Mayday.JP

Just tried out a cycling app called "Cyclemeter" which cost me $4.99 in the app store but it was such a great investment IMO! Took it out on my ride with me and it logged my elevation climb, distance, time, avg mph, route, date, time and route name. Not sure if the MPH was completely accurate because I didn't have an actual computer setup but the app is really a great thing! All i need is a mount for my iphone so i can hook it up onto my handlebars. Was wondering if anyone else has used this, or any other app for that case, and what your opinion is about it.

Velo Gator

I like cyclemeter except it prompts you to restart if you pause it during a ride. I always click too fast and forget, and it ends up shut off for a chunk of my ride.

RoboCheme

MotionX GPS Lite is a free alternative, but it wiped out my iPhone 3GS battery in 1:37. It has auto start/stop

DScott

I keep my phone in a plastic bag in my pocket, since it's kinda fragile and not moisture resistant. Hard to use those kind of programs that way, unless what you want is just a record of your ride. How much are the mounts?

Velo Gator

I keep mine in my bag, and I can hear it when it talks. It updates me every mile.

DScott

That would be depressing. Does it sound like Marvin?

eat hills

its not exactly a cycle comp but the map my ride app is pretty sweet.

Chef151

+1 on the cycle meter app. It's pretty great. Downside is the hit on your battery, but if you press the top button to shut off the screen, you can get almost 4 hours. And compared to other programs, I've found the battery life is quite a bit better.

I like the google maps function and my wife appreciates the email alerts. When on vacation in the mountains, my wife was not thrilled about me riding(at least until she saw a large handful of other cyclists on the roads) the narrow, winding roads with no shoulders and lots of blind drive signs, so I had it send email alerts every ten miles which include my exact location, speed, etc to assuage her wifely worries.

If you are on the fence about buying it, I would say definitely check it out. It doesn't compete with a garmin on your handlebars, but it's getting me by until Christmas

torob

I've tried all of the major applications. By far, Runkeeper is the most feature-complete and most routinely updated. If you're going to buy an app, why not buy the one that's being consistently improved, features added, community support, etc.

Also, if you're desperate to keep the battery going, disable the phone, wifi, and even data. It'll last quite a while. Just re-enable the data when you get home and click "re-upload my route."

Andrew D.

How much data does Cyclemeter use? I have the lowest data plan currently which is only 200mb a month? Anyone know? Thanks!

Chef151

It uses gps, but Im not sure if it affects data?

Andrew D.

Good point, hmm... Can anyone confirm any information on this? Cyclemeter data usage/GPS? Thanks!

Rob944

I have been using imapmyride. Its a freebie and does fairly well but it does hit the battery pretty good.

alworcester

As far as data, The iphone uses A-gps, which is a combination between true gps and estimating your location based on cell towers. Thats why the iphone gps is an approximation of 100 feet. When it uses the cell towers for location it will use a little data, but I would bet it's a very tiny amount. The most data intensive part would be the mapping portion, and email/facebook/twitter updates, but with all this I can't imagine it being too much data for a 200mb plan a month

Mayday.JP

I used cyclemeter and had good battery life after using it for an hour and a half. Even got to use my ipod on the drive home. And as far as it resetting, I didn't have that problem. I know the mounts run about $25 on some bike websites and the LBS I checked and I saw some on eBay shipping from overseas for less than $10. I personally don't have one and i just use an armband but I do plan on getting one soon