If you are a cyclist and you have not yet tried these apps that we bring you, you may be missing an essential part of what it means to bike today.
Strava
The first of all, and probably the most popular in the world of cycling, is Strava. This app does not only serve to register your routes and see your statisticsbut it also works as a social network in which you can follow other cyclists, share your tours, mark objectives or compete with yourself or against your friends. You simply start the activity before starting to pedal and Strava takes care of the rest, collecting data such as distance, speed, unevenness and time. Also, if you use a Apple Watch or a Garmin cyclocomputer, everything is automatically synchronized. The best thing is that you can also register any other sport, from swimming or running to your paddle games.
Strava has a quite generous free version, but if you want to access all its advanced functions, such as the creation of personalized routes, detailed performance analysis or comparisons in specific segments, you will need a subscription. This costs 10.99 euros per month or 74.99 euros a year, and for many cyclists who train regularly, the investment is worth it.
Our advice, at least first, is that you stay with the free version until you decide whether to compensate you or not pay for the premium versions.
Wikiloc
Another essential application is wikiloc, especially if yours are outdoor routescycling, hiking, mountain excursions and more. Wikiloc allows you to discover and follow routes that other users have previously uploaded, with information as valuable as the type of land, the difficulty, the elevation profile or the points of interest on the route. Whether you go out with the MTB, with a serious bike or with a road, you will find thousands of routes ordered by distance, unevenness or assessment of the users.
The free version of Wikiloc allows you Premium versionwhich costs 9.99 euros a year. It also includes the possibility of sending routes to GPS devices, avoiding private or dangerous areas and downloading maps without connection. It is one of the most affordable subscriptions in the world of sports apps, and really useful for those who leave the route often.
Komoot
But the world does not end in Strava and Wikiloc. There are other applications equally tools that cover specific aspects that every cyclist must take into account. An example is Komoot, an app very focused on Route planningwith high quality topographic maps and an extremely reliable navigation system. Unlike Wikiloc, Komoot allows you to customize the routes according to your type of bike, the level of experience and the preferences of the land (asphalt, track, path, etc.). You can also download regions to use them without connection, although you must pay for each of them or acquire the complete package for about 30 euros.
Bike citizens
Of course, security also plays a key role in this type of activities. Here Bike Citizens enters the scene, the last of the applications we bring you today. It is an optimized navigation app for the urban environment and city cyclists. Its strong point is that it offers routes adapted to cyclists, avoiding dangerous or traffic areas. In addition, it works very well in European cities and has local campaigns to foster sustainable cycling.
In case you have not joined the wave, you should know that riding a bike has gone from being a physical exercise to becoming an experience that goes hand in hand with technology. It is not just pedals, but register your routes, share your training, improve your brands and discover new challenges and adventure partners.
Strava and Wikiloc are the two cornerstones of any digital cyclist, but the ecosystem is much broader and each app can fulfill a specific function that sets the difference.
And if you have not tried them yet, perhaps this is the perfect time to get all the juice to your bike … and your iPhone.
