When you check your typical weather app, you’ll see it’s 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) and there’s a chance of rain later on.
But what does that mean in terms of the kind of gear you should wear?
If you’re an everyday cyclist, this probably means you’ll pack your typical gear, plus perhaps your waterproof jacket.
However, if you’re someone who likes seeking out more “professional” gear, then you’ve probably have a wider range to choose from.
A new app by developer Christopher Mullen, helps translate the weather forecast, in to useful information about what gear you should wear.
Let’s take a look for example at a typical day in the app:
The What to Wear Cycling app gives you a look at the conditions, along with a full run down, from head to toe.
This way you know exactly what gear to pickup when you’re heading out the door the next day.
If you’re riding with fellow cyclists, it will also let you share this list by hitting the “Tell the Peloton” button.
Now obviously not all cyclists are born equal. Some of us will complain “it’s too hot”, while the person next to us will be reaching for an extra layer (I’m always in the latter camp – I really feel the cold!).
Fortunately, the developer Christopher has foreseen this, and has added a simple slider that will allow you to change between “I tend to feel the cold more” and “I tend to feel too hot”.
This will then cleverly behind the scene crunch the weather data and give you a new set of suggestions for the day.
From this screen you can also switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius and Miles and Kilometres.
Whilst the app can automatically load conditions from your current location, it also allows you to type in a different location. If you’re flying off to France tomorrow for example, you can tap that in to the app, so you know what kit to pack.
Alternatively, if you’d rather not type a location, you can also manually set the conditions, for the app to give you a kit run down.
The only area I can see for improvement, would be to be able to tap on each item suggested, and see a picture, an explanation and a run through of perhaps some specific kit recommendations.
For example, if I tapped on arm warmer, I’d see a list of top rated arm warmers. Then I can think “cool, that’s something I could add to my gear”.
Overall, I’m really impressed the What to Wear Cycling app. If you’re the kind of cyclist that wears arm warmers, base layers and so forth, you’ll find its suggestions really useful. For the more everyday cyclists amongst us, you probably won’t be needing this app.
What to Wear Cycling is currently available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, on iOS 7 or above. It can be downloaded from this link for £1.99 or $2.99.
We have a list of top recommended iPhone apps for cyclists, as well as Android apps.
Yes, I use this app and can confirm it works really well. As Andreas says, it’s aimed more at road cyclists rather than casual town cyclists, but paying £2 to avoid just one miserable ride after having worn the wrong clothes or gloves seems like a no-brainer to me.
With the balmy weather at the moment, I’m almost in my summer gear already
Do people really need to be told what to wear?
If the answer to the above is ‘yes’ then I can only suppose some people have lost the ability to think and maybe even observe what is in front of them. And paying £2 for the privilege . . . . yup, there must be a few no-brain folk around.
Yeah, pay me £2 and I’ll set you up to get a daily email saying “wear whatever you like”. If you get too hot, take a layer off and put it in your bag. Its not really about kind of cyclist, but kind of cycling: you only need care about special clothes if you’re doing an performance event, not everyday cycling. Otherwise, don’t worry, be happy.
Have to agree! How ridiculous. Save £2. Give it to charity and look at a free weather app like BBC Weather that give you local weather which is very accurate and include wind speed and direction. Vital cyclist info. Remeber guys only you are responcible for your ride being a success…
When the weather changes, yea, sometimes it’s nice to see a suggestion. Relax. If it’s not something for you that’s fine.
Good review. I use this app quite often, and I’ve also made use of it while on a couple of cycling holidays. I found it really useful and well worth the £2. My gels run £1-2! Also the guy who developed it was responsive when I’d had a question, and that’s quite rare, I think.