Cycle satnav app now finds cycling clubs as well as bike shops

The latest version of the Bike Hub cycling satnav app for iPhones and Androids locates the nearest British Cycling clubs as well as finding the quickest or quietest cycle routes in UK and Ireland. The new function that has been added to version 3.3 of the app is to support the Bicycle Association/Bike Hub sponsorship of Go-Ride, British Cycling's youth cycling programme.

The Bike Hub app was released in 2010 and has always been able to geo-locate your nearest bike shops and navigate you there.

We’ve recently reported on a cyclist routed on to the M3 motorway by a satnav app. This was probably because the cyclist was using a car-centric  app. Bike Hub is cycle-specific. The cycle routing is done via Cyclestreets of Cambridge. This A-to-B bicycle journey planning website uses mathematical graph theory algorithms to work out bike routes quickly. It uses OpenCycleMap, a cycle-specific map based on the community-generated OpenStreetMap.

The Bike Hub satnav uses roads and cycle paths, including Sustrans’ off-road bike routes. The app – provided free of charge by the bike industry – features turn-by-turn navigation, with voice instructions and vibrating alerts. Bike Hub recommends a user operates the app with a handlebar smartphone cradle. These are now widely available in bike shops and in gadget stores.

To download the app go to the Bike Hub website or iTunes.