).

So I was wondering if there is any phone app that might give me somewhat better tracking of distance, and if possible average speed, bonus points for max speed) used to have an app like that for longboarding but it was iffy at startups.

There are several apps.
The big 3 are:

Strava, RideWithGPS, and MapMyRide.

Strava is really oriented around virtual social networking. You can create, or utilize challenge segments, and etc, but you don't need to do that. Strava maps and routes are free features. It has good post ride analysis.

RideWithGPS has a bunch of selectable real-time data fields which are nice. It is also popular with government sites here in the USA. Mapping features are not free.

I hacen't used MapMyRide. :P

I use Strava. :)

will strava keep my phone screen on or iwill it work in background while phone screen is off. main point i enjoy about the background google maps tracking is the low intrusiveness

Yes, it will work when your phone screen is off.

Both RideWithGPS and Strava can be backgrounded, and still work. Both have live maps that you can see where you are (best with phone/net service).

RideWithGPS has a mode called "Handlebar Mode" which if you enable it, you can see the app by simply turning on the screen.

Strava needs the screen swipe (or RWGPS without the Handlebar mode also takes the swipe).

CliffordK has covered all the main points. Just to add my 2p worth, although I have a Garmin and therefore don't use these apps on a phone, I do automagically download the data to both Strava and RideWithGPS. I use Strava because all my friends do. Although I don't compete with anyone else I do quite enjoy seeing myself get new personal records which is one of the features of Strava. And I like RideWithGPS because it's very easy to see summaries by week, month, year, etc. I've really enjoyed, for example, seeing that I've ridden much further so far this year than I did in the first quarter of last year. I daresay Strava has that information but RideWithGPS makes it easy to find.

I use komoot. I like it because I can split screen with google maps and it gives me a nice display of current speed, avg speed, time traveled and distance traveled. It can also operate with the screen off or in the background. I've had problems with the directions, so I don't use it for that.

It doesn't auto-pause at stops, so that's a drawback, and it doesn't tell you your max speed, but it's a good no-nonsense reliable recorder.

Or a decent bike computer properly calibrated. Measured against road mile markers, I had my CatEye accurate to 2/100th of a mile. That was good enough for me so I didn't bother trying to get it any more accurate. Recorded distance, Avg. speed and Max. speed.

I've switched to using a Wahoo Elemnt GPS device, but had been using RideWithGPS. The free version is fine for tracking rides. The free version of Strava gives you more data to compare against others and if you use a Heart Rate Monitor you can see that as well.

I've been using Caynax Sports Tracker for about a year now and I'm pretty happy with it. It's a freebie https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....sportstracker

Like you I just want the basics. Caynax tracks speed, distance traveled, calories burned, ride time and shows a map of where you're at (and where you've been). If you stop riding, say for a short rest, it also pauses automatically. I have mine set, of course, for bicycling but it can easily be setup for other things (skiing, hiking, kayaking, etc.). I do keep a downloaded map section of my area (within 150 miles) from google maps on my smartphone which Caynax uses... or if you have wifi or data available it can use that too. The other thing is it's pretty intuitive so not a big hassle to use or set up.

Edited to say I have had zero problems with the app tracking where I'm at but that probably has more to do with the GPS tracking ability of my phone than with the app itself. I'm not often under the canopy of trees so my phone usually has a clear line of sight to the sky.
Les

so i tried strava yesterday and this morning. I told myself yesterday i wouldn't go for KOM but i couldn't stop myself today on various segments on my way to work. not sure what to think about that lol

A cheap cycling computer (even ones under $15) will provide trip and odometer distance, as well as speed, and trip time.

I used one for years before going to a dedicated cycling GPS. My CatEye wireless lasted well over a decade. If I were buying one today I would go with a wired one because the wireless cycling computers can suffer from interference from HID lights.

Lock the screen and put it in your pocket.

or get a cheap bike computer mounted to the bars

I usually have Strava backgrounded, and have a dedicated "bike phone" with only WIFI. So, I never see my segments live. I have memorized where a few segments are.

I pounded quite a few segments pretty hard the first year I had Strava. Now, I'm a little more relaxed, mostly ride tracking.

Hopefully this Spring/Summer I'll try to take back a couple of local KOMs that were taken away. :eek: 2 flat miles, and one hill.

Strava has some very good data analysis too, once you find it.

This page shows you your annual miles, and little graphs for each month.
https://www.strava.com/athlete/calendar

You can go back and forth to different years. Click on a month to see that month's data. Odd, they're not a little better with tracking YTD data.

The individual ride analysis page is pretty good.

I can pick out "interesting rides" pretty quickly using the Training Log page.

https://www.strava.com/athlete/training/log

Oh, and the challenges can be fun. I haven't signed up for many of the rewards, in part because research indicated there wasn't much I wanted to buy with the reward amounts, and a bit wary of giving out my E-Mail.

https://www.strava.com/challenges

Nonetheless, fun goals.

I have a wireless Cateye (~$40) on my flatbar bike. It shows speed, time and distance on the main screen. It also records the maximum speed for a ride. Combined with Strava on your phone, it's a pretty good dataset for tracking rides and progress.

None of these gadgets existed when I was younger, and I don't see any need for them. A nice bike ride is a nice ride, so just enjoy the ride. Fitness will come if you ride enough.

maybe OsmAnd~ ? it's open source and has great fatures, analyze the recorded track on a map, gives you speeds/altitudes/slopes etc.

I don't know how its accuracy compares with others, but the Samsung "Health" app that came with my Galaxy smart phone tracks all that.

I second (third, fourth?) the idea of cheap bike computer. Install it, calibrate it, and forget it. A single button-style battery might last you for years. Record your rides on paper for really cheap. All the features provided by Strava and RWGPS are nice, but it sounds like you don't need them. And adding an app to your phone will eat your battery charge.

Works with screen off, even en airplane mode on my phones.

Guys im using strava so far no complaints. To those saying bike computer , i want to avoid adding things to handlebars and stem. Hence my specific app request.