Combined Shape Bike IQ

Voice Control

Keep your hands on the bars and your eyes on the road. Bike IQ supports hands-free voice commands through Siri and Apple Shortcuts, giving you full control over your ride without touching the screen.

How It Works

Bike IQ uses Apple's AppIntents framework to expose ride actions as voice commands. This means every command works natively with Siri and integrates directly into the Apple Shortcuts app. There is no setup required beyond having Bike IQ installed. Say "Hey Siri" followed by any supported command and the app responds immediately.

Voice commands work whether the app is in the foreground or the background. If your phone screen is locked during a ride, Siri still processes your command and the app executes it without unlocking. This is particularly useful when your phone is mounted on the handlebars and you want to keep riding without interruption.

Supported Commands

The following voice commands are available. Each one maps to a specific ride action:

Ride Controls

Each command accepts more than one phrasing, so you do not have to remember an exact sentence. The alternates are listed beside each one. What does not vary is the ending: every phrase finishes with in Bike IQ, which is how Siri knows to route it here rather than to another app.

  • "Start a ride in Bike IQ" (also "Begin a ride in Bike IQ", "Start ride in Bike IQ"): begins ride recording with your currently selected bike profile.
  • "Pause my ride in Bike IQ" (also "Pause ride in Bike IQ"): manually pauses ride recording. Equivalent to tapping the pause button on the session controls.
  • "Resume ride in Bike IQ" (also "Resume my ride in Bike IQ", "Continue ride in Bike IQ"): resumes a paused ride. Recording picks up where it left off with no gap in data.
  • "End my ride in Bike IQ" (also "End ride", "Stop ride", "Finish ride in Bike IQ"): stops recording and saves the ride. The post-ride summary appears automatically.
  • "Mark a lap in Bike IQ" (also "Mark lap in Bike IQ", "New lap in Bike IQ"): marks a lap at the current position. Useful for interval training or noting segments without touching the screen.

Ride Information

  • "Get my ride stats in Bike IQ" (also "Show my ride stats in Bike IQ", "What's my speed in Bike IQ"): reads back your current ride statistics including distance, time, and speed.

Bike Bell

  • "Ring bell in Bike IQ" (also "Ring the bell in Bike IQ", "Ding the bell in Bike IQ"): triggers the bike bell with your configured sound. When headphones are connected, the bell plays through the phone speaker so pedestrians can hear it.

Screen and Map

  • "Expand map in Bike IQ": expands the map to fill the ride screen, giving you a larger view of your route and surroundings.
  • "Collapse map in Bike IQ": returns the map to its default size, showing all metrics alongside the map.
  • "Switch to landscape in Bike IQ": rotates the ride screen to landscape orientation.
  • "Switch to portrait in Bike IQ": rotates the ride screen back to portrait orientation.

Using with Siri

The simplest way to use voice commands is through Siri. Say "Hey Siri" followed by any of the commands listed above. Siri recognizes the "in Bike IQ" suffix and routes the command to the app. You do not need to open Bike IQ first, Siri handles launching the app and executing the action.

Voice commands work alongside music and podcasts. When you invoke Siri, your audio ducks momentarily while the command processes and then resumes at full volume. There is no need to stop playback, and your music app does not lose its place.

Using with Apple Shortcuts

Every Bike IQ voice command is also available as an action in the Apple Shortcuts app. This lets you build custom automations that go beyond simple voice triggers:

  • Chain multiple actions into a single shortcut. For example, create a "morning ride" shortcut that starts a ride and expands the map with one command.
  • Assign to buttons on your Apple Watch or use the Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro and later to trigger ride actions with a physical press.
  • Schedule automations based on time, location, or other triggers using the Shortcuts automation features.

The quickest way in is from Bike IQ itself. Open Configuration → Ride Settings → Voice Commands and tap the Shortcuts button, which takes you straight to Bike IQ's actions. From there, add the action you want and give your shortcut a name: whatever you name it becomes the phrase you say to Siri.

You can also start from the other end: open the Shortcuts app, create a new shortcut, search for "Bike IQ" in the actions list, and add the action you want.

Tips

  • Speak clearly over wind noise. At speed, wind across the microphone can make recognition harder. Brief pauses between words help Siri parse the command accurately.
  • Use AirPods or a headset. A microphone closer to your mouth dramatically improves recognition reliability compared to the phone mic on the handlebars.
  • Customize your phrasing. Siri learns from your usage patterns. The more you use a specific command, the better it recognizes your voice and cadence.

Related Guides

  • Recording a Ride: the full ride screen, session controls, and ride lifecycle
  • Bike Bell: bell sounds, palm gesture activation, and speaker override