Dependable Cycling apps?

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Lowell_Zapata
Lowell_Zapata Posts: 32 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've dusted off the bicycle, and have been experiencing wildly fluctuating speed & distance readings from my Runkeeper iPhone app. Just when I think it's ok I look down and it say's I'm going 63 mph uphill. :p I can't afford a bike computer right now, so can anyone recommend a solid and dependable app for cycling that they've used? Thank you.

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  • ajsimyan
    ajsimyan Posts: 180 Member
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    I like mapmyride a lot. Just plug in the info needed and its set.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Strava. Mapmyrun/mapmyride/mapmyfitness (all of them can do biking/running/etc...I used to use mapmyrun for everything until I found strava).

    ETA - although the accuracy of ANY app for GPS will only be as good as the GPS in your phone. Some phones suck at GPS mapping for fitness (they can't pinpoint well enough, so they'll think you're not moving for a bit and then jump - hence speed spikes).
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I like mapmyfitness which has the individual app mapmyride if you jsut ride. I use the mapmyfitness as I can change it to walking, running, hiking, biking etc.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I use Strava.
  • njfitnessmom
    njfitnessmom Posts: 345 Member
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    I use mapmyfitness since I bike, walk, run, etc.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    It might your phone and not the app.
    You can run Strava and Runkeeper concurrently if you want to compare.
  • faegirl22
    faegirl22 Posts: 60 Member
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    I use Endomondo, it seems to be pretty accurate. It's also compatible with a cadence meter if you wanted to use one (and found one that's blue tooth)
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
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    Also, you can get a decent CatEye bike computer for the $40-60 range, depending on if you want cadence data also or just speed/mileage, or if you want wired vs wireless....you just don't get GPS - only speed and mileage and/or cadence.
  • kjm3579
    kjm3579 Posts: 3,975 Member
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    I like Cyclemeter -- I use it for biking, running, and walking.
  • Lowell_Zapata
    Lowell_Zapata Posts: 32 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    It might your phone and not the app.
    You can run Strava and Runkeeper concurrently if you want to compare.

    That's a good point. I'll try it.

  • Lowell_Zapata
    Lowell_Zapata Posts: 32 Member
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    ajsimyan wrote: »
    I like mapmyride a lot. Just plug in the info needed and its set.

    Gonna try it!

  • Lowell_Zapata
    Lowell_Zapata Posts: 32 Member
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    gobonas99 wrote: »
    Also, you can get a decent CatEye bike computer for the $40-60 range, depending on if you want cadence data also or just speed/mileage, or if you want wired vs wireless....you just don't get GPS - only speed and mileage and/or cadence.

    Thanks!

  • Lowell_Zapata
    Lowell_Zapata Posts: 32 Member
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    faegirl22 wrote: »
    I use Endomondo, it seems to be pretty accurate. It's also compatible with a cadence meter if you wanted to use one (and found one that's blue tooth)

    Thank you!

  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    Strava. The free version does everything you need. It has a huge user community, but it's totally useful as an individual rider as well.

    Last year I was riding a lot and I tried a bunch of different apps and I found Strava used much less of my cell phone's battery where some of the MapMy... and other products seemed to be battery drainers.

    Strava also supports running and some other sports; I only use it for cycling and running... I've got 730km in running logged since last fall.

    If you do go for a cycle computer like the ever popular Garmin 500, or a general purpose GPS watch like the various Garmin Forerunners, it will feed Strava too, if you like. Strava is integrated with MyFitnessPal so the calorie burn info comes straight over.

    Also, I'd second the comment that it might be your phone at fault too, some models are worse than others. I've found my Nexus 5 android phone is pretty decent though, although I outgrew having my phone passively track me and moved to using a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch that I wanted mostly for running, but I also use for cycling.

    What's most important, IMO, is that you try to pick something you can live with for a long time. I find it very useful to see comparative stats going back in time over hundreds of runs and rides. You can see where you are improving; when you've been slacking off; and when you need to take a break! :smile:
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    gobonas99 wrote: »
    Also, you can get a decent CatEye bike computer for the $40-60 range, depending on if you want cadence data also or just speed/mileage, or if you want wired vs wireless....you just don't get GPS - only speed and mileage and/or cadence.

    Once upon a time I poo-poo'd GPS computers and running watches, and there have been a lot of CatEye computers on our various bikes, but now there are two Garmin computers in this household, and possibly will be a third before the year is done.

    For the OP, some GPS bike computers do not come with cadence sensors, those can be optional. Likewise while GPS can provide decent indication of speed it isn't quite as accurate as that provided by a speed sensor on the bike. Again you can add those as an option.

    My teenaged son is a road cycling enthusiast; his Garmin shows me the 100's of km he's putting on weekly and the thousands of meters of hill climbing he is doing. I get tired just looking at his logs. Tangent: I smoked him when we switched bikes... he's got the ultralight weight road bike, I have a touring bike... but only for 1km. :smile: Anyway, he uses a Garmin 500 which is a very common sight out there on the road as it's not the newest but has everything one needs in a good price performance package.

    I run a lot, and ride a lot in season, so wanted a dual purpose "computer" and instead use a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch. Like the Garmin 500 cycle computer ($200), if one wants to add cadence and speed sensors (I don't really need speed to be more accurate but cadence I like) you can add one or both sensors to a bike in minutes.

    There's quite a lot of value to GPS cycle computers (and running watches) that a plain ol' speed and cadence bike computer from yesteryear won't give you. Like tracking how much elevation you are climbing on a ride, weekly, etc. Or taking heart rate info into account. Were you really pushing that workout or just coasting? Can you do more? Expand your cardiopulmonary function?

    Even an overweight person like myself is an athlete. I had to remind myself that when I started my get-fit program. I'm not only interested in losing the weight (happening) but also in regaining all or most of my lost athleticism and being able to tune my various workouts with the info I get from the Garmin is definitely helping accelerate my progress. Logging everything automatically is a *huge* boon too, but that should not be surprising to the MFP crowd here!

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