In our first tech review column, Jonathan Symcox takes cycling safety app Busby for a spin
Background听
Busby, developed by K-Safe, is trusted by thousands of cyclists and has monitored several hundred thousand journey miles since its launch in November 2019.听听
The inspiration for the app came when co-founder Barry Green was involved in a serious cycling accident. It uses sensors in a mobile phone to automatically detect a crash or a fall, geolocate the user and alert their emergency contacts.听听听
Available for free download on any iOS or Android smartphones, it is used by cyclists, walkers, horse riders, runners and road users to predict, prevent, detect and analyse road accidents. It does not collect or store the riders鈥� data.听听
Now active in 32 countries across six continents, the co-founders say it has already saved three lives.听
Tough terrain听
I fired up the app during an hour-long ride around the Lee Quarry mountain bike trails in Lancashire. These are known locally听and further afield听for听providing a stern test, with rocky terrain and routes which vary in difficulty from听tricky to downright dangerous.听
GPS听
The GPS kicked in without fuss and lasted for the duration of the ride听in a fairly remote and hilly setting. When I鈥檝e used exercise apps in the past such as Strava and听Runkeeper, the GPS has dropped out when entering the quarry itself, with the result that the session听automatically听ends early.听
Records听
The screen shows the distance you have ridden, which is听fairly accurate, although it doesn鈥檛 store your activity听for future reference听as an exercise app would.听But then, that鈥檚 not its purpose.听
Mounted听
I mounted my phone on the frame of my bike so I could see how the app updated throughout.听The only frustration was when the screen went to听sleep听and I had to stop to bring it back up.听However,听Busby鈥檚 tagline is听鈥楽afety in your pocket鈥� 鈥撎�it is there as a safety mechanism, not to keep track of how far you have ridden.听
G-force听
The key feature of the app is听how it tracks the g-forces听acting upon听your phone, with the idea that if you are in an accident,听it will听identify that听through听interpretation of听the听impact听created.听During the ride it could tell when I was cycling; when I stopped, it took a few seconds to sense that I had become still; and when I threw my phone听into a hillside, it knew something was amiss.听
Emergency听
The screen turned red, the phone听vibrated听and it gave me a clear 30-second countdown to cancel the sending of a message to my emergency contacts. Having mentioned this to my wife earlier, I let the message go through听and it did so, smoothly.听
False alarm听
The one downside to using the app was when I took the bike down a听long and听precarious 鈥榖lack鈥� trail, the shaking of the bike again triggered the alarm. As听I was concentrating on staying in one piece rather than听looking at the app听鈥� and could not feel the vibration –听my听wife was again notified. You can extend the 30-second delay, should you wish,听which would have helped here.听And better safe than sorry…听
Extra services听
Busby Flare听allows users to send out an SOS message to surrounding users within a five-mile radius听and also听connects them to nearby bike stores.听The premium version of the app allows for more emergency contacts to be added.听GroupRide听allows users to set a safety radius around everyone in their group and receive a notification if someone falls behind.听Different activities can be selected, including walking/hiking, running, horse riding, motorbiking and skiing, although these were not tested.听A recent update also rewards users by offering coins per mile which they can spend on in-app discounts or enter monthly competitions. Fingers crossed for that Go Pro 8…听
Busby is available to download for free at听听or by searching for the app in your app store.听