The Apple Watch offers a superb experience for cyclists. Whether you prefer outdoor or indoor rides, there are now plenty of superb apps to download to the smartwatch.
While you can rely on Apple's Workout app to take care of basic tracking, you can also delve deep into the App Store and find an alternative place to log your rides. Often, you'll give yourself access to richer cycling stats and training plans, giving you a better overall sense of your performance.
In this guide, we've listed some of the very best cycling apps for the Apple Watch that we've tested over the years. Some of them can work without the iPhone present, while some will need that tethered support.
No matter which Apple Watch model you own, take your cycling tracking to the next level by downloading some of the following options.
- Best Apple Watch apps to download
- Best Apple Watch running apps
- Best Apple Watch golf apps
- Best workout apps for Apple Watch users
Best Apple Watch apps for outdoor cycling
Cyclemeter Cycling Tracker
Free (subscription also available) | Download the Cyclemeter Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: Yes
Wareable
If you're big on cycling stats, then Cyclemeter is the app you want on your Apple Watch.
In total, you can configure your pages to track more than 200 metrics, which include everything involving your power, speed, heart rate, cycling cadence and more.
It can lean on your iPhone to provide ascent and descent data for hilly rides, it'll let you share your live location with family and friends if you're riding solo and it also supports GPX, TCX, FIT, KML, and CSV file formats - great for those who want to export ride data.
The comprehensive dive into your ride doesn't end on the wrist, either. Once you branch things out to the companion app, everything tracked on your Apple Watch is amplified, and can even be backed up by the likes of training plans and route planning.
All in all, this is one of the more complete cycling apps for the Apple Watch currently available, and one that cyclists who crave detail will love.
It's free to download - however, by subscribing to the Elite version, you'll get access to weather recording, Google Maps support and dashboards to look back at your history of cycling sessions and stats. It used to heavily rely on you having your iPhone nearby, but now it can stand alone, which is great to see.
Strava Run, Ride, Swim
Free (subscription not included) | Download the Strava Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: Yes
Wareable
After Strava took its time getting on board with the standalone capabilities of the Apple Watch, it's now developed into a much more rounded option - particularly for cyclists.
The initial issues it faced with GPS reliability have now been ironed out, and you're given some solid post-workout metrics. Throughout and after your workout, you'll have the choice to view all the basics - distance, time, speed, heart rate, elevation and calories - and signing up for a subscription gets you access to workout plans, more performance metrics and the ability to chase those Strava Segments.
You can make use of Apple's heart rate monitor to better understand your effort levels and listen for the audio cues to get a heads up on your cycling stats on the move. If you own an Apple Watch Series 2 or newer, you can do all of this without needing your iPhone to hand, as well.
It does include a profile for indoor rides, though you're only going to get heart rate data and the duration of the workout, so it keeps things basic.
Once you're all done, it will of course sync everything up to the app where you can wait for the kudos to come rolling in after your casual 50km Sunday bike ride.
Komoot
Free (in-app purchases) | Download the Komoot Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: No
Wareable
If you're not familiar with Komoot, it's a service that's all about helping you find new outdoor routes and locations to explore. The likes of Garmin and Polar offer support for Komoot, and there's also a pretty handy Apple Watch app, too.
You can enjoy turn-by-turn directions, with offline navigation support available for when you hit those really remote locations. It's been optimized to work on the smaller screen of the Apple Watch, and will give you details like distance and speed in real-time if you're keen to keep tabs on your performance.
The useful Tour recommendations will serve up places to visit and explore based on other users and will be delivered based on your current location. It's free to download, with in-app purchases also available if you want to unlock extra features. It's a cycling app that's ideal for anyone that likes finding somewhere new to clock up some miles.
Workoutdoors
| Download the WorkOutDoors Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: Yes
Wareable
The Workoutdoors app is fast emerging as one of the best sports tracking options for the Apple Watch. It's great for runners, but it also offers all its goodness for cyclists, too.
If you like your metrics and great quality maps to follow, then that's what this app is about. It promises up to 300 real-time metrics and gives you the freedom to choose how they're displayed. It uses vector maps to make it nicer to zoom and pan around routes, with offline map support, too, if you're planning to go remote with your bike sessions.
You can get a clear idea of GPS signal strength and how much battery you have to play with, and there's GPX file format support you can import when you find a particular route that you love.
Outside of running and cycling, it will also offer support for activities like skiing, hiking and geocaching to widen its uses. It's pricier than most of the apps on this list, but, if you value having a raft of metrics, the flexibility to choose how those metrics are displayed and some rich mapping features, you're going to love this app.
Apple Workout
Works without iPhone: Yes
Wareable
The pre-installed Workout app isn't the most exciting option out there for cyclists, but Apple's own system for tracking your rides is an ideal way to get started with the Watch.
During and after your ride, you're not overloaded with info, but you get just enough to keep you coming back.
We've found GPS tracking to be largely on the money when compared to our bike computer, and you're free to swipe between menus to control your music and pause/end the workout.
It isn't the easiest to navigate through when you're wearing gloves or find yourself with sweaty hands, and could benefit from making better use of the Apple Watch's buttons, but at least the option is there.
Something else you have an option for is using Workout for indoor cycling. The accuracy isn't great, as is the case with most devices trying to track your movement while being essentially stable, but it's something that'll no doubt be improved if Apple ever embraces support for third-party cycling devices.
Introduced a couple of years ago through watchOS 8, too, is the ability to enable auto-pause for cycling. Finally.
Best Apple Watch apps for indoor cycling
iBiker Cycling & Heart Trainer
Free (subscription also available) | Download the iBiker Cycling Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: No
Wareable
This is one to turn to if you prefer spin sessions to showing off your lycra outdoors, helping you track your key cycling stats when you're sitting on a stationary bike.
It promises to deliver distance, route, speed, and time stats while upgrading to the Pro Plus subscription will also give you access to heart rate tracking stats from your Apple Watch in real-time for looking over after you're done riding. Paying up for a subscription also lets you pair cadence and speed sensors and create custom workout training sessions.
It's one you can make use of outside, too, taking advantage of the Watch's GPS to track your rides and get voice feedback, with it also compatible with apps like Strava and Apple Health.
Signing up for that subscription will even help you dump the ads and get more in the way of analysis and those extra data insights. If you're happy with the basics and just want those core indoor riding stats, though, then you'll find plenty to like here.
Aaptiv
Free (subscription also available) | Download the Aaptiv Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: Yes
Wareable
While other apps aim to track your every movement while in the saddle, Aaptiv acts as more of a personal trainer, offering over 2,500 audio-based fitness classes for you to choose from – many of which are aimed at indoor cycling.
Programs are also on the Apple Watch ready for you to start and download, whether you're a beginner looking to do some gym cycling or a triathlete looking to augment your training. Whichever bracket you happen to fall in, the key here is the trainer pushing you on. And, thankfully, there's a range of trainers/voices to cycle through if one isn't to your taste.
Aaptiv's workouts are based upon intensity - or even the kind of music you want to listen to - and, once you're done you'll get basic feedback on the Watch regarding the activity you just completed (eg. distance, calories burned). You can also view your class history for more details once in the companion app.
It isn't the most stats-heavy option on our list, but it's definitely one that will give those looking for a helping hand the most in-app guidance. Oh, and remember to bring your Bluetooth headphones so you can control the music entirely from the Apple Watch.
mPaceLine
Free (in-app purchases also available) | Download the mPaceLine Apple Watch app
Works without iPhone: No
Wareable
The oddly-named mPaceLine is an Apple Watch cycling app that's designed for people that jump on a Peloton or an indoor bike but have no real sense of whether they're actually getting fitter in a really meaningful way.
Using both iPhone and Apple Watch, you can track performance metrics like power, cadence and heart rate and will even let you stream live workout data to be displayed on your smartwatch and smartphone.
Once workouts are synced to the phone app, you can view trends over time for aspects such as output, see the instructors that pushed you the hardest and delve into heart rate metrics, too.
The Apple Health compatible app also influences Activity Rings, and you can view data inside of the main Apple Fitness app, as well. It's free to use, but there's a 25-workout limit before you have to decide whether to subscribe or not.
That subscription is offered on a monthly or annual basis, and if you spend more time on your bike in the comfort of your home and want that bigger hit of analysis, that's what mPaceLine promises.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.