While biking and texting probably isn’t the best move, you don’t necessarily need to relegate your phone to your back pocket (or your purse) every time you head out on your Bluejay. Because there are actually a slew of super useful apps that can enhance your ride. Or at least provide you with some useful stats once you hop off. From a safety-minded GPS app to the route-mapping program that’s nearly effortless (and much better than Google Maps) here are our five favorite biking apps.
Number nerds, this one’s for you! Switch on this tracking app before your next ride so it can collect every kind of performance stat you could imagine. You can also connect Strava to your smartwatch, and heart rate monitor, to make that data even more accurate. The Beacon setting allows you to share your location in real-time, making it super useful for both training and safety purposes. But that’s not all; Strava is also a social media platform where you can share details (and pictures!) of your latest rides for all your bike friends to see.
If you’re not quite ready to buy a bike computer but need something a touch simpler than Strava, Wahoo Fitness will hit that sweet spot. This app will track all sorts of figures, from speed and heart rate to power, and you can link to all sorts of Bluetooth devices. And all of those stats can be uploaded to plenty of other cycling apps, including Strava, MyFitness Pal and Training Peaks, so you can keep your figures organized. You can also use it to track your runs and your cardio workouts, so this just might become your favorite fitness accessory.
You guessed it, this is another bike GPS app. But while it’s great at keeping track of your speed, distance and elevation, the real draw of Bike Computer is its Keep Me Safe feature which uses various sensors on your phone to detect if an accident has just occurred. How does it do that? Well, let’s just say it’s smart enough to know the real difference between a super bumpy road and an actual accident. Plus, in the rare case that you do take a tumble or collide with a car, this app will notify your emergency contact with information on where you are at the time of the incident. At the very least, it will reassure your mom from afar that you’ll be safe on your new e-bike.
Some days, a leisurely and aimless cycle around town is all you’ll need to do. But when you have places to be, people to see and destinations to visit, you’ll want to properly map out your route. Which is where Bike Map comes into play. Before heading out and putting that battery pack to good use, you can create your own route (or tap into the database of seven million user-generated routes) and while you’re pedaling, the app will navigate you in real time, even notifying you with alerts spotted by other Bikemap users.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever found the perfect position for your saddle, then decided to move it just a centimeter higher...and was never able to find that ideal setting ever again. Well, we’d like to introduce you to Saddle Adjust. This brilliant—and very specific—app uses a position sensor and a few questions you’ll need to answer in order to locate the height and angle of a seat that will serve you best. It also saves your presets, so you can easily find your perfect saddle height for whatever trail or road you’ll be riding on today.
