MapMyRide+ (for iPhone)

Most tech-connected bicycle nerds have heard of the iPhone app MapMyRide+ ($2.99; limited free version also available), made by the same company that developed the equally well-known MapMyRun. Both apps track your route via GPS while you run or cycle, and show you on a map where you went when you're done. It also displays length, in both time and distance, as well as pace, maximum speed, and a few other statistics.

Although MapMyRide is a solid companion for cyclists?not to mention an excellent tool for new cyclists in particular?it doesn't have quite the same appeal as the slightly more sophisticated Cyclemeter (for iPhone) ($4.99, 4 stars). Both apps are very good, deserving of equal product-rating scores, but Cyclemeter is our Editors' Choice because everything you need to use it is built in. MapMyRide+, on the other hand, puts some of your data onto the Web, preventing you from accessing it via the iPhone, and a few features are only available with an account upgrade, which costs extra. With Cyclemeter, you get the whole kit and caboodle for five bucks. In my testing, the apps functioned equally well. If you don't mind using the Web to access some of your stats and have no need for the Pro features, then download MapMyRide+ for $3.

Features
Sign up for a free MapMyFitness account before you install MapMyRide+, just to make the setup quicker. When you launch the app, you can sign in, and your rides will sync to your Web account from here on out.

When you're ready to ride, just launch the app and go. Like most cycling apps, MapMyRide+ works best when it's visible and accessible?locked into an iPhone bike mount, that is. MapMyRide+ has one great feature, not found in Cyclemeter, for cyclists who keep their phone in their pocket or bag: time delay. Let's say that before you hit the pavement, you suit up in your bike gear and stash your phone securely away? and then have to lock the door and descend a flight of stairs before you put your feet on the pedals. The time delay feature gives you additional seconds or minutes, as much as you set, to get ready to ride. The iPhone vibrates when the countdown ends. Serious cyclists likely have a mount on their handlebars and won't need this feature, but for beginners, it's a boon.

The main display of the MapMyRide+ app shows the mapped route as collected by GPS data, average and current speed, average and current pace, and total ride time. It has everything you'd expect. I prefer Cyclemeter's display a little more because the numbers are larger and easier to read. On MapMyRide+, some of the digits are too small to see while cycling.

After you finish a ride, a summary shows duration, calories burned (if you have entered your height, weight, age, and sex), average speed and pace, and maximum speed and pace.

Splits (that is, splitting your ride into segments, wherein each segment contains its own stats that you can compare with the others) are supported, and you can set the split distance to any interval you choose. When I set up my splits to show 1.5 mile intervals, however, the data never showed up anywhere. Cyclemeter, meanwhile, automatically calculates splits, but only for five-mile stretches.

Maps
MapMyRide+, as well as other apps from MapMyFitness, has a strong social bent. The app encourages sharing, like posting a completed ride to Facebook, as well as connecting with friends to compete with them for best times. Cyclemeter contains sharing and social interaction, too.

Another interesting social feature in MapMyRide is the ability to look for routes that other users in your geographic area have ridden. This feature has a lot of potential value, but it largely depends on your area and how many other users are in it. The straight shot from the Bronx to midtown Manhattan via Sixth Avenue didn't exactly convince me that every route's a winner.

Audio, Music, and More
As with Cyclemeter, MapMyRide+ contains audio feedback, like mile markers or a cue that you're moving too slow, which you can tailor.

Accessing playlists, or setting one up on the spot, is simple. MapMyRide+ gives you a quick access button to your music selection. Cyclemeter puts it in a window that you can swipe to in a second. Both options make it easy to change the soundtrack.

While MapMyRide+ also includes a food logging component right in the app, which Cyclemeter does not, it's not one I would use. The idea is that you can count calories in as well as burned, but the system just isn't thorough. For example, you can enter food values of whole integers only (I ate half a banana with my breakfast and felt really frustrated at not being able to enter the correct intake). Simply put, the calorie feature is nowhere near as useful as dedicated calorie-counting apps, like MyFitnessPal and Lose It!

The Cyclemeter app has a few bonus features that you won't find in MapMyRide+. One is a calendar that shows with icons whether you completed a ride that day and if it was better or worse than your typical times for that particular route. Another is a complete summary by day, week, month, year, or all time that shows tallies, averages, and your other stats. MapMyRide+ only shows your ten most recent rides in the app. Through the Web account, you can see a little more information, but it's not tallied. To get unlimited access to all your routes, you need to buy at least a "Bronze Pro" membership (from $5.99 per month). Other content for Pro eyes only includes advanced training plans (e.g., training for a race) and a personalized workout calendar. For casual cyclers, the lack of these features in the $2.99 app probably isn't a deal-breaker, but advanced riders should know about the extra cost.

A Solid App, But Experts Can Do Better
For $3, MapMyRide+ is a great app, especially for cyclists who consider themselves beginners or casual at the sport. More advanced riders will almost definitely be happier paying $2 more for Cyclemeter, our Editors' Choice.

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