Combined Shape Bike IQ

Bluetooth Sensor Pairing Guide

Bike IQ supports Bluetooth cycling sensors for enhanced data collection. Heart rate monitors pair to your rider profile, while power meters and speed sensors pair to specific bikes.

Two Types of Sensors

Bike IQ organizes sensors based on how they're used:

Rider Sensors

Heart rate monitors that work across all your bikes automatically:

  • Bluetooth LE heart rate monitors (Polar, Wahoo, Garmin, etc.)
  • Apple Watch (heart rate monitoring during rides)

Bike Sensors

Performance sensors attached to specific bikes:

  • Power meters (crank, pedal, spider-based)
  • Speed and cadence sensors
  • SRAM AXS electronic groupsets
  • RideNow TPMS 1.0 tire pressure sensors
  • Radar detection systems

Pairing Heart Rate Sensors

Heart rate sensors pair to your rider profile and work across all bikes.

  1. Open Settings in Bike IQ
  2. Tap Connect Bluetooth Sensors
  3. Activate your heart rate monitor (wear chest strap, press button)
  4. When the device appears in "Devices," tap it
  5. The sensor moves to "Assigned Rider Sensors" and becomes active

Swipe left on assigned sensors to rename them or swipe right to unassign.

Bike IQ sensor configuration with tire pressure monitor, radar, and electronic groupset paired
Bike sensor configuration with tire pressure monitor, radar, and groupset paired

Pairing Bike Sensors

Bike sensors pair to specific bike configurations. Each bike remembers its own sensor setup.

  1. Go to Bikes tab and select your bike
  2. Tap Connect Bluetooth Sensors
  3. Activate your sensor (spin wheel, press power meter)
  4. When the device appears in "Devices," tap it
  5. The sensor auto-configures as the appropriate data source

Power meters become your power source, speed sensors become speed source, etc. When you remove a sensor, Bike IQ automatically falls back to iPhone GPS for speed or virtual power estimation.

Apple Watch Integration

Apple Watch provides heart rate monitoring during rides. It does not record independent workouts.

Setup

  1. Open iPhone Settings → Health → Data Access & Devices → Bike IQ
  2. Enable Heart Rate permission
  3. Pair Apple Watch in Bike IQ rider sensors (Settings → Connect Bluetooth Sensors)

When you start a ride in Bike IQ, Apple Watch automatically begins heart rate monitoring and sends live data to your iPhone. It stops when you end the ride.

Managing Sensors Across Multiple Bikes

Each bike has independent sensor assignments. The same sensor can be assigned to multiple bikes, useful for pedal-based power meters or when moving components between bikes.

To move a sensor to a different bike, go to the new bike's sensor screen and assign it. The sensor automatically removes from its previous assignment.

Cross-navigation tips appear in the sensor screens: "Add Heart Rate Monitor" from bike sensors takes you to rider sensors, and "Configure Bike Sensors" from rider sensors lists your bikes.

What Happens When a Sensor Disconnects

If a sensor loses connection during a ride (battery dies, out of range, interference), Bike IQ handles it gracefully:

  • Power meter disconnects: Bike IQ falls back to virtual power estimation using the iPhone's built-in sensors and weather data. Your ride recording continues without interruption.
  • Heart rate monitor disconnects: The HR widget shows the last known reading briefly, then indicates no signal. Reconnection is automatic when the sensor comes back in range.
  • Speed sensor disconnects: Bike IQ falls back to GPS-based speed, which is accurate for most riding.
  • Radar disconnects: The radar overlay disappears from the ride screen. No false alerts are generated.

All sensor data is timestamped and recorded per-sample, so gaps from disconnections appear accurately in your post-ride analysis rather than being filled with estimated data.

Advanced Sensors

SRAM AXS Electronic Groupsets

Bike IQ pairs directly with SRAM AXS groupsets, from 1x XPLR gravel builds up to 2x Force and Red D2 road groupsets. Pairing is a one-time handshake: tap the AXS derailleur in the device list, press and hold the AXS button on the rear derailleur until the LED flashes, then tap Continue. After that, your phone reconnects automatically whenever you are near the bike.

Once paired, every shift appears in real time in the gear widget and on the ride summary. Battery levels for the rear derailleur, front derailleur (on 2x), and both shifters show up in the sensor list so you know where you stand before a long ride. Gear position is also recorded every second into your ride report alongside cadence and power.

On Pro, AXS unlocks shifter button mapping. Both paddles are always mappable, and any extra buttons on your shifters (hood buttons on newer Red and Force groupsets, or bonus buttons on Blip remotes) are auto-discovered the first time you press them. Left and right paddles are tracked separately, so each can get its own action: ring the bell, mark a lap, open the map, or pause the ride without taking your hands off the hoods.

RideNow TPMS 1.0

Tire pressure monitoring sensors provide live PSI readings during rides. Front and rear sensors are assigned separately in bike configuration so Bike IQ always knows which wheel is which. When pressure drops below your configured threshold, an alert identifies the affected tire and gives you the option to pause your ride or set a re-alert threshold. See Safety Features for details on pressure alerts.

Bike IQ is currently the only iPhone app that supports RideNow TPMS sensors. These Bluetooth Low Energy sensors install inside your tire valves and provide continuous pressure and temperature monitoring throughout your ride.

Rear Radar

Bike IQ supports rear-facing cycling radars from a wide range of brands. A paired radar detects vehicles approaching from behind and displays them on the ride screen with distance indicators, visual lane markers, and audio alerts. See Safety Features for setup details and Radar Settings for configuration options.

Supported brands:

  • Garmin Varia (including RTL515, RCT715, and the RearVue 820)
  • Trek CarBack
  • CYCPLUS L7
  • MagicShine SeeMe R300
  • Magene L508
  • Lezyne Radar React System

The Garmin Varia RearVue 820 and Trek CarBack broadcast enhanced data, and Bike IQ uses it. With either radar connected, the widget switches to a 2D view that shows vehicle type (car, truck, motorcycle) and lateral position, so you can see not just how far a vehicle is behind you but how wide a berth it is giving you as it passes. All other supported radars use the standard radar interface with distance-based alerts.

Troubleshooting

Sensor Not Appearing

  • Check sensor battery level
  • Ensure sensor is active (spinning, pressed, worn)
  • Make sure the sensor is not already connected to another device or app. Many sensors allow only one active connection, and they stop advertising (and become undiscoverable) while connected elsewhere. Close other cycling apps on your phone and turn off nearby head units or watches that may have grabbed the sensor.
  • Move closer to reduce interference
  • Tap "Scan Again" to refresh device list

Connection Issues During Rides

  • Verify iPhone placement doesn't block antennas
  • Replace sensor batteries proactively
  • Minimize interference from other devices

ANT+ Sensors

Bike IQ supports Bluetooth LE sensors. Most modern cycling sensors broadcast over both ANT+ and Bluetooth, so they will pair directly with Bike IQ without any extra hardware. Older ANT+ only sensors require a Bluetooth bridge device.

Getting Started

Bike IQ works excellently without any external sensors. Power is estimated from physics, cadence is detected from your iPhone's motion sensors, speed comes from GPS, and grade from the barometer. Adding Bluetooth sensors enhances data accuracy and provides additional metrics like heart rate.

Start with heart rate if you own an Apple Watch or chest strap. Add power meters and other sensors as needed for your training goals.

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