smoore

I haven't used a computer of any kind on my bike for 12 years and I love it. My watch tells me how long I've ridden and I've been fine with that at this stage of my career.

However, I'm wondering if there is an app that will tell me how far I've ridden and what my average speed was? I'm thinking the GPS on the phone could provide the distance and maybe the app can do the rest? I don't want to add any sensors to my bike and would prefer to ride with my phone in my jersey pocket instead of mounted on the bars...if that's possible. If the app is free...all the better.

I'm not a techie...sorry if I asking some stupid questions.

jppe

Others that are more familiar with the APPS can chime in but I’m thinking one or more of these would do it. I’ve used all three at one time or another but I don’t recall the details.
Strava

Ride with GPS

Mapmyride

jrhoneOC

Strava, Its free for the basic stuff which is what you are asking and can be run from your phone...I would say to look into one more thing. Apple Watch. I run Strava from my watch. Doesnt even need the phone to be around ( I have left it at home a few times accidentally) and its just on your wrist. Speed, distance, heart rate, calories burned, etc are all displayed and its got an auto pause feature so when you stop it pauses automatically. I love it, but I am a techie....Watch has a ton of health benefits other than for tracking your ride, and as we get up there, every bit that helps me stay healthy is gold for me.

Moishe

I’ve been using Cyclemeter on my iPhone for the past six years. I think it’s awesome. The free version does what you ask for. I use the “Elite” version, which costs ten bucks a year. Yeah, some people might say that’s an awful lot of money, but I find it indispensable.

zacster

I have a computer that I swap from my road bike to my commuter, but there are times I'm riding with neither. In that case I use RideWithGPS and it tracks things very well, with a map of your ride when you're done, plus a lot of stats. All for free too.

I've also used the app to clock train speeds when I'm on one of those fast trains that the rest of the world gets to ride. The Shanghai maglev clocked in at 269mph, the fastest I've ever gone on the ground and that includes take-offs and landings. The Bordeaux-Paris TGV clocked at 200. Someday I'll clock the subway speed on an outdoor section in Brooklyn, I'm sure it'll be pathetic.

You can just start it and put it in your pocket, but a handlebar phone mount is pretty cheap if you want to see your stats as you ride, although you indicate you're not interested in that.

Moe Zhoost

I sometimes use MapMyRide.

BengalCat

Strava. GPS, average speed and a whole lot more in a very simple app to use.

Wileyrat

I use Ride with GPS, and it does everything you're looking for.

jlaw

https://ridewithgps.com/

canklecat

Wahoo Fitness. Start with it so you won't be aggravated later when you discover Strava no longer supports that new heart rate monitor or other doodad you got as a gift or decided to try.

Wahoo Fitness is completely free, there's no premium version to unlock with a paid subscription, no tricks. It's more reliable than Strava, has fewer resource demands and less battery drain. And you can upload the log to Strava later. That's what I've done for a couple of years now.

I started out just recording my rides for basic info -- distance, average speed, map of my route. But as my fitness improved I became curious about getting a little more methodical in my training approach. I added a Wahoo Tickr. Then an older Wahoo sensor kit from the 2012 iPhone 4s era that added speed and cadence sensors and an ANT+ adapter for only $15 (because it's obsolete but still functional). I wear the Tickr on almost every ride but use the other sensors only on my indoor trainer bike (although I ride that bike outdoors occasionally too). Helped improve my fitness and boosted me past some plateaus where I hadn't been making any progress.

Strava recently discontinued support for most such monitors. So if I'd been relying on Strava as my primary app for recording rides I'd have been annoyed. But I gave up on Strava for recording rides a couple of years ago. It's a great tool for data analysis, especially with the optional Elevate browser extension. But Strava isn't great for recording rides. And Strava has always been maddeningly indifferent to user requests for features and bug fixes. It's more of a social networking platform for athletes. I mostly rely on it to keep up with real life friends.

The best iPhone app for recording and analyzing data is Cyclemeter. But only the paid annual subscription is worth using. They wrecked the free trial version a couple of years ago with intrusive clickbait ads. And the free version lacked all the features that made Cyclemeter special. It's a great app in the paid version, which is much less expensive than Strava's premium account. Give it a try for a year starting in January. No idea about the paid Android version of Cyclemeter, haven't tried it yet.

Litespud

I run strava on my phone - not interested in “real time” numbers, so the phone stays in my jersey pocket and I get to review the ride afterwards - route, distance, climbing, av/max speed. Sounds like what you need.

gear64

I've used GPS Tracks for walking, short hikes. For longer hikes I like to conserve my phone and rigged up a belt loop/day pack attachment for my cycling computer. I keep track of my overall fitness, which includes much more than cycling with a desktop app. I like to use Plot A Route for planning. I'm not into the social media/challenge aspects of the more well known mapping/tracking sites. Plot A Route is bare bones simple and provides everything I need for pre-planning.

smoore

Wow...thanks guys for all the input. I'll keep you posted as I work through some of these options, thanks again.
Steve

Kabuki12

Another vote for Strava. Free and it works. I’ve been using it for a couple of years and I actually keep track of how many miles on each bike I own. It is ideal for us people that just want simple!

Thomas15

Since there are a number of good free basic apps it is not problem trying out a few and compare. I have on my i6: MapMyRide, Strava, RidewithGPS and Wahoo.

Others have pointed out the problem with Strava which is a shame. Since I added a HRM, I've started using the Wahoo app when riding outside but upload my data to Strava when using Zwift. It costs extra to get Strava to analyze heart data, I think it's about $60/year.

If you take part in organized rides the route can usually be downloaded to your phone but it usually is on only one of the several apps mentioned.

It's a little bit pricey but I use a QUAD LOCK phone mount.

After a year of using phone apps I'm almost certain that I'm going to upgrade to a bicycle specific GPS head unit with aux cadence/speed sensors. I will still take my phone with me on rides but I want GPS turn by turn instructions and a smaller unit on the bars.

OP you will quickly find that data you get even on free apps very interesting which will place a hunger for upgrades, Yes its a trap!

zacster

Just yesterday I did a ride on my one bike without a computer or phone mount, and just turned on RidewithGPS and put the phone in my pocket. It recorded every inch of my ride, even showing where I was separated on the out and back by about 10 feet. I use their cloud to store all of my rides no matter how they were recorded including the indoor trainer rides. For the indoor rides I have to upload the .fit or whatever files are generated since neither Zwift nor Sufferfest will upload directly for some reason even though they connect to other apps like Strava and Trainingpeaks. Maybe neither thinks of RWGPS as a tracking app as much as a mapping app.

Here's the thing though, ALL of the apps and devices talk to each other these days in one way or another. ANT+ and Bluetooth are used to communicate locally between sensors and devices, there are standard format files for interchange of data between apps, and published APIs to allow direct sharing from one app to another. Wifi and cellular internet connections are used pretty seamlessly too. Most times I don't have to do anything to see my rides on both RidewithGPS and Trainingpeaks. It is only necessary to upload as mentioned above to RWGPS.

superdex

Strava. Bonus for tracking other activities too. You can also mark your activities private if you don't want to be bothered with the social aspects...

caloso

Free version of Strava. Turn it on and stick it in your pocket. Just remember to end the ride, especially if you drove to the ride.

canklecat

BTW, I have discovered one bug with Wahoo Fitness. A couple of times while checking a ride in progress during a break, I inadvertently swiped the app closed. Rather than keeping the activity open, this ended the activity and recorded the data correctly up to that point. But it will not upload to Strava.

I could transfer the data to another app or utility, convert the log to another format Strava recognizes, maybe tweak the data some... but it's not worth the hassle. I'd do that only if it was part of a significant ride like a full century or event ride.

John_V 

I'm a big fan of Cyclemeter but I have to agree with @craklecat; the Wahoo fitness app is 100% totally free and offers the same functionality as all the other apps that you have to subscribe to in order to use.Wahoo also offers exceptional support if you should need it.