Strava has been making significant strides lately, rolling out one new feature after another over the past few months. The much-requested dark mode turned out to be a big hit, while opinions on the new Athlete Intelligence were somewhat less positive. Strava has been making big changes to leaderboards and segments. As far as I'm concerned, it’s a step in the right direction after years of very few updates. Still, there’s plenty left to be desired. Although the holiday season is still far away, here’s my wish list.
Photo: There’s limited enthusiasm so far for Strava’s new AI features.
If you search online for what Strava users would like to see added, this feature is consistently at the top. And honestly, I completely understand—my first move would be to filter out indoor rides, commutes, and walks. Perhaps there are runners who, in turn, don’t want to see bike rides; that’s fine too. Give users the freedom!
The option to mark followers as favorites already exists, meaning their activities always appear at the top of your feed. Now, how about the ability to share activities exclusively with favorites, much like Instagram’s “Close Friends” feature?
If you’ve created a route in Strava, you can automatically sync it with your bike computer. But, strangely enough, you can’t download the GPX file directly to your phone via the app, which would allow you to forward it to someone or manually upload it to your bike computer. The only way to do this from your mobile device is to use a browser and select 'Request Desktop Site.' It’s cumbersome and unnecessary.
The route planner has improved a lot in recent years, but there’s still a long way to go. Bike paths are barely visible, there’s no way to open multiple routes at once, and routes can’t be saved in folders. And there are at least ten other things that could be better about the route planner.
Photo (clickable): on the left, the standard Open Street Map where bike paths are clearly visible as blue dots. On Strava (right), however, they’re barely noticeable.
Unlike apps like Komoot, Strava’s app doesn’t yet offer navigation. This would be a welcome addition, especially for those who use their phone as a bike computer.
What features do you think Strava is missing? Let us know in the comments!
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