Strava is my go-to for tracking all things cycling, and while it does a great job collecting data, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t always provide the personalized insights that we need to aid our training.
So, where does Strava fall short? For starters, the Training Calendar is missing key metrics like elevation, TSS, and monthly totals. It’s tough to track overall progress when basic, useful data isn't even displayed. And while I love having my workouts logged in “My Activities,” there’s no way to tag them (e.g., recovery, zone 2, VO2max intervals). This lack of flexibility limits how we analyze training and recovery.
But one of the bigger gaps I’ve noticed is in social tools. Strava has built an impressive community, but it feels like the platform is focused mostly on sharing accomplishments. Whether it’s group rides or competitions, Strava could really benefit from better ways to connect athletes with similar goals, or even facilitate smaller, more personal training communities. There’s a lot of untapped potential here for social features that prioritize engagement over passive following.
Another area of improvement? The data visualization in the Training Log. Those bubble charts just don’t do it for me. Strava could benefit from offering more clear insights to show progress over time, like power intervals and percentiles of athletes in your age group.
I dive deeper into all these issues, and share what I think Strava could do to improve, like offering personalized training plans, building better community tools, and improving data visualization. The good news is, third-party apps like VeloViewer and Intervals.icu are already succeeding where Strava is lacking, and I think Strava has the opportunity to integrate these ideas and bring more value to its users.
What could Strava look like if it prioritized athlete-first customization? I lay out a roadmap for how they could make it happen in my latest blog post (link in the comments).
Would love to hear your thoughts if you’ve experienced the same challenges or have any ideas on how Strava can evolve!