Feedback Wanted: Strava-Like Racing App

That's an amazing idea! Even that i don't race. But having a app that is made for racing can also be used for different things like timing changes on your ride. 
What I would love to see is segments where you have a bit of the track as a "starting area", so you basically have to hit 0 speed before starting to pedal into the segment. I guess this would make it fairer for everyone and eliminate GPS inaccuracy at the start. Another useful feature, at least for me, would be the ability to sort stage results by bike, so you can see how well you performed on the trail with a specific bike/equipment and compare times between your bikes/equipment's. This idea came from having multiple bikes and testing different parts on them.

Not strictly racing related but a shuttle / uplift / bikepark mode would be great where it doesn't record uphill segments. It's a pain trying to remember to stop & start your watch again for each descent so it doesn't record the uphills (strava throws a hissy fit saying you're in a vehicle and therefore shows no segment times).

I know the new garmin MTB device has this feature but strava or other devices don't.

I haven't tried it yet but somebody said if you use Ski as the sport on a Garmin watch, it auto pauses on any lifts, then you can change the sport to MTB when it loads into Strava.

Hi Jeff,

I would love to be a beta tester. I have been exploring ways to host GPS races for some time now! Glad others are thinking of it too.

Thanks,

Chris

If we register again, will our interest be counted twice - I'm that keen for this to happen! 😀

I just saw this thread, not sure how I missed it.  Some of the things I would like to see (Sorry if they are already mentioned).

-Strava private segments:  I make them but I would like to be able to invite friends to the private segments.

-Along the same lines, maybe some segments require and invite or you have to request to be part of it??

-I use Strava to track my maintenance.  Always  update the ride to make sure it is the bike I rode that day.  I have to write it down (date & mileage) but maybe a feature that you can note on a bike when you put a new chain on or even a whole new drive train.  I track suspension service on there as well.  Tires are easy enough, just look down and see they are worn but even that could be an option on a bike too.  Same with brake pads.  

I do pay for Strava, the segments push me on days I feel lazy (I respect other riders if I run into one).  Also, it forces me to get out and ride to try and exceed the miles I put in the week/month or even the year before.  I am 56, don't care to KOM anything, but I want to get close to my PR's for me.  I really like what someone said about labeling the conditions on a day as well.  I can look at segments I am familiar with and be far off my PR but knowing it was humid, wet and greasy conditions can still give me a positive attitude about a difficult ride.  

Just on using Strava for tracking mileage, have you seen ProBikeGarage? It’s an app that hooks into strava and can track mileage and hours - it’s great for service intervals etc. Would be pretty cool if Jeff could work out a way to allow Rali(?) to connect to it?

This. Probably the biggest reason I still use (fully private, heatmaps disabled and no public activities) Strava. It's gotten so stupid with the gouging of the free tier (and the price and the useless training features in the pro tier) that I started investigating about selfhosting an alternative (like endurain). 

When it comes to maintenance I also explored trailforks when they were adding the feature, but it was so cumbersome and limited if abandoned it. ProBikeGarage having the option to add and remove components is a godsend (I rotate 3 chains and mount them to the bike accordingly). 

I am mostly interested in the personal aspects of an alternative, more so than racing, but with the view I have about racing and they way it's done locally (I WANT beer leagues and the national cup wants to emulate full ews rounds with training loops a day before the race) I just might use it to race as well if it gets popular. 

There was a lot of talk about how to start a segment. Realistically the best option was already put forward, have a flyjng start lower from the marked start so everybody rolls in. Our national league starts the timing ~10 meters into the stage to prevent any false starts from the start line. Plus if you have a 10 meter long starting zone it should average out any glitches as well (average the starting time between entering and exiting the start zone). Same for the finish. 

Here is another app which basically skips many of the Strava paywalled features, but it runs on Docker so it might be a bit difficult for not tech savy users to install: https://statistics-for-strava-docs.robiningelbrecht.be/#

Yo @jeff.brines cool idea man! Obviously late to the party here as well.

- Yeah, you probably should have gotten some ideas from your potential users before writing 100k lines of code. UX Research, man! haha but hey, you're doing it now and it'll definitely help get it right.

- Reading through your initial description of this being a 'race app' had me thinking about how auto-starting the race course would be problematic. Others have chimed in with the 'rolling start has an advantage vs. static start' issue. In my mind (and based on what I've seen on Garmin and Strava) it isn't the rolling start having advantage that's as much the issue, it's when you get within X meters of the start of the segment and your tracking app starts the timer for you—adding what could be minutes to your time. Having administrators just 'start the segment lower' feels a bit hacky, would work but maybe not the ideal thing nor does it feel as much like a 'race'. I think a 'race mode' with a countdown start timer is a pretty good way to approach this. Then your race app is a bit more accurate as it only needs to auto-detect finish time based on location, because the racer told it when they were starting. Having it pair with your Garmin / Wahoo / whatever device might be a bit tricky, but it can be done. And as I think you've said, Garmin device integration would be future state?

- Strava segments kinda piss me off sometimes, in that people make some really dumb segments that only serve themselves. Should segments be more 'community curated' ? I have no idea how that might work, it just seems like having fewer yet higher quality segments would be a better experience. Or should segments be tied to the full length of trails? Connect the app with Trailforks data, take segment creation off the table for most users? In any scenario, there would need to be some latitude given to 'race organizers' for creating race courses, as maybe the track for a particular race wouldn't cover an entire trail or maybe combines multiple trails. Perhaps those 'race courses' wouldn't be permanent segments in the app, they'd just exist for a specific event.

- Love the ideas around maintenance. While super cool, it feels pretty far out of scope for what you're working on, at least for the time being/MVP. I have also tried to use the Trailforks system and found it severely lacking. Definitely going to check out ProBikeGarage. I'd personally rank that much lower than other features, just my $.02.

Some way for the community to work with the segments is a must. Currently only the creator can edit the segments on strava and there are no external influences on that, except if there is some legal grounds to take it down. And then you have a problem when you have a segment created on a trail that really doesn't need one...

15 years ago a casual acquaintance of mine who is a trail runner and data scientist said “let the data build the segments.” Give a system enough user data and it’ll “see” how riders naturally ride trails, where they stop, where they start, where they sprint, etc. combine with elevation data, trail intersections, and other info like stream crossings and BAZINGA. I think Garmin may already have something like this for climbs? I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but it is an idea. 

I would love something like this if there were a private trail feature. Like a way to stack up with your friends on secret trails without broadcasting their existence. 

Have you seen this? https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2025/10/strava-sues-garmin-demands-stop-selling-devices.html

What seems to be the key part on segments is:

"Now, what’s notable here is that Strava existed (with users creating segments) from 2009, and thus, it’s a bit strange that Strava had a two-year gap here before they got around to filing a patent on it. This is well beyond the typical 1-year grace period that the US PTO would allow for delays in filing a patent after public disclosure."

If the patent isn't upheld then you could be ok. Definitely keeping my fingers crossed for you.

This whole lawsuit is bizarre to me. One of the most insane cases of biting the hand that feeds, I'd imagine that over 75% of Strava users are importing ride/run data from a Garmin device. Strava's whole model is an aggregate that is reliant on third party metrics being imported in. Garmin could put the plug right now and make people choose between a device/software that accurately tracks multiple key metrics for training, or a glorified social media platform. I think the anyone with a pulse will take Garmin over Strava. Lest we forget last year when Strava bullied Trailforks into deleting over 60 million activities... 

I left Strava after they went behind a paywall years ago, and this lawsuit had people all over reddit cancelling their subscriptions already.

I'm really just surprised segments are patenable, I get the tech or algorithm that makes it happen being locked down, but the ability to essentially patent a mapping/time function generally is outrageous. 

Maybe Garmin will fight and win the suit opening it up for you. Strava should focus on making their platform more accurate and competitive rathe  than trying to scare competitors. 

From my observations and riding groups I think it's more like 75% of Strava users are logging activities on their phones. 

I personally use Polar devices  that comes free with Polar Flow software for viewing ride and training metrics. The OpenStreetMap overlay just looks so much better than Strava and I like the functionality to narrow down areas of interest with sliders. I still sync Polar Flow with Strava for the seggys but thats about it. Polar Flow does everything else better. 

Hindsight --> Just remembered GPS watches exist. That's probably a large number of mulitsport Strava users. Still I notice a large percentage just running the phone app. 

Interesting, I actually don't know the last time I saw someone start ride from their phone via Strava. Before I ditched Strava I had done a good amounts of rides off my phone but after getting a mid-level Garmin watch that had a much cleaner line of sight to the sky it made me realize how spotty off the phone GPS tracking was.  

Most Strava users use their phone.  Most paying Strava users with a Strava subscription use a garmin device.  

At least one poster on DC Rainmaker's Instagram mentioned that there is prior art to Strava segments, and some of it is owned by Garmin. 

As DC Rainmaker pointed out, 

1. Garmin doesn't lose lawsuits.

2. Strava is highly reliant on Garmin for data, and that is  especially true of paid Strava users. 

I feel like forward looking (hell, even time window-limited) segments fit nicely with your stated goal of a racing app.  One of the main reasons why I don't pay attention really to PRs/KOMs on Strava are that trails change over the years, speed changes with seasonal conditions, not to mention all the times when my PR was determined by a GPS glitch pushing me 50' down the hill for the whole attempt.  I would suggest being able to re-use old course maps for new races/windows though (basically a seasonal leaderboard in video gaming terms).

Jeff,  I think you need “local administrators “ (maybe your beta testers)  to mark the trail segment. So someone who is willing to walk the track and get a very (more?)  accurate initial segment to work from. A lot of segments on Strava are created when someone has ridden them at speed and this plays with the accuracy wildly.  

I’d also say you need to only allow these people to submit race tracks/segments so you don’t end up with a load of junk on there.  

I also think a lot of segments need retiring on Strava as the original trail thy were made on has changed dramatically. 

your real USP could be as accurate a segment as possible. 

I’ll be a beta tester if you like 👍 
 

@jeff.brines have you seen statistics-for-strava?

Open source dashboard for Strava, the guy who made it is still super involved in updates on githib and discord... It's nothing like what you're making, but it does use strava's API, and dare I say it... has heatmaps!!

You might be able to see what lessons he learned if clone the repo.

Anyway project looks ace... Something that makes mates racing easier will be a winner. Everyone is keen till it gets vaguely complicated and eyes start glazing over!