Our List of Top 5 iPhone Apps for Cyclists

I for one am constantly amazed at what that little minicomputer in my pocket called the iPhone is capable of. Whether you want to turn your phone into an artistic camera lens, a slingshot that tosses angry cartoon birds at green pigs, a way to accept credit card payments, or a way to check the latest powder at your favorite ski resort...there is an app for that. App developers took bikers into consideration when they made these apps that make cyclists love their iPhone even more. We made up a very biased and subjective list of simple apps that we like that don't require you to buy any other peripherals. There are plenty of really cool and much more serious biking apps out there that integrate special add-ons that allow you to calculate your watts or turn your iPhone into a cycling dashboard, but we are sticking with the basics for now...

 

1. RunKeeper Pro and Lite (Free and Free)

 

I know what you’re saying, RunKeeper, how is this a biking app? Well, contrary to the name of the app you can actually use this thing for all kinds of activities(Mountain biking, hiking, downhill skiing, rowing…well, you get the point). The app uses your phone’s GPS(which is surprisingly accurate) to calculate your current pace, average pace, time, distance and all that good stuff…all while you listen to your music. Not only that but you can set goals for yourself through the app, like your target pace, intervals, and fitness classes, which will talk to you during your workout to let you know how you’re doing. Another cool little feature is that you can see your route on a Google Map after you workout so you can see all that distance that you covered. We used this one to make our mark on the city of San Francisco a little while back… And lastly, the best part, the Pro version is currently free(usually runs $9.99) for a limited time so don’t drop the free iPhone app ball and download it while you can.

 

 

2. iMapMyRide ($4.99)

 

So you can pretty much take everything we said about the RunKeeper App and apply it to this app. The one thing that we like a bit better and differentiates it from is their ability to find routes. Yes, Runkeeper does the same thing, but think that MapMyFitness team has done a better job in this department. Looking for a new single track mountain bike ride within 10 miles of your home? Then do a search through them to see user reviews, interactive maps, as well as the climbs and elevation changes.

 

 

3. BikeDoctor ($4.99)

 

Ever got stuck in the middle of a ride because of mechanical problems? Or do you just want to have a better understanding of some basic DIY bicycle repairs? Then this nifty little app could be for you. The app is very easy to navigate, has color pictures for all repairs, and instructions on what you will need and how to’s on fixing whatever it is that you need fixing…

 

 

 

4. LiveStrong (Free)

 

Well, if you are a cyclist of any kind, chances are you may care about what you eat to fuel your rides… The LiveStrong app allows you to keep track of all your portions, telling you how many calories you just ate for just about any food imaginable. Not only that you can enter your activities, so you know how many calories you burned that day. Put those together and you can track and measure your daily calorie consumption so you can hit your daily target and lose those last stubborn 5 lbs… The app syncs with the LiveStrong DailyPlate website which means you don’t even need your iPhone next to you to enter in that little snickerdoodle that you just snuck in…

 

 

5. BikeWrappers Bike Light App (Free)

 

Well, we couldn’t resist. I mean what kind of company would we be if we couldn’t give ourselves a small little shameless and biased plug for the work we put into this one? We aren’t claiming this to be the best-est or clever-est app out there, but it serves a very useful function…safety. It simply turns your iPhone into a blinking bike light. You can choose between the white and red light, then throw it in your backpack pocket or armband to help you be seen at night. Not only that, but it is also a calorie calculator so you can figure out how many future beers will be offset from the ride you just took or time spent pushing the baby stroller… AND we even threw in a jukebox function into the thing. So you can line up your favorite songs to play while you do whatever it is that you do. ...AND we even put in a bicycling safety guide. Like we said, a simple but effective little app from our very jaded opinion. Plus, we're giving it away for free...

 

  UPDATE: Here is our new list of apps for cyclists as of 6.29.12...