Smartphones are incredibly powerful tools that almost all of us will have with us on rides, so why not use them to their full potential? Here is a list of the best apps that you can utilize for mountain biking. From discovering new trails and recording rides to buying and selling gear, these are the most useful apps I’ve used consistently throughout the last few years to keep track, keep safe, and keep on riding.
Paid vs. Free
Everything these days seems to be subscription-based or locked behind paywalls, but thankfully, the majority of the apps on this list will be available without a subscription service, albeit you will not have access to the full host of features without paying for some of them.
There isn’t a ton of diversity when it comes to the capabilities of some of these apps, but what they have going for them is clever functionality, dialed user interface, and plenty of usability without the need for a paid subscription. However, there are a few on this list that demand your hard-earned dollars to unlock all the features. For the most part, all of these will complement one another with just the free versions, save for a few exceptions.
Tracking & Planning
Ride tracking and route planning are the two major segments of cycling apps, especially when it comes to mountain biking, but different requirements depend on the type of riding you do. Some apps will be more geared towards local riding by offering comprehensive trail reports and a more socially driven interface, whereas others will focus more heavily on offering ways to discover trails you may not have ridden before or a perspective on route planning that you might not have considered.
IOS & Android, Browser. Free / Paid ($6.67/month or $80/year) Ride tracking, planning, social
If you have spent any time at a trailhead or with people who ride consistently, you’ve likely heard of Strava, and it is rare to cross paths with an avid cyclist of any discipline who isn't currently analyzing their rides using this app. Strava has a whole bunch of tools that help you track, plan, and dissect your rides (and other people's rides), and if cycling has social media, this is it. While I use Strava for the analytics and social aspect, I have recently been using it a lot for route planning and scoping out new trails. Strava is free, but to fully benefit from all that the app offers, you kind of need the subscription.
The Trailforks map of my area. Available offline without a subscription
An incredible resource for finding trails and planning rides on the go. Trailforks uses user data and trail reports to offer trail conditions, expected features, and trail difficulty. While I don’t have the pro version of this software, the basic features are incredibly useful for riding somewhere new and unfamiliar. Even with a free version, I am able to save offline maps for regions and access them when I find myself utterly lost.
The MTB Project App offers a lot of insight on local trails
MTB Project is a lot like Trailforks but without the required subscription to unlock all that it has to offer. I don’t even need an account to open the app and explore the trails nearby. MTB Project is also under the ON X banner, an incredible mapping tool offering comprehensive map overlays with clear boundaries for private and public lands. There is a paid option for MTB Project that can be bundled with ON X if you really want one app for everything.
If you’re an enjoyer of the outdoors, ON X is likely already on your radar, but if you’re just getting into mountain biking as your first dive into adventure sports ON X might be the one app to rule them all. ON X will have great maps with clear trail distinctions, active fire maps, weather forecasting, and a host of other features to help navigate on adventures. The only thing you might want that ON X lacks would be the social aspect provided by Trailforks, MTB Project, and Strava.
One thing to consider with ON X is that you must have a paid subscription to utilize this app, as there is no free option outside of the free trial. The premium tier will get you deeper access to map overlays and the ability to save offline maps. The Elite option gives even more map details with access to land boundaries, land owner names, and recent aerial imagery to help you plan your routes.
As the name would suggest, RidewithGPS is a route-planning and ride-tracking application and a damn fine one at that. Although it is primarily used for road, gravel, bikepacking, and touring, Ride With GPS will have plenty of features that can come in handy when planning out big mountain bike rides or just exploring a new area.
One feature I really appreciate is the “Journal,” which acts as a blog and social thread that can be accessed to read and learn about other rides. This is another app that will give you free access to the core aspects, but a subscription is required to unlock all the features.
I've been using the active fires map on Open Snow a lot this year
This has become my preferred weather app over the last year. Originally purchased for the ski season, I have been using OpenSnow for all my weather needs thanks to its wide selection of map overlays, data harvested from multiple stations and devices, as well as local weather experts weighing in on forecasts to give detailed breakdowns for specific regions that are popular during the season. It might seem like just a weather app, but with all the overlays, it can become much more than that, especially if you are someone who likes playing in the snow during the winter.
This is another valuable app for those looking to do a bit more adventure riding and not so much the usual trail riding. Komoot offers really intelligent route planning, trail guides, and reports from other trail users outside of just mountain biking which can be very helpful if you are planning longer rides or bikepacking trips. Komoot allows for quick route planning with it’s straightforward and user friendly layout and is a great tool for planning out a route if you don’t feel like spending hours looking over maps and other options.
IOS & Android - Free (best paired with a GPS computer or watch)
Connect is a companion app for smartwatches and gps bike computers and works best when paired with one of the aforementioned devices. When used in conjunction with a GPS computer, Garmin Connect will be able to present valuable data on vitals such as HR, V02, Fatigue and more to give you a good estimate on fitness and recovery time. Pair this with ride tracking, turn-by-turn directions, and device tracking, Connect can offer an incredible value, but the initial cost of a device is the prohibitive factor here.
Device communication and map syncing are the highlights of this one
IOS & Android - Free (best paired with a GPS computer or watch)
Just like with Garmin Connect, ELEMNT is Wahoo’s answer to a companion app for a smart GPS device. I am lucky to have devices from both Garmin and Wahoo and use both apps with regularity. I prefer the user interface for ELEMNT much more than Garmin, but all boiled down, they are very similar and it all just depends on the devices you choose to track rides and metrics with. One is not necessarily better than the other.
A wildcard for this list, but hear me out. I have bought and sold untold amounts of bike stuff through the marketplace platform. It’s an incredible resource for offloading old stuff to make room for the new bike you’ve been eyeing. FBMP (as it’s known in my household) connects millions of people with similar interests, which allows for quick buying and selling of parts, bikes, gear, and so much more. Aside from the non-stop “Hey, is this still available?” messages, I have grown to appreciate the resource of Facebook for both the Marketplace and the groups that will allow you to connect with other riders in your area.
Okay, this might be a niche one, but I use this on a majority of my rides and even on a daily basis. My Fiance is an ornithologist, so I love birds and am constantly fascinated by the species I can find out in the woods or around town. If you ever listened to bird sounds and thought, “I wonder what that was?” then you should download Merlin. This app, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has the ability to ID birds by sounds, region, size, behavior, and much more. With this app, you, too, can be the bird nerd of your riding group.
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