Android on wheels: mobile apps for cyclists

The onset of the warm season marks the solemn return of a two-wheeled friend from winter exile and the beginning of the cycling season. This type of physical activity rightfully competes with running for the title of the most popular and beloved. But unlike running, a bicycle is not only an excellent means of improving health, but also entertainment, transport for travel, and just a convenient means of transportation. Regardless of whether you go on long cycling trips or just go to work in the morning, one of the dedicated Android apps will definitely come in handy.

Endomondo

Endomondo is perhaps the most popular tracking software for almost any sporting activity and is my personal choice. The program can easily track your cycling trips and collects a lot of information during your workout. It shows your route on a map, records your distance, time, calories burned, average speed and pace, and how much fluid you are likely to lose during your workout. The main advantage Endomondo has over the competition is that you can use it to track virtually any sport activity. Thus, if you run, ride, swim and jump a little, then you will not need to keep a whole brood of different programs on your phone and all your data will be stored in one place. The second important factor is the large and active user community of the program, which allows you to communicate, compete and share.

Strava Cycling

Strava Cycling is another great app that can keep track of your cycling workouts. The app offers a great user interface, and like Endomondo, it can record your track, time, distance, pace, and so on. However, the competitive component is more elaborated here. You can earn achievements, compare yourself to the leaders, and even compete for the title of champion on a separate track. Strava also has its own community where people can watch their friends' workouts and post theirs. For our detailed review of this service, see here.

BicyComp

If you don't want all those workout logs, online communities, and virtual competitions, then take a look at a simpler utility called BicyComp. At the first launch, it offers us four different templates for displaying information, which differ in different layout and data composition. Depending on your choice, you can see a map, data on speed, distance, arrival time and so on. BicyComp does not have a web application, so all workouts will be saved locally if you want to. Otherwise, it's just a good way to keep track of your current workout using your handlebar-mounted smartphone.

If you are not just driving for pleasure, but strive to achieve any results, then you should know how important cadence rates are. In cycling, cadence is the number of revolutions per minute (the speed at which the cyclist pedals). The recommended cadence is between 80-120 rpm. There are special cycling computers with pedal sensors that can track this indicator, but if you don't have one, then the Android program will do without it. The bike calculator can calculate your cadence based on your current gear and driving speed. For the program to work properly, you need to configure it by specifying your bike data. Detailed instructions on this are available in the online help.

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