Bike Hub app, the 'satnav for cyclists' now launched for Android phones

The Bike Hub iPhone app – dubbed ‘the satnav for cyclists’ – has gained a lot of rave reviews on Apple’s App Store since it was launched in September, but those of us using phones based on Google’s Android operating system have been feeling left out. Now, however, the waiting is over, with the app now available on the Android Market Place.

The app can be downloaded for free, its development funded by the Bike Hub levy on UK bike suppliers and bicycle retailers, and can be found in the Travel & Local category when browsing apps on your Android device.

The Bike Hub website has provides a guide on how to download the app, broken down into three easy-to-follow steps:

1. Open up the “Market” app on your Android device.
2. Search the App Market for “Bike Hub”
3. Download, install, and enjoy!

The app allows you to plan journeys by bike, using multiple waypoints, and enables ‘favourites’ to be saved. Other features include a ‘More’ section, which contains articles on the Cycle to Work scheme, the law as it relates to cycling, and quotes about bicycles and cycling.

At 3.4mb, the app will need to be saved to the SD card of certain Android phones with limited internal memory, and an update to the initial version of the app allows for saving to SD cards.

Some features in the iPhone app have not yet been incorporated into the Android one, although Bike Hub says they will be incorporated in an update due in January. Tjhose features are the bike shop finder, news, events, and full satnav functionality.

Both apps use cycle-specific route planning provided by Cyclestreets, showing fast, balanced or quiet routes charted on the OpenCycleMap via community resource OpenStreetMaps.