Reccomend me an App for logging rides

edewer

Hi all,

new to the road bike thing. Not really wanting to go for anything flash, and carry my iphone when i go riding, so may as well go for an app-based system

Have been using MapMyRide but wondering if there's a UK based app that caters to us UK guys better, as would be good to see routes others have put online and get involved with local riders if such an app exists

cheers in advance

ed

TheEnglishman

I'm using and liking Cyclemeter http://www.abvio.com/cyclemeter/

I'm using it with the new bluetooth 4 sensors (heartrate and cadence)as this system uses a lot less power than an ANT+ dongle thingy.

It does everything I want. If it's in the pocket I get 4+ hours worth of data and there's still some battery left - plenty long enough for me.

Bozman

I've tried a few but cyclemeter works well.

RandG

Sportstracklive pro. Have used numerous, I still think this one is best.

ben@31

Endomondo Sports Tracker.

- It's free.
- Really user friendly interface. Not flash but its amazing and still easy to use.
- All of your routes are saved on their website endomondo.com
- You can share your routes with all your mates and see what they have done. It will also put info on facebook for you.
- The website even gives you a live feed of where your mates are out cycling on a map and shows you their speed and times. If they are listening to their smart phone wearing earphones you can even type him words of encouragement as you watch him cycle and the app will read it out loud to him.
- The app gives the cyclist an audio updates of distance, total time and split times as you are cycling along.
- Shows Duration of ride.
- The timer can auto pause every time the gps detects you stop, or you can pause the timer yourself.
- You can have a 10 second countdown to get set before the timer starts.
- Shows distance. (not only figures, but examples like trips to the moon, amount of CO2 saved, amount of petrol saved )
- Calories burnt. (not only figures but examples like burgers burned)
- Amount of water consumed.
- During the ride will show you where you are on the map
- Afterwards the website will show where you went on a map or on a satellite photo.
- Shows split times for individual km's or miles and shows you which was the fastest and slowest and where on the map.
- Shows average speed.
- Shows max speed.
- pace ( minutes per km ).
- Altitude and elevation info.
- The website shows you all this info on line graphs so you can plot your averages and see your progress over a week /month / year.
- The website has challenges, like fastest time for 10km or who has rode the furthest. And will show you how your results compare with others on a league table. You can make your own challenges and invite friends.
- You can set a distance goal and the audio tells you how you are doing.
- The website will show you interesting routes that others have liked.
- Will work with things like a heart rate monitor.
- This app also has options to log your other activities such as MTB, golf, running, walking, skating, skiing, kayaking, kite surfing, rowing, sailing, horse riding, swimming, even fencing !

To conclude, using the Endomondo App on my bike in conjunction with the Endomondo website when I get home, is the best app I've ever had on my phone, it's pure genius blew me away.

JonProphet

I'm a new rider as well. I like runtastic's cycle program. Free to use and $5.99 to get some more advanced features. I orderd Wahoo fitness' Blue SC for the iPhone 4s. I'm looking forward to it. Runtastic's site is also a bit of a social network. You can track your stat's online as well as share them with friends who are also registered to the site.

Runtastic has a bunch of apps for different sports. It uses the built in GPS to track your route and what not. Really sweet app.

-JD-

pinarellokid

another shout for cyclemeter here !!!!!

excellent app

Rigged

JonProphet wrote:

I'm a new rider as well. I like runtastic's cycle program. Free to use and $5.99 to get some more advanced features. I orderd Wahoo fitness' Blue SC for the iPhone 4s. I'm looking forward to it. Runtastic's site is also a bit of a social network. You can track your stat's online as well as share them with friends who are also registered to the site.

Runtastic has a bunch of apps for different sports. It uses the built in GPS to track your route and what not. Really sweet app.

-JD-

Agreed. I've tried a huge number and picked up Runtastic's Roadbike Pro for free one weekend and I much prefer it to all the others I've used.

jgsi

Has no one mentioned.....?
Strava.
It is all you need with the free version, no need to pay.
http://app.strava.com/clubs/bike-radar-road-forum

junglist_matty

JGSI wrote:

Has no one mentioned.....?
Strava.
It is all you need with the free version, no need to pay.
http://app.strava.com/clubs/bike-radar-road-forum

Plus one for Strava, easy to use and great fun, very simple interface, even a monkey could use it .....I don't like Endomondo, the interface is not good and MapMyRide is just rubbish.

With Strava I like the segment compare / explore and looking at other people's rides to see if there's any good roads to get out and ride on.

nwmlarge

i use strava for my logging
easy to use and gives good feedback with no need complicated set up.
and the segments get addictive you end up racing yourself and other users all the time without needing anyone to be there!
getting a KOM is the best feeling

RandG

I downloaded strava last night after reading about all the folk on here using it, compared to the sportstracklive pro I mentioned, it's rubbish....IMO of course

nwmlarge

RandG wrote:

I downloaded strava last night after reading about all the folk on here using it, compared to the sportstracklive pro I mentioned, it's rubbish....IMO of course

not wishing to sound arguementative but why do you think that it is rubbish ?
i had a quick look at some google screen shots and it appears to offer the same information?

have you had a look at the online version of strava it enables you to see the information collated much more clearly?

edewer

Purely based on the number of users on there, and therefore the amount of available routes and potential people to ride with/against I've opted for Strava.

Doesnt look to do much different to MapMyRide but as said, gives me more to go against and a bit of a challenge!

ScreaminWargasm

I use Strava and Endomondo and can recommend both. Strava is good if you want to compete / challenge others (getting the KOM) on a segment is a good buzz and Endomondo is good for stats etc.

I'd suggest trying them both to see what you think.

andy_s_t

I'm using Roadbike Pro from runtastic, i really like it and it does everything that I need it to do.

Rench88

+1 for Strava. Even if you don't use the competitive aspect with the segments, it is a useful ride logger (giving average gradient, elevation graphs etc). I especially like it when you get a bit lost and then get home, check Strava and see where on earth you ended up! Free as well.

BlakeysFC

+1 for Strava.

Just being able to see your time in a segment has gone down 9 minutes in just over 4 weeks and going from a distant 4th to a close 2nd in a segment/KOM leaderboard is extremely gratifying

dw300

+1 for Strava

All the best riders use it .. 8)

But by all means use an iPhone only app if you want to compare and share your data with a load of fixie riding hipsters.

slowondefy2

I track my rides with MotionX GPS then upload the .GPX file to Strava. The Strava website is by far the best but I think it's tracking app is quite poor.

MotionX GPS is an excellent tracking app. Runtastic's, Cyclemeter's, Strava's, etc are all quite amateurish in comparison.

jonnoak

I'm a newbie still.. But I use Endomondo and gives me all the information I need

buckmulligan

Yeah Endomondo for me too. Admittedly the interface isn't as slick as Strava but I find the route plotting/sharing function very useful, which Strava doesn't offer. I've used both on my Galaxy S2 and found Endomondo to plot the routes more accurately too, especially when it comes to elevation; for some reason Strava would be all over the shop saying that I've climbed 250% gradients, whereas Endomondo never misses a beat.

gabriel959

I use Strava and works great with my Garmin Edge 200.

It is also the one pro cyclists use

simon_masterson

gabriel959 wrote:

I use Strava and works great with my Garmin Edge 200.

It is also the one a lot of pro cyclists don't use

Fixed.

I don't know why anyone stands by their Strava 'achievements'. GPS isn't consistent or accurate and the competition isn't regulated or adjudicated (whether or not there are people who use it in their cars...). Even if it's out by +/- 2mph, that's quite a big difference in cycling. And the idea that you are 'King of the Mountains' on the internet is about on a level with getting together with likeminded people and reenacting scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, complete with authentic costumes. Are you going to award yourself the virtual polka dot jersey as well?

Beyond that, unless you have an overpriced GPS computer, you risk draining valuable phone battery that you might find useful later. Therefore, it makes most sense to use one of the lower-consuming apps, at least in this man's humble opinion...

rolf_f

Simon Masterson wrote:

I don't know why anyone stands by their Strava 'achievements'. GPS isn't consistent or accurate and the competition isn't regulated or adjudicated (whether or not there are people who use it in their cars...). Even if it's out by +/- 2mph, that's quite a big difference in cycling. And the idea that you are 'King of the Mountains' on the internet is about on a level with getting together with likeminded people and reenacting scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, complete with authentic costumes. Are you going to award yourself the virtual polka dot jersey as well?

Beyond that, unless you have an overpriced GPS computer, you risk draining valuable phone battery that you might find useful later. Therefore, it makes most sense to use one of the lower-consuming apps, at least in this man's humble opinion...

a) I don't think anyone really takes it that seriously - nobody is winning jerseys from it.
b) 1 or 2 mph? GPS is way more accurate than that. I watch my time up the hill outside my house and I can guess how long I'm taking probably to within 5 seconds over 2 - 2.5 minutes and the GPS agrees and the distance recorded is pretty consistent. I reckon even over a short distance it's going to be well within 0.1 mph accuracy. My GPS is consistent enough to be a fair reflection of my efforts and I'm using it on my commutes every day of the week so I'm getting a lot of info on the consistency of it.

simon_masterson

The thing is though, the silly arguments on forums like this and the reports of unrealistic speeds lead me to assume that there are a good many that take it far too seriously. It would be easy to just quote the examples of those that have ridden recklessly in a bid to reach the top of the table, and died in the process, but I think it's not an invalid point. If the roads haven't been closed for your 'race', your riding should reflect that. I don't think any cyclist needs any encouragement to ride unsafely.

But I remain sceptical of GPS accuracy. I daresay that some devices are very accurate, but that makes it even worse, to be honest. I tried out MapmyRide a few months back with my phone and the coverage was variable. I often sit and watch my wife's TomTom in the car, and the speed on that doesn't match the car speedo. If it's not consistent, I just can't see a use for it.

verylonglegs

Simon Masterson wrote:

But I remain sceptical of GPS accuracy. I daresay that some devices are very accurate, but that makes it even worse, to be honest. I tried out MapmyRide a few months back with my phone and the coverage was variable. I often sit and watch my wife's TomTom in the car, and the speed on that doesn't match the car speedo. If it's not consistent, I just can't see a use for it.

I guess you aren't aware of the inaccuracies of car speedometers.

simon_masterson

verylonglegs wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

But I remain sceptical of GPS accuracy. I daresay that some devices are very accurate, but that makes it even worse, to be honest. I tried out MapmyRide a few months back with my phone and the coverage was variable. I often sit and watch my wife's TomTom in the car, and the speed on that doesn't match the car speedo. If it's not consistent, I just can't see a use for it.

I guess you aren't aware of the inaccuracies of car speedometers.

Two wrongs don't make a right...

rolf_f

Simon Masterson wrote:

But I remain sceptical of GPS accuracy. I daresay that some devices are very accurate, but that makes it even worse, to be honest. I tried out MapmyRide a few months back with my phone and the coverage was variable. I often sit and watch my wife's TomTom in the car, and the speed on that doesn't match the car speedo. If it's not consistent, I just can't see a use for it.

A phone isn't a cycle GPS. I can assure you that the data I get from my GPS is in no way inconsistent with what I got when I used a traditional computer. It's easy enough to cross reference anyway - if you know when you started a ride, when you finished it and how long it was you can get an overall journey average. Take out traffic light waits (which the GPS records as stationary time) and you can manually determine how long you were pedalling and therefore what your average ride speed was. This invariably turns out the same as the GPS average. Hopefully someone will post here who has made direct comparisons using both GPS and a wheel sensor on the same journey but really, GPS gives a pretty good measurement.

Otherwise, please do quote the examples of those who have died trying to reach the top of a table. I know of one who might have. And personally, I do think competitive descending on public roads is a bit silly but climbing? Even if there wasn't Strava people will still always race themselves. Does it really matter if I hit 12 mph on a steep climb rather than taking it easy at 10 mph? How unsafe is that? It's climbs that people have been talking about on here afaik.

verylonglegs

Simon Masterson wrote:

verylonglegs wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

But I remain sceptical of GPS accuracy. I daresay that some devices are very accurate, but that makes it even worse, to be honest. I tried out MapmyRide a few months back with my phone and the coverage was variable. I often sit and watch my wife's TomTom in the car, and the speed on that doesn't match the car speedo. If it's not consistent, I just can't see a use for it.

I guess you aren't aware of the inaccuracies of car speedometers.

Two wrongs don't make a right...

Er, yeah.. really makes sense :?

simon_masterson

That car speedometer inaccuracy alone doesn't absolve GPS of any inaccuracy doesn't make sense? It's a common sense point. Unless you're going to prove to me that GPS is "accurate", it's not very important that the car speedometer isn't "accurate"; I already knew that. If the first figure of two is inaccurate and the second figure of two is also inaccurate, the inaccuracy of the first number is not affected; hence 'two wrongs don't make a right'. Simples.