Originally Posted by
canklecat
Be sure to evaluate GPS data over a few tries on different days. Whenever I've encountered GPS sync errors the problem was not with the app -- every GPS app I was running at the time was affected -- but more likely due to atmospheric or multipath problems.
Oh yes, I did that. The tests were done always on the same circuit, and they were done between 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm local time, during three straight weeks.
I always used only one app at once. I rode one full circuit with the app and kept notes of the discrepancies against my Topeak Panorama wired cyclecomputer. After one lap I stopped, closed the app and started a different app to ride the same circuit again. That allowed me to use three different apps everyday, and I did that for three days. After that I used three different apps during three more days.
After two weeks I had tested ten different apps during three days each following the same route. The third week I used the apps I liked best to test them for five straight days on different routes.
The reason I didn't test Strava was because everybody seems to use it, so I assumed I wouldn't bring anything new to the table. Maybe I should do a "Strava vs. Ride With GPS shootout -free version edition".
After writing this I realize I did a lots of hard work just to choose a free cycling app... Does that makes me an obsessive rider or just a cheapskate?