iPhone apps for bike riders
 

Hope this is posted in the appropriate area!
What are some recommendations for apps that will show me where I am and maybe record the route and length of a ride? Been using Google maps and it's OK but I'm guessing there's something better out there.
Help?

The Specialized Ride App is primarily to work with a Specialized or other helmet that has Angi. However I've found it works well even for walks with my wife around the neighborhood. It gives you basic info and is buggy sometimes. You don't have to have the helmet for it to work.

A long time ago I briefly used OruxMaps and it did everything. And it did it very well. However the fact it was made to do everything made it more complicated than I wanted to deal with at the time.

I think both have a version for iPhones. I still just prefer to use a dedicated device though. My Garmin Edge 500 still works well for that and I can save my rides to my computer and not have to share with others if I don't want too!

I've tried Strava and Relive. I really like Relive as you can make a video of your ride and add pics - you can add music but you need the subscription for that.

If I were to use a phone app as a computer I would use Wahoo Fitness. The compiled data after your ride is pretty much identical to the compiled data my Wahoo Elemnt computer produces. You are also able to link other apps to it as well such as Strava, RWGPS. I'm not sure if you can navigate using it as I have never tried, but the compiled ride data (post ride) is very good.

I do enable Google maps tracking by default for emergency purposes. Came in handy when I was hit by a car a couple of years ago. Confirmed my version of events. Google Maps Timeline can be set to record our activities by default and is smart enough to differentiate between cycling, walking and motor vehicle movements. But it's not great for fitness tracking and the file format needs to be converted to use with other fitness apps.

I use Wahoo Fitness to record rides, then upload to Strava. Wahoo Fitness is more reliable, less resource intensive, and still supports sensors like heart monitors, cadence/speed sensors, etc. Free, easy to use and works well.

I only use Strava to check my ride data and keep up with friends. It's mostly a social network minus the drama.

In paid apps, Cyclemeter is very good for iPhone.

For navigation, Ride With GPS and others are good, but only in the premium paid versions.

If you decide to try a bike computer, there are a few around $100 or less that offer some navigation aids, etc. Check Bryton and Lezyne. Some will interface with our phones to notify us of incoming calls and texts. I use an inexpensive XOSS G+ that records GPS routes but doesn't offer any navigation aids, very minimalist.

I've been using cyclemeter for about 4 years and like it pretty well. 10 bucks a year for the paid version.

I use Cyclemeter as well - it integrates with my cadence, heart rate, and speed sensors, and I have it set to display everything I care about during the ride (clock time, ride time, distance, instant and average cadence, instant and average heart rate, instant and average speed, and calories burned. Then after the ride is over, Cyclemeter pushes everything to Strava for more detailed analysis later (and Strava then syncs with Veloviewer if I *really* want to geek out on the numbers).

Map my ride, ride with gps, Endomondo, Strava, will all record you ride, show you where you are, and are free.
I use Strava when I don't have my regular Cateye stealth because the Cateye ( a GPS device) integrates with Strava.
My phone stays in my pocket.

Another Cyclemeter user. Love it. Sucks battery big time if you use it with the screen on 100% of the time but worth it.

I've been using the UnderArmour apps for iPhone: MapMy(Ride, Run, Walk, etc). They integrate with the MapMyFitness master app, and seem to work well even for the free versions. Not as accurate as an actual FitBit but good enough for estimating distance, calories burned, etc. Pus you can integrate a FitBit or smart watch to track vitals.

I use Strava. I don't subscribe and just use the free version. It gives me what I need. I downloaded Relive but haven't used it yet. Looking to try it out soon.

I have been using the free version of Cyclemeter for Android for about 6-months. I have been very disappointed in its implementation as it produces unpredictable and unrepeatable mileage, speed and position results over the same routes. It seems to miss GPS updates and often shows me riding through back yards and across lakes at 50MPH max speeds. A riding partner has seen similar issues. I have not encountered similar behavior on any other biking applications. I wonder why my experience with Cyclemeter appears to be different from several others in this thread.

Huh, yeah, interesting. I use the free version - I start a ride, lock the screen, and stick the phone in my jersey. So I generally don't look at it while I'm riding, which helps battery consumption, I guess.

I find that the elevation numbers tend to vary, as well as the distance. But only by about small percentages, nothing that makes me want to give up using it. One ride back in May was measured at 9.08 miles, and then a few days later, it came out as 9.21. And the elevation ascent was measured as 758' on one day, but then 941 feet on the next ride. Kind of weird, but I just average everything out.

Used many apps over the years (MMR, Strava, RideW/GPS, some others) and frankly, got sick of having my phone mounted on the bars. At this point, having maps "in cockpit" is not necessary and I never found a mounting solution for the expensive phone that really earned my "all around approval." I've always kept a simple cyclocomputer on the bars for basics, and wireless really improves those. Now, for the last 2 months, I've been using a Garmin 130 Plus (recently released) and, so far, it's 'goldilocks' for me. About the size of a cookie, very flexible on data display, integrates easily with my Polar H10 HR monitor, talks to the Garmin software on my iPhone (in pocket), reads from the Garmin cadence sensor, easy to change across bikes. When I finish a ride, I'm reviewing everything from the 130 on my phone after a 30 second sync. Does not provide real maps (OK with me), but does support a decent amount of navigation on user-defined courses (create on web), planned training routines (eg tabatas for HIIT), very cool coverage of climbing hills on route (how steep, how far to go), knows segments and compares you in real time to your own best times, and connects to Strava for those who care. My best bike purchase this year, gotta say.

The errors in mileage that I see using Cyclemeter are counted in miles. For instance, I rode 24 miles yesterday morning, but Cyclemeter reported 17.75 miles. I never pay attention to elevation changes because I live in flatland Florida. I do have the screen on most of the time.

I used the free trial version of Cyclemeter in 2016 and liked it well enough to get the paid premium version in 2017. It worked very well. I forgot to renew in 2018 and after a few months tried the free trial version again. It was terrible. They hobbled the trial version so badly it's worse than useless -- it would actually discourage prospective new customers.

Same problem I had with the Dark Sky app. The free version was useless but the paid version was very good -- for awhile. But long before they finally discontinued Android support in August, the forecasts were less accurate and the vaunted micro-local forecasts and warnings were non-existent.

But at $10 a year I'd consider trying the paid version of Cyclemeter again, mostly for the programmable training features.

I occasionally get that as well. Just recently, I am started a climb and the app said I was going 33 mph and not the 10 that I was really doing. It is usually just for a second or two but it does pop around. I have an old fashioned cycle computer and at the end of a ride the numbers are always generally close so I don't really care.

The bigger issue I am having now is that the app is over-calculating my stop time. On my last MTB ride, it said my stop time was over 20 minutes - when in reality it was closer to 2 minutes. If I export the data to STRAVA, it reports the correct time. Very strange.

Ack, yeah, that's pretty out of whack! Maybe the rest of us have better GPS coverage for some reason? That's weird.

GPS errors are usually due to satellite signal interference due to atmospheric disturbances or terrain, trees and buildings blocking the signal, and in some cases EMF/RFI from power stations and electrical utilities. I see this a lot along my route, always in the same places.

Sometimes it's the phone. Restart the phone and see if the GPS sync problem clears up.

It's seldom the app. Nowadays most activity apps try to interpolate our likely route and fill in the gaps when the GPS sync is lost. It'll use the maps to determine our mostly likely route, so I rarely see a GPS track straight across an open field through fences, lakes, etc.

Phones can also fall back on cell tower signals to fill in gaps. Most GPS bike computers can't do that, unless they sync with our phones for backup navigation. I see this a lot when I run both my XOSS G+ (cheap but decent GPS computer) and phone.

I use Cyclemeter and have the same problem with 1 spot on my daily route where it says that I am riding at 30 mph, I don't go that fast going down steep hills. But the distance that I rode is repeatable, so I don't care.

The one thing I will say about the Cyclemeter people is that they respond very quickly to emails. I contacted them about my issue and got an email back in minutes. Will see what they find out.

While they did not identify specific things that resulted in the discrepancy they did point out some settings that will work better for my mountain biking and such. Overall, call me VERY impressed with the people at Cylemeter. Very communicative.

All good insights, thanks!

Cyclemeter works well for me. I've had it for 3 years now and never noticed any large discrepancies or errors. I also bought a Samsung Gear S3 a couple of years ago that does an ok job, but not anywhere near as accurate as Cyclemeter. It does do a decent job of monitoring my heart rate though.

I use Strava to track rides. I have it running on my phone but not visible during rides. I just use it to keep track of my daily rides and distance. And since September first I've entitled each ride with a line from Keats' "To Autumn," because I'm a nerd.

For route planning, especially on trails, I use AllTrails and MTB Project. Both have been handy in exploring areas to ride and getting an overall view of the area. I've downloaded Komoot and Wahoo but haven't used them much yet. I'm using the free versions of all of these.

Finally, for hiking I also use MapMyWalk, which connects to MyFitnessPal (which I use for calorie tracking). Both have worked well for that.