Interactive Annual 18:
information design
iBike Coach
“A sure bet for the avid biker. This app takes advantage of the device in a smart way and is so easy to use.”
—Michael Potts
“A nice succinct, feature-rich app that’s easy and fun to use. All the ride information is accessible, comprehensive and thoughtful.” —Kim Rees
iBike has been producing low-cost, easy to use cycling computers and power meters for cyclists since 2006. This iPhone app (that utilizes the device’s GPS and accelerometer technology) is an accompaniment to the company’s iBike Dash product line and offers a simple, swipeable interface for viewing in-ride speed, distance, time, slope, elevation, cadence, heart rate and estimated calories. Users can create, store and edit information for multiple bikes and choose the music and workout type for each ride. It’s an intuitive, rich and visually-appealing app that’s easy to understand and yet provides advanced ride statistics—like power output—for avid cyclists.
- • In-ride screens are high-contrast and legible from a non-standard viewing distance and all ride screen graphs are gradual in their visual changes so as to not be distracting to riders.
- • Q&A development involved keeping stationary bikes at desks to test ANT+-to-app integration. There was also testing during bike rides into work, in cars, walking and on light rails and buses.
- • Developer John Blanco worked from Denver’s light rails for a few days so he could always be moving while coding and testing the GPS integration.
Comments by Mike Moran and Jay Graves
“The idea is to attract the whole range of app users from novices, wanting to get exercise, up to the professional-level cyclist, looking for more complex information. Novices need to find the app simple and intuitive to get more excited about riding while pro-level riders require accurate information and an informative interface before and during rides.”
“I grew up mountain biking, and have experience using simple cycling computers for tracking speed and distance, but we had never dealt with the more advanced electronics and training tools available. Making the setup and use of this app easy and transparent enough for a novice was a fun challenge and so was working on it’s duality—maintaining a cohesive feel while optimizing functionality for both the pre-ride and in-ride experience.”
“The in-ride screens were exciting to work on, with a wealth of ideas on the types of information we could show. When it came down to it, though, making sure the end product was simple, informative and unobtrusive while offering something beyond the normal bike computer experience was an interesting line to walk”
Credits
Mike Moran, art director
Mark Lubischer/Saul Mora/Dave Sica/Jeremy Vinding/Keith Weiss, developers
John Blanco, technical lead
Jay Graves, technology director
Dan Burcaw, executive director
Scott Talley, project manager
Nick Arnott/Mark Villarreal, quality assurance
Double Encore (Denver, CO), project design and development
iBike, client
