Comparison

Automatic Cycling Detection vs HappyRide

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Automatic Cycling Detection

This app automatically detects and records your bike rides, providing key statistics like distance, speed, and calories. It also connects you with other cyclists and helps you track your carbon footprint. Designed for daily commuters and recreational riders alike.

Highlights
  • Automatic ride detection and recording
  • Key ride statistics (distance, speed, calories)
  • GPS route tracking on map
  • Connect with other cyclists
  • Carbon footprint tracking (CO2 saved)
  • Supports various bike types and services
Read full description

The only app that automatically detects and records your bike rides. Simply the best bike tracker, 100% free. Perfect for daily commuting and commuters. Stats and data : Main statistics: distance, speed, elevations, calories GPS routes / tracks displayed on a map Social - Connect to other cyclists Green - Get aware of your carbon footprint, with CO2 saved when you’re cycling. Unlike other sport and fitness applications such as Strava and Komoot, Social Ride is: - 100% free - Includes automatic detection and recording of your bike rides. Save, log your rides! ----- Social Ride works with all biking activities: - Daily trips: commuting - Sport: cycling, road bike, mountain bike, cross country, BMX - Bike journeys, bike holidays The app is the perfect companion for any cyclist riding any bike: - Classic bike: Btwin, Van Rysel, Triban, Décathlon, Elops, Rockrider, Brompton - Cargo bike: longtail, Yuba, Tern, Omnium, Bullit - Connected electric bikes: Van Moof, Cowboy, Cow boy, Angel, Dance - Road bike: Trek, Giant, Specialized, Lapierre, Canyon, Cannondale, Pinarello, Cervelo, Merida, Bianchi, Willier - Mountain bikes: on track, off track, single track - Fixies and single speed : Marin, Bombtrack, Cinelli, Aventon Social Ride is also compatible with all Self service bikes (SSB), such as Velib in Paris, Velov (vé’lov) in Lyon, Véloose (VéloToulouse) in Toulouse, v’lille, v3 in Bordeaux, Vélo bleu (vélobleu) in Nice, levélo in Marseille, vélomagg in Montpellier, Velhop in Strasbourg, and Vélolib, Vélo'+, Donkey Republic, Velam, VéloCité, Vélo'V, VélOstan'lib, Bicloo, Cy'clic, LE vélo STAR, PBSC, PubliBike V1, Yélo, Optymo, C.vélo', Vélocéa, Velopop'. . Don’t hesitate to stop using expensive electric scooter services such as Lime, Dott, Tier, Lime, Wind, Bird, Flash, Jump, Bolt or Tier and join the bike revolution with Social Ride! — With the next iterations, the app will become: More practical - With new features of itineraries and navigation, to make you use the nicest and most secure cycle paths and cycle lanes. More than a clone of Strava, Maps, Citymapper or Geovelo with its automatic recording, Social will soon offer a dark mode, and a map of bicycle parkings and bike racks. More connected to your devices - GPS, tracking devices and smart watches: Garmin, Fitbit, Wahoo, Apple watch, cardio belt, power meter More connected to your health applications: - Apple Health, Strava, garmin, Décathlon More precise: - With advanced metrics such as power (watts), cardiac frequency (cardio) to take the most out of each ride! Social Ride : le meilleur compteur vélo kilométrique est aussi disponible en français ! Don’t wait any longer: join the bike movement on Social Ride!

About

HappyRide

Features
Read full description

Forget to hit "Start" again? Not anymore. HappyRide (快乐轻骑) runs quietly in the background and automatically detects when you start riding, walking, or running — no button to press, no app to open first. Just go. It's built for the ride you didn't plan to log: the quick errand, the spontaneous loop, the commute you almost forgot to track. Never miss a workout again. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT - Truly hands-free: motion detection on your iPhone (plus background GPS and Apple Watch heart rate) automatically recognizes your activity and starts recording on its own. - Never lose a ride: every qualifying activity is captured automatically and written straight to Apple Health, complete with route, heart rate, and calories. - Privacy by design: HappyRide works fully offline by default. Nothing leaves your phone unless you explicitly turn on the optional route-planning feature, which needs an internet connection to fetch maps. WHAT'S INSIDE Automatic Activity Detection Cycling, walking, running, and more are recognized automatically using CoreMotion and background location — no manual start/stop, ever. Every session syncs to Apple Health automatically. Apple Watch Companion A dedicated watchOS app tracks real-time heart rate, duration, and active energy on your wrist, plus a watch face complication that shows today's activity summary at a glance. Ride Details & Stats Every activity gets a detail page with your GPS route plotted on the map and a full data breakdown. The stats page rolls it all up: rides this week, total time, distance, and a 7-day trend chart so you can see your progress build. Quiet & Scenic Route Navigation (optional, subscription) Planning a ride instead of just logging one? Turn on route planning to get turn-by-turn cycling navigation that favors quiet backstreets over busy main roads, or scenic paths along rivers and parks. Choose from four route styles — Quiet, Scenic, Balanced, or Shortest — build an out-and-back loop at 5, 10, or 20 km, discover nearby scenic destinations worth riding to, and get spoken turn alerts as you go. HOW IT WORKS HappyRide is free to use for automatic activity tracking, Apple Health sync, Apple Watch support, and your ride history and stats — no strings attached. The optional Quiet & Scenic route planning and turn-by-turn navigation feature is available as an in-app subscription, since it requires live map and routing data. A NOTE ON LANGUAGE HappyRide's on-screen interface is currently in Simplified Chinese only, with English App Store text to help you decide if the app is right for you. Every screen — buttons, menus, stats labels — is very simple and icon-driven, and most riders find it easy to navigate by feel even without reading Chinese. Full English localization is on our roadmap. REQUIREMENTS iPhone with iOS 17 or later. Apple Watch companion app optional but recommended for real-time heart rate. Background location and Motion & Fitness permissions are needed for automatic detection; Health access is needed to save your activities. Ride more. Remember less. Let HappyRide catch every mile you didn't plan to track. Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Automatic Cycling Detection4 screens
HappyRide3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Automatic Cycling Detection at none against HappyRide's 2. Automatic Cycling Detection also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HappyRide sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Automatic Cycling Detection asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Automatic Cycling Detection ships an update every 8 days, HappyRide weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Automatic Cycling Detection versus HappyRide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAutomatic Cycling DetectionHappyRide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (39 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings39 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGabriel Gautronbo chen

In-app purchases

None

Automatic Cycling Detection

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

HappyRide

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro$12.991 Year

Questions

Is Automatic Cycling Detection free?
Automatic Cycling Detection is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HappyRide free?
HappyRide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Automatic Cycling Detection or HappyRide have ads?
Neither Automatic Cycling Detection nor HappyRide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Automatic Cycling Detection or HappyRide?
Automatic Cycling Detection ships an update every 8 days, and HappyRide weekly. Most recently, Automatic Cycling Detection was updated on October 11, 2026 and HappyRide on October 9, 2026.

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