Inset: Ciclosport’s HAC6 even reminds customers when their bike is due a service...
App-lied science…
As handheld technology continues to develop the market has become flooded with apps and gadgets to boost both fitness and business. Mark Sutton rounds up a selection of the market’s best apps and gadgets for bike shops and aspiring athletes with money to burn…
Spoke calculation
Strava is compatible with a wide range of devices
THE APPS Strava
There will be few in the trade not already familiar with Strava, but for the uninitiated, it’s a free-of-charge GPS app that plots your route, elevation climbed and a number of other stats. With the ‘pro’ package these stats are plotted to a very minute level of detail and go as far as to assess heart rate, provide power analysis and compare you to others with a similar weight and age. Widely recognised as the leading ‘social
fitness’ app in the cycling and running circles, the app has linked with the likes of Garmin, with cross compatibility of Strava to certain models – including the Edge and Forerummer – both of which are sold on the apps website as ‘pro packages’. The pros and cons were, however, recently tossed around in a Dirt article, in which some commented that ‘private tracks’ can easily be unearthed with the creation of ‘segments’ by other users.
“Check out Spokerator, a £1.99 solution to choosing the right spoke lengths for any given wheelbuild.”
and repair apps There are many spoke calculation apps on both iTunes and the Android market place and we daren’t recommend one over the other. However, at no more than 70 pence, the majority of reliably rated apps offer real time savings for the mechanic. If you’re an iPhone owner, check out Spokerator, a £1.99 solution to choosing the right spoke lengths, even if the lacing is asymmetric. There are free alternatives, though this one in particular has come recommended to us and trusted by Ben Cooper at folding, electric and recumbent specialist Kinetics in Glasgow. At £2.99 and already Cycling Plus approved, Bike Doctor 2 provides detailed step-by-step maintenance, cleaning and repair instructions for road, mountain and hybrid bikes. Though more a consumer-facing app, the depth of instructions and detail makes this a good recommendation to any customer wanting to haggle over the price of repair jobs. If they’re claiming to be ‘an engineer’, or have a mate who’s ‘handy with the spanners’, with the assistance of this app, they’ll not write their bike off completely when attempting DIY. There are also a wealth of gear ratio calculation apps on iTunes and the Android marketplace, should you not have the solution fresh in the memory.
Bike Hub
This is the app that’ll benefit bike businesses the most, with the majority of the nation’s retailers listed and if you’re not already present, a listing for your store on the app is free-of-charge. Users of the app will be greeted with a list of stores within a six mile radius when they click the ‘find a shop’ tab. To add your business, email editor@bikehub.co.uk. Largely this app is focused on finding the quietest or quickest routes through both urban and rural areas. The routing is done via CycleStreets.net, as well as benefiting from localised knowledge, much thanks to crowd sourcing updates from the users themselves. This journey planning website uses mathematical graph theory algorithms to quickly work out great bike routes. Furthermore, it’ll let you know of local attractions, hire bike locations, pubs and cafes that are en route. Built into the
app, users who explore its
functions will find information on how to access the cycle to work scheme, the rules of the road according to the Highway Code and plenty of do’s and don’ts.