Keeping track of your cycling used to be tricky – but now with smartphones you can easily see your speed, distance, calories burnt and more. But what are the best ones? Find our top picks below!
When out cycling, being able to map and track your route and fitness outside as well as inside is important to train effectively. There are always new apps heading out to the market and it can often be difficult to decipher what each app does and how it is different from the others.
However, there are some standout apps that are certainly doing everything they can to stay at the top of their game. We have put together a list of the top 6 for various different uses including tracking rides, route planning and mapping, fitness tracking and indoor and spin.
There are lots of different ways these apps can be used on your phone, some may require your phone to be mounted to the handlebars, and others can just be started and put in a pocket. Others may require a Bluetooth connection so make sure you know what you need to do to get started.
Best cycling apps for ride tracking
Being able to track your ride and keep updated with your statistics is something that most cyclists like to have. It’s a good idea to be able to view your progress and some of these apps do yearly updates so you can do a comparison of then and now.
Strava
Free (premium available at £6.99)
Download for Apple iPhone or Android
Strava can be used on its own or with a separate GPS computer to upload any rides, however it is great for tracking routes and being able to see what you and your friends have been up to.
You can see your rankings over time, including on segments and how you’ve progressed if you do the same cycling routes a few times. You can also get awards, crowns and get involved in a variety of different challenges to beat your friends and followers.
Take a look at the statistics of your ride including speed, heart rate, segments and climbs can be a great way to get that post-ride high to keep going a little bit longer.
You can download apps to Apple iPhone or Android phones and it connects with Apple watches, Garmin and Fitbit.
Map My Ride
Free (premium version available for £7.99 per month)
Download for Apple iPhone or Android
With MapMyRide, you can track all sorts of different things, including nutrition and weight and it links directly to your wearable tech so it’s easy to upload rides. As well as your watch, you can add your heart monitor or other fitness tracker via Bluetooth and it connects easily with things like Apple Health or Google Fit. You can also use it as a route planner to get you through your ride without having to worry about getting lost. With a live tracker, you can let family or friends know where you are periodically or constantly, so they know you’re safe.
With a premium version, there is so much you can do including training plans and different route options to ensure you get the very best out of your subscription. With a growing community, you can also track friends and give them likes and comments on their activities.
Best cycling app for route planning
It’s often nice to get on your bike and just go where the road takes you, however if you need to be at a certain time or you want a particular distance, then planning your route will bed a great way of staying on the correct path. Using a route planning app can also help you find routes that have been plotted by other riders, ideal if you’re away from your usual riding routes.
Bikemap
Free (premium version £9 per month)
Download for Android and Apple iPhone
Available on both Android and iPhone, offering route planning and navigation and even updates on problems that other riders have encountered during their rides. Ideal for those who do urban commuting and may want to provide others with road updates and traffic incidents.
With Bikemap, you can not only plan your routes, but check out other routes created by riders and look at your stats from the ride and you can see a lot of this in the free version. A great user-friendly app that can do a lot more than you think when you really get to know it.
Best cycling app for fitness tracking
Track performance over time and see where you’ve improved and where you might need to work a little harder. Hook it up with your heart rate monitor or power meter for even more statistics and get all the data you could possibly ever need to get full insights on your ride.
TrainingPeaks
Free (premium version available from £11.99 per month)
Download for Apple iPhone and Android
An extremely popular app among those who use a cycling coach or who are training for a specific race distance. TrainingPeaks has some of the most advanced insights, that provide in-depth analysis on your ride, fitness, fatigue and nutrition.
Use this app alongside the ones you use for tracking routes and social networking on other people’s rides. It is a great app to find workouts, schedule and create a bespoke training plan and use the knowledge from the likes of Joe Friel and Frank Overton.
Best cycling app for indoor cycling
If you have a turbo trainer, you’ll know that sometimes it can be a little bit lonely doing an indoor ride. Using certain apps can bring a mini community to you and keep you on the right path for your workout. Take in the scenery on your virtual ride, get a personalised plan or pick a workout that will get you doing intervals like it’s nobody’s business.
Zwift
£12.99 per month
Download for Android or Apple iPhone
Grab your turbo trainer, the Zwift compatible device and make sure your internet connection is as good as it can be. Zwift is a cycling sensation, taking the world by storm as you can ride solo, with a class or take on challengers.
There are plenty of features in Zwift, and with a full range of gear and accessories, you’ll wonder how you ever did a home spin class without it.
Hopefully, these apps will all help to make your rides even better and provide a variety of training plans, route planning and social networking. Why not also look at the apps for bike maintenance, first aid and weather forecasts. A cyclist and a runner?
Take a look at our other blog rounding up the best running apps. For all things cycling, head over to the cycling page to get more advice, tips and tricks to make your ride even better.
MyWhoosh
Free-to-use
Download for Apple, Android or Windows devices. MyWhoosh is also compatible with multiple smart bikes and turbo trainers.
Want to get fit and see the world without breaking the bank? Try the pioneering, free-to-use virtual platform, MyWhoosh, which brings the experience of outdoor cycling to the comfort of your own home. With 47 routes to explore across four constantly-expanding worlds, MyWhoosh’s immersive graphics will transport you to bucket-list tracks around the globe.
From sharing rides with friends on Strava, to interacting with fellow cyclists in-app through MyWhoosh’s innovative voice chat, MyWhoosh’s features help to build a real sense of community among its users. Join one of the many weekly events, such as Sunday Race Club and Tune Up Tuesday, to test your endurance, elevate your fitness, and be in with a chance of winning some serious prizes.
In collaboration with UAE Team Emirates and UAE Team ADQ, MyWhoosh recently developed 10 Tour de France Workouts based on the specific skills of riders. Sign up now to experience what it’s like to train like a pro for the most famous cycling event in the world!
Fancy a real competition? Earlier this year, the brand held the inaugural MyWhoosh Championship, where riders competed for their share of the largest prize pot in cycling history – $1 million. Check out what is coming next at mywhoosh.com.
