[Gualdrapo]

I do use Strava a lot to record my rides and stuff, and even more since I could afford a Wahoo - but I really hate the 'social' side of Strava. It tries to make you 'competitive' so hard.

Granted, as a professional loser I'd like to find someone that likes cycling too, though cycling alone is great too - still, I'd rather find that person in one of those rides than in some weird thing like Strava fly-by's or something.

[tchock23]

Don't ever sign up for Zwift then. Zwift makes Strava look like an app made for introverts.

On Zwift your followers can be automatically notified when you start a ride, and you have zero control over them receiving that notification.

It's creepy how much they push the social aspect.

[actionablefiber]

> It tries to make you 'competitive' so hard.

I've found that it's really what you make of it. My city has a bunch of cycling subcultures - social slow rolls, fast road riding, sightseeing and exploration, commuting and errand-running - and different people like to see and talk about different types of rides and sometimes dabble in different subcultures, but generally people care way more about seeing the rides, and whatever fun banter or background context you add when you post it, than analyzing your speed and elevation.

I really love the social aspect of Strava because I'm friends with all the other people I follow on it. In some way I think it is more intimate than traditional social media. You could get a better picture of my life and how I spend my time from seeing my physical displacements during the day than by seeing the super filtered Instagram stuff that I only choose to share when I'm having a good time and doing something interesting.

[ktosobcy]

This so much... most of the time I use those online services to track my own progress (reading books, rides taken, etc) and it always results in WTF when someone leaves a like on my activity… Would love for a global setting "disable all social aspects"...

[cuu508]

Strava has "Privacy Controls" section in settings. There isn't a single global off switch, but it's not too hard to set everything to private either.

[jamil7]

Yeah, I used to use Strava to track rides when I was cycling a lot and at some point realised it just made feel bad about my own performance. I run a lot more than I ride now and only take my keys with me. I check the time before I leave and know roughly how far and log it in my calendar. Running without any tech or music/podcasts/audiobooks has also helped me focus on technique and breathing and gives me a proper break from everything.

[alx_the_new_guy]

Garmin Connect is actually fairly decent. Tracks activities (also sleep, which I find pretty useful), fairly detailed stats, little to none social features and a little gamification with challenges and achievements.

Also the watch reminds you to move from time to time.

Komoot is great for planning of "trips" and "stealing" other people's routes. I've done couple of them and you kind of never know what you're gonna see there (hopefully not agressive dogs), all of them were pretty enjoyable. It has a bit of a social aspect, but barely anyone uses it where I live, so IDK how it is.

One thing I miss from Strava are segments (or whatever they're called) - short parts of your route with it's own leader-board. Has "speedrun, but IRL" vibes, which is pretty cool IMO.

[theChaparral]

Garmin connect also has segment feature. Might have to set it up on the website, not sure.

[okwhateverdude]

It is default, but unless your activities are public, your data isn't included. It will still tell you where your recorded activity would rank (and a CTA to change the privacy). I have a couple of somewhat popular segments I ride. I try to stay in the top 100.

[jamil7]

Yeah I use Komoot a fair bit for planning rides and hikes, it’s great and pretty widely used here in Germany.

[abound]

I use RideWithGPS for this reason. It also has social features (if you want them), but making everything private is three dropdowns on a single settings page.

It also has a great route builder.

[stevage]

Yeah, I'm happier since I switched my Strava to private. My friends can see where I have been riding, but I'm not competing with the broader community.