Cycling weather apps, compared
A handful of tools now turn the forecast into a number a cyclist can act on, and they are less interchangeable than they look — one forecasts a planned route metre by metre, two give you a free score with no account, and one answers a straight yes or no. This is all of them in one grid, with a page each going deeper.
We make one of these, so read accordingly — but every claim here comes from the other product's own site or store listing, each one is linked, and where their material doesn't say something we've written “not listed” instead of assuming the worst. Each comparison names the rider who should pick theirs over ours.
The grid
| Question | RideByWeather | Epic Ride Weather | Velowindow | When To Ride | Should I Ride |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is today worth going out, hour by hour? | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly |
| What will the weather do along my route? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Which legs are into the wind? | Yes | Yes | No | Partly | No |
| What should I put on? | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Does it do running and walking too? | Yes | Partly | No | No | No |
| Is it on my watch or head unit? | Yes | Partly | No | No | No |
| Does it record the ride afterwards? | Yes | Not listed | No | No | No |
| Does it warn me about what's on the road? | Yes | Partly | Partly | Not listed | No |
| Does it know my city? | Yes | Not listed | No | Partly | No |
| Is there a real free tier? | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free; Pro $2.99/mo | $2.99/mo or $19.99/yr | Free | Free; optional $1–$5/mo | Free |
✓ yes · ~ partly · — no · ? not listed. Compiled 2026-09-08 from each product's public site and store listing. Products change — if something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
The comparisons
iOS and Android, with live data fields on Hammerhead Karoo
Pick Epic Ride Weather if your rides are planned routes you've already built somewhere else, they're long enough that conditions change materially from one end to the other, and the question you need answered is "what happens along this line at this hour." A $19.99 year is a fair price for that and we'd rather you had the right tool.
Web, responsive on phone and desktop
Pick Velowindow if all you want is a fast, free number for where you are, with no account and nothing installed. If that's the whole of your need, it does it cleanly and anything more is overhead you didn't ask for.
Web
Pick When To Ride if you want a free, ad-free score with no account and no upsell, and you'd rather support a small project voluntarily than subscribe to anything. If you only ever needed the timing question answered, paying $3 a month to keep a tool like that alive is a good use of $3.
Web
Pick Should I Ride if you want the shortest possible path from a question to an answer, with no account, no app and no features you'll never open.
Where we fit
Most of the tools above answer one question well: is now a good time to ride. RideByWeather answers that — a 0–10 Ride Score for every hour, 48 hours out — and then handles the rest of the outing, because that was the part we kept doing by hand. The wind mapped onto an actual route, leg by leg. What to wear at the temperature you're actually going out in. Running and walking scored on their own terms rather than borrowed from cycling. A readout on the Garmin. The ride recorded afterwards. Lightning, air quality and reported hazards called out before you clip in.
The free tier is permanent and completely ad-free, and it covers all of that except the training plans and the alert that tells you tomorrow's best window the night before. Those are Pro, at $2.99 a month.