I Might Delete Strava - Here’s Why

I’ve been on Strava for more than a decade. It started as a simple log of my rides — a way to see progress, share routes, and connect with friends. At some point, it became part of how I defined myself as a cyclist. Every climb, every PR, every comment on a ride was a small hit of validation.

But lately, I’ve been asking myself if I still need it. Or more honestly, if I still want it.

The Garmin lawsuit

The first moment that made me question it was reading about Strava suing Garmin. Who sues the company that basically made them what they are? Garmin devices are behind a massive share of all ride uploads. Depending on the source, over half of all cycling activities on Strava come from Garmin computers. Suing them feels like turning against your own ecosystem.

Strava claims Garmin copied two of its patents — the concept of segments and heatmaps. Garmin integrated both into its devices, and Strava says that breaks a long-standing cooperation agreement between them. The lawsuit demands that Garmin disable those features or stop selling certain devices altogether. Even if that never happens, the idea alone feels wrong.

Garmin built the tools that let us record our rides. Strava built the platform that let us share them. It was a partnership that made sense. Seeing those two fight over ownership of features that belong, in many ways, to us — the riders who generate the data — feels out of touch with what cycling is about.

The personal side

For me, the bigger shift is more personal. I’ve noticed that I barely open Strava anymore. I record my rides on the Garmin, it syncs automatically, and that’s about it.

I used to scroll through my feed after every ride, checking who rode where, giving a few kudos, seeing how I ranked on a climb. That excitement has faded. I don’t chase PRs anymore. I don’t look at my weekly totals. Even seeing someone else’s big day out doesn’t inspire me the same way — it just makes me want to go outside and ride without thinking about uploads or comments.

The changing platform

Strava has also changed. It’s less of a training tool and more of a social app. The constant prompts to subscribe, the new feature gates, the “for you” recommendations — it all feels heavier. The simple joy of uploading a ride has turned into another stream of content to manage.

And then there’s data. Who owns it, who uses it, and for what. Strava’s business depends on the data we all feed into it. That’s not a secret, but it feels different when the platform starts fighting over that data in court.

What I still like

There are things Strava still does well. Route discovery is solid, and heatmaps are useful for finding lesser-known roads. I still like seeing where friends have been riding, especially those living far away. And for group rides or events, it’s convenient.

But when I think about what I actually value from those features, it’s not much that I couldn’t get elsewhere. Garmin Connect already logs everything I care about — distance, power, elevation, heart rate. If I want performance insights, I have Intervals.icu. If I want to share something, I can do it on my own terms.

What matters now

Maybe it’s just part of how we grow as riders. At some point, you stop needing digital validation for your effort. You know what a good ride feels like — legs that hurt in the right way, a new climb that challenges you, a sunrise that makes you stop for a photo.

When I finish a ride now, I don’t reach for the app. I just breathe, stretch, maybe wash the bike. That’s enough.

Where this leaves me

So I haven’t deleted Strava. Not yet. But I’m thinking about it seriously.

The Garmin lawsuit might fade away, or it might drag on for years. Either way, it exposed something deeper — that Strava has lost a bit of its connection to the people who made it what it is. Riders who just want to log their rides, explore, and share in a genuine way.

Maybe one day I’ll stop uploading altogether. Maybe I’ll keep it quietly running in the background, just for history. But for now, I’m letting the thought of not using it settle in.

Because sometimes, stepping back helps you remember why you started riding in the first place.

What about you? Do you still use Strava for motivation, or do you ride for yourself now?