Looking to upgrade your cycling experience? There’s an app for that. From ride tracking and route planning to basic maintenance tips, there are hundreds of useful cycling apps that can transform your two-wheeled adventures, helping you get even more out of your bike.
Below, you’ll find our pick of the best cycling apps around, most of which come into their own when your smartphone is directly mounted to your handlebars.
Best Ride Tracking Apps
You have Strava, right? What kind of cyclist would you be if you didn’t? Strava is the king of cycling apps, with reliable and detailed ride tracking backed up by its social features, including short segments where your time is recorded just for that section of the cycle. These allow users to compete for the title of King of the Mountain on their local hill, which might not seem like a big deal now, but wait until your crown is pinched by some cocky out-of-towner or, worse, a smug neighbor. I guarantee you’ll be out the door seconds later trying to win it back.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Thanks to a huge array of in-depth stats (of which more than 250 can be tracked) that are clearly presented in an excellent and tremendously colorful interface, Cyclemeter has a strong claim to be the very best of all the cycle tracking apps available. As long as you don’t mind strapping your phone to your handlebars to get the most out of it.
Download from App Store and Google Play
This is one of the oldest ride-tracking apps around, and the enduring appeal of MapMyRide largely lies in its sizable user base and the routes they upload to the app. This means that when you’re searching for your next challenge you can find new routes near you. Competitive types can also get their fix from the courses feature, which allows riders to compete for the fastest time over certain routes (if you’re a Strava user, think segments). All the expected metrics are tracked during rides, including pace, distance, time, calories and elevation.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Almost every cyclist has a post-ride routine, which usually includes refueling, a nice sit-down, and a look at the stats from their ride on an app like Strava. However, if a quick dive into the stats and a glance at a GPS map isn’t enough for your most memorable cycles, you should Relive them. This free app creates a short video that animates your progress on a 3D map of your route plotting your highest elevation, heart rate and speed. It also automatically integrates any photos you took during the ride and, naturally, you can easily share it on social media. Relive links to the likes of Strava, Garmin Connect and MapMyRide to get your ride data, so rest assured you can carry on using your favorite tracking app.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Best Bike Navigation Apps
German app Komoot has become the go-to for route planning and navigation for all types of cycling – from road to all-out mountain biking. Its Discover feature can suggest a route depending on location, difficulty and distance: You can plot your own path, and take in user-suggested route highlights if you’re heading into unknown territory; or you can ask it to suggest the most suitable route between two points. Once navigating, the screen is filled with a GPS-style map, and you can choose other metrics to display—from current speed to an ETA.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Mountain bike trails can be hard to track down if you’re looking at a standard map. Fortunately, Trailforks shines a light on the singletrack, downhill and cross-country loops hiding in plain sight. Paths are graded by difficulty (from green for easy to orange professional-grade lines), and there are even community-led updates on conditions and other useful information such as known obstacles like fallen trees on the track.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Many standard navigation apps fall short when cycling in big cities, mainly because they don’t recognise dedicated cycleways as options. Bike Citizens does an expert job of providing the best routes for cyclists in the hundreds of cities it currently covers, and once you download an area, it works without an active data connection, so you can use it abroad without fear of running up huge roaming charges. You can also choose between the fastest and the quietest route available, so you can stick to cycle paths and side streets when you have time, and hit the main roads when you’re late for work.
Download from App Store and Google Play
All the info you need to track down and tackle the 100 best climbs in Britain, as listed by the popular book of the same name (£7.99, buy on amazon.co.uk). The app lets you sort the rides by difficulty and location, syncs to Strava and records every climb you conquer on your journey to completing the full century.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Plan your cycling routes quickly and easily with this seriously user-friendly app. Draw a vague route on the in-app map and it will automatically fix it to the nearest roads and paths, as well as giving you the route’s overall distance and elevation. If you’re especially adventurous and are biking where no paths go, you can also draw your route freestyle straight on the map.
Download from App Store
Google Maps and the like will suffice for all your navigational needs in the city, but for riders who like to go off-road Outdoor Active is a must—especially since it’s free. It comes with the OpenCycleMap, which shows routes and trails for the entire world, and there’s the option to buy more detailed topographical maps for specific areas. These maps are stored locally on your phone so you can navigate even in areas where you have no signal.
Download from App Store and Google Play
While getting you from A to B is the primary purpose of any navigation app, CycleMaps is smart enough to realize that the type of road you take to get there is also important for cyclists. This app sticks to cycle routes and quiet roads wherever possible, so even if you end up riding slightly further, the quality and extra safety of the ride makes it worthwhile.
Download from App Store
There’s a chance you’ve already heard of this one. However, it’s still worth highlighting because although Google Maps’ directions for cyclists are not the best—with an unhappy habit of using traffic-heavy roads or, worse, busy canal towpaths where you constantly have to dismount to avoid fights with pedestrians—it does have two main advantages over dedicated cycling navigation apps. The first is that you almost certainly already have it on your phone, and the second is that its turn-by-turn directions are clear and easy to follow, which isn’t always the case with some apps. So in a pinch, Google Maps remains the go-to option for getting you back on track.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Best Training Apps
The ultimate indoor cycling app for the serious rider, Zwift lets you enter a digital world filled with cyclists from around the globe, so you never have to suffer through a turbo trainer session alone again. You’ll need a smart bike trainer or power, speed and cadence sensors to pair with the app because it uses these readings to move your on-screen avatar, but once you have the set-up perfected the hours of indoor training will fly by. Like the Wahoo X and TrainerRoad apps, Zwift is pricy, but a 14-day free trial allows you to try before you buy.
Download from App Store and Google Play
There are a few apps designed to make your indoor training a little more fun, but if you’re a cyclist on the hunt for a structured plan for your work on the turbo, then TrainerRoad is the best option. The app contains a huge amount of power-based interactive workouts—more than 1,000 in fact—which you can try on an ad hoc basis or as part of one of the training plans. During the workouts, you get coaching tips and a clear summary of all your stats, along with an indication of what’s coming up next. Plus, its AI-powered automatic FTP detector will adjust your power profiles as you progress, spelling the end of the dreaded FTP test. It’s a subscription-based app and a not-inconsiderable outlay at $19.95 a month, but if you want to become a faster, stronger cyclist, following a TrainerRoad plan will get you there.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Wahoo X is two cycling apps (Wahoo SYSTM and Wahoo RGT) for the price of one. SYSTM is based on video-led workouts that use footage from the likes of the Tour de France to provide an immersive experience, and it’s possible to ride individual sessions or put together dedicated training plans. Wahoo RGT is its virtual world-based experience, and a direct rival to Zwift. Both Wahoo X offerings connect to power meters, heart rate monitors and speed and cadence sensors, using this data to make the rides more immersive. It offers something out of the saddle as well, with yoga, strength and conditioning and mental training sessions. It’s not cheap—the subscription costs $14.99 a month—but there’s a free 14-day trial so you can see if it’s worth the outlay.
Download Wahoo SYSTM (App Store and Google Play) and Wahoo RGT (App Store and Google Play)
Best Bike Hire Apps
This app can be a little buggy at times, but it’s still your best bet to find docking stations for London’s cycle-hire scheme. You can also hire bikes using the app and see which stations have a free space for returns – especially useful during the morning rush hour. The hire itself starts at £1.65 for the first 30 minutes, while there are better rates if you opt for a monthly (£20, unlimited rides up to 60 minutes for 30 days) or annual (£120, unlimited rides up to 60 minutes for 365 days) memberships.
Download from App Store and Google Play
You don’t have to live in London to get-around on a cycle-hire bike. Beryl (named after iconic British racing cyclist Beryl Burton) hire bikes are also dotted around a number of the UK cities and towns – its biggest hubs being the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and the Bournemouth-Christchurch-Poole conurbation. Pricing varies depending on location, but the app itself is free.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Looking for a hire bike with some added oomph? If you live in London, Manchester or Milton Keynes, Lime is your answer. Each bike has a small electric motor that can give you a boost when you’re struggling. The app shows available bikes near your location, as well as important info like the remaining charge and the range. The company also has a presence in locations around the world from New York to Dubai, so there’s a good chance that if you’re on a city break or holiday, you’ll be able to get around on two wheels without having to download another app.
Download from App Store and Google Play
The best things in life are free, which is why we think Human Forest is on to something. The London-only cycle hire scheme offers 10 minutes of fee-free riding every day, making it one of the most affordable and accessible ways to complete short journeys by bike. It’s worth flagging that there is a minimum 50p charge for parking and that it’s important to check that your destination falls within its radius (with penalties for parking outside of it).
Download from App Store and Google Play
Best Maintenance Apps
The most comprehensive and easy-to-use road bike repair app available, and just about the best £2 a cyclist can spend, full stop. There are step-by-step instructions and tutorial videos for all common repairs and every bit of bike maintenance you should be doing regularly to keep your ride running smoothly. Each guide advises you on the tools and time you’ll need before start, as well as rating how hard the process is going to be out of five. There are also guides for emergency roadside fixes, which is where the app really comes into its own, unless you prefer to carry a bike repair book with you at all times.
Download from Google Play
Potholes. Hellish pits of despair. Scourge of the road. The cyclist’s greatest enemy. Fill That Hole makes it easy to report potholes anywhere in the UK to the local council responsible for fixing them, ensuring a smooth ride in the future.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Should something go wrong on your ride, this app from St John Ambulance could come in very useful indeed—and all it will cost you is a few MB of your phone’s memory. Obviously if you or someone else is severely injured don’t faff around with an app, call an ambulance, but for the most common bumps and scrapes people experience on a bike, the First Aid app will advise you on the best immediate and short-term treatment options.
Download from App Store and Google Play
Going on a group ride can be a daunting experience for first-timers, particularly if you haven’t cycled with a club before. There is an alternative, though, which offers up the chance to meet other local, like-minded riders without committing to a club or subscription costs. Co-founded by pro rider Tom Pidcock, Link My Ride allows you to find nearby groups, sign up for future rides and even create a ride of your own.
Download from App Store and Google Play
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