Personally, the only reason I use this app is to keep in touch with friends for running, so I will definitely be canceling my subscription since keeping in touch is free. I try to support companies because I feel they are providing a service and I believe in that. And when a subscription promises higher features and better support, I feel like doing it. But after a while of being annoyed at a lack of in app features for a subscription, I have to take my money elsewhere. Here is the big reason for the cancel - all the features I want to use I have to log-in to the internet site to optimize. For a paid subscriber I should be able to optimize right in app. Could be my phone version (iPhone 6), but honestly, if that is the reason, I feel even more motivated to cancel. My phone is fully functional with other apps. I basically use my apps on my phone for a lot. And if a company is spending the money on the app development (through subscriptions), some basic things like being able to change shoe brands should be matter of fact (gotta log-in to the site for that). Another dislike - making a route is quite annoying. Again have to log-in for that. Also, the GPS tracking is not accurate (could be my phone). I could go on. These are my personal annoyances. Some people may be okay with having to log-in just to alter shoes or when trying to make a route, but not my cup of tea. I am on the go so I want the in-app functionality. Short of that, not worth the subscription price. I can keep up with friends other ways. Don’t need to pay for it. Lesson learned for me.

I’m still relatively new to mountain biking. Been riding for 3 years now, but mostly at a beginner level, as I typically don’t ride enough to qualify myself as an intermediate rider. Without fact-checking, I’d say I average 6-8 rides per year, although I recently set a goal to ride at least once every weekend (tomorrow will be 5 in a row). What I do know is that every single person I ride with uses Strava, including some very experienced riders. Some use GPS watches and upload their rides when they get home, and some, like me, use the cell phone app. If you’ve got the latest Apple Watch like me, Strava can be used very conveniently without getting your phone out of your bag/pocket. The app offers a great way to track your mileage, speed, elevation, segments/trails ridden, personal record times, etc. - all with relative accuracy. Over the past few years, they have added hiking and a few other modes of travel, which I think is great (would love to see skiing and snowboarding eventually). The app is a great way to track your own rides, see what friends are doing, see who else is riding trails, and see how fast others are riding, to help set goals and even compete. You can upload ride photos directly into Strava. You can also set it up for several different bikes, if you’ve got more than one, unlike me. There are even challenges and clubs you can join, although I haven’t explored much of that feature. I use Strava, for free, for the very simple function of tracking my rides, and checking out what my friends are riding. The only thing I don’t think Strava provides, which I use Trailforks for, is finding available trails and trail systems in any area.

I enjoy using this for tracking the distance, elevation gain, and other numbers linked to my cycling, at least as decent estimates. And KOMs add a fun extra challenge to some rides, though I don’t have too much faith in especially the longer segment timing. I have noticed when friends and I are riding together and we start a segment at the exact same time, but I make it to the end of the road or segment sometimes 30 seconds ahead of them, but they rank higher than me on the segment for that day? But my only real issue with this app beside a few bugs that the Strava team does a good job with patching quickly, is the notifications. I like that they pop up on my phone and alert me when someone has commented, gave kudos, or follow requested. However, when you click on the notification and open the app to display whatever the notification was about, to get rid of the in app notification icon, you have to sometimes go from your notification page, to your feed page, back to your notification page, and then finally back to your feed page. And the notifications stack for specific activities, so if you got 20 kudos since you checked last, only the most recent person pops up as giving you kudos. Not a big deal, but like other social media apps, it can be nice to know which of your friends has given you kudos without having to go into the activity and searching through to see. All around this is a really great app, but the little issues with user friendliness in this regard, keep it from 5 stars for me.