Questions Answered: What are the Best Apps for Cycling?

Whether you’re mapping a city commute, exploring back-country trails, or chasing KOMs, these apps will take your ride planning and tracking to the next level.

The video is a guide to ride planning and tracking apps for cyclists. It covers the strengths and weaknesses of several tools — ranging from basic navigation to sophisticated route planning and performance tracking. The apps mentioned cater to both casual and serious cyclists, including road, city, and mountain bike users.

📱 Recommended Cycling Apps

1. Google Maps

  • Best for: Beginners, casual city riders.
  • Pros:
    • Free.
    • Bike route layers, satellite view, street view.
    • Mobile navigation.
    • Elevation profiles.
  • Cons:
    • Sometimes suggests unsafe roads.
    • Not cycling-specific.
    • No database of curated or user-submitted routes.

2. Ride with GPS

  • Best for: Detailed route planning and sharing.
  • Pros:
    • Extensive user-uploaded route database.
    • Precise manual route editing.
    • Great for sharing routes with groups (free users can follow shared routes).
  • Cons:
    • Premium features require a subscription ($10/month).
    • Free version is limited.

3. Komoot

  • Best for: Automatically generating cycling-friendly routes.
  • Pros:
    • Uses crowd-sourced ride data.
    • Generates routes optimized for cycling.
    • Live tracking and navigation.
  • Cons:
    • Manual route creation is less intuitive.
    • Free version limits routing to your selected region.
  • Pricing:
    • Free for 1 region.
    • $4.99/month for Premium.
    • $3.99 per additional region or $29.99 for the full global map pack.

4. Trailforks

  • Best for: Mountain biking and off-road navigation.
  • Pros:
    • Detailed trail maps with terrain difficulty and elevation.
    • Ride reporting and GPS navigation.
    • Offline map support.
  • Cons:
    • Requires a $4.50/month subscription for full mobile use.
    • Free version only allows online viewing.

5. Strava

  • Best for: Gamification, training, and social connectivity.
  • Pros:
    • Route planning and ride tracking.
    • Syncs with Garmin and Wahoo.
    • Segment-based competitions with leaderboards.
    • Social features (commenting, ride sharing).
    • Offers structured training plans and metrics (heart rate, power, etc.).
  • Cons:
    • Most key features locked behind a $11.99/month subscription.
    • Free version only records rides, no planning or training tools.

6. Windy

  • Best for: Weather and wind planning before rides.
  • Pros:
    • Free.
    • Highly accurate wind speed/direction forecasts.
    • Visual weather maps ideal for outdoor ride planning.

Bonus Tips

  • Use a phone mount for live navigation to avoid unsafe situations.
  • Stay alert on roads or trails; don’t stare at your phone while riding.

Final Thoughts

Each app serves a different type of cyclist:

  • Beginners: Google Maps.
  • Touring/Group riders: Ride with GPS, Komoot.
  • MTB: Trailforks.
  • Competitive/fitness-focused: Strava.
  • Pre-ride prep: Windy.

For the best experience, many cyclists may benefit from combining multiple tools — e.g., planning on Ride with GPS, tracking with Strava, and checking weather with Windy.