We can’t deny that the cycling industry here in the Philippines is picking up traction these past few years. Today, we have off-road competitions, triathlons, and alleycat races going on both inside and outside Metro Manila. Of course, there are also the weekend warriors who ride just for fun (and exercise).
For all who simply love cycling, here are some apps that should help you get the most out of your activity.
Strava
If you’ve been a cyclist for some time now, we’re sure you’ve heard of Strava as it’s one of the most popular GPS-based cycling app around. It’s quite understandable why as it provides its users with a detailed breakdown of information accumulated during an activity. This includes overall duration, calories burned, elevation, and a whole lot more. It even has its own Facebook-like  ecosystem where other Strava users can give a thumbs up and comment on your activity as they see it on their feed.
Strava is not limited to cycling alone and could be used for different sports and activities (running, swimming, hiking, skiing, etc).
While the app is free, there is a fee for upgrading to a premium account that lets you enjoy other useful features like a more advanced analysis of your workout session and Beacon which shares real-time location with contacts during an activity.
Endomondo
Apart from just tracking your activities and gather information for later analysis, Endomondo also aims to guide and support the user through its built-in functions. It has an Audio Encouragement feature that will help motivate you through your workout and gives a brief report on how you’re doing during the activity.
Just like Strava, you can use it to keep track of fellow Endomondo users and compare achievements, as well as try to beat their records if you’re up for the challenge.
AccuWeather
You might be thinking what a weather app is doing in this list, but one of the most neglected part of a pre-ride is checking the weather so that you can anticipate and properly gear up for the ride ahead. It has personally saved me a couple of times from getting my backpack and all my things wet by prompting me to bring the necessary waterproofing gear.
AccuWeather has been a personal favorite of mine as I found its forecasts spot on. It also has a neat and easy to navigate UI for displaying the current weather — hourly and even for the following day.
Bike Gear Calculator
If you’re the kind of fella who wouldn’t mind getting technical, you’d be glad to know that the Bike Gear Calculator helps you get to the nitty gritty part of calculating gear ratio, cadence, tire size, crank length, and all the other intricate things you’d like in order for you to get in the right gear.
The charts are fully customizable while the measurements are very detailed down to the number of pedal rotations depending on the gear ratio and the distance that you could cover.
The app is free for a limited time so be sure to take advantage of this offer if you want to know more about the right gearing and adjustments needed on your rides.
Spinlister
Now, this is more of a service than an accompanying app. Spinlister is a helpful tool to use when you’re out on a vacation but still would like to bike around, for example. How it works is it shows you other registered users in a specific neighborhood or city that have bicycles for rent.
Basically, it’s AirBnB for bikes that lets you rent out for hours, days, or even weeks. It proved very helpful to me during my recent trip to New York City during the Note7 launch as I was able to easily book for a few hours. It was a lot cheaper, too, compared to the bike rentals around the city. Spinlister has listing for bikes, skis & snowboards, and surfboards. There a few bicycle listings around Metro Manila so you could check them out if ever the need to rent arises.
That rounds up this quick list. As a fellow cyclist, do you have your personally preferred app that helps you on your rides? Share them with everyone on the comments section below.
With my agm x1 ( a reeeally resistent phone that i can use as a GPS ) on my bike without needing a weatherproof case and still have battery left over i used to ride hours along the coast— meeen i ll like to have that time again…. My phone still rocks btw. xD