Why it matters:
Strava is the virtual meeting ground for millions of runners, cyclists, and endurance athletes. When its CEO, Mike Martin, sat down for an AMA on Reddit this week, users responded with curiosity—and critique. The conversation offered an unusually candid look into the platform’s challenges, future plans, and Martin’s own priorities at the helm.
What’s happening
On April 10, Strava CEO Mike Martin hosted a one-hour AMA on Reddit’s r/Strava, fielding questions from more than 250 commenters across nearly 500 total comments. Martin, who joined Strava in 2022 after a long tenure at Google, now leads the world’s dominant social fitness platform for runners and cyclists.
Strava has little direct competition. With more than 120 million athletes and an unmatched stranglehold on the endurance sports social space, it occupies a near-monopoly position. But emerging players like Runna—an AI-powered coaching and training app with its own virtual community—are beginning to nibble at the edges of Strava’s dominance. That context made Martin’s AMA all the more compelling.
The tone was respectful but candid: a mix of optimism, frustration, and curiosity from an audience deeply invested in the platform’s direction.
1. Race Predictions and AI Coaching? A Winky Face Says It All
One of the AMA’s most upvoted questions came from a user who asked:
“Would love to see Strava provide race predictions and dynamic training plans, similar to Runna.”
Martin’s initial response?
“😉”
That single emoji launched a wave of speculation. While he later followed up with a more tempered reply—“We are very excited about AI and have a few things in the works, but not ready to announce specifics yet”—the winky face felt like a strategic teaser.
With the popularity of AI-driven platforms like Runna growing, Strava’s user base clearly wants smarter, more dynamic coaching tools. Martin’s non-denial suggests such features could be on the horizon.
2. Frustrated by Feature Gaps? You’re Not Alone
A recurring theme from the community was frustration over inconsistent features between Strava’s desktop and mobile experiences.
One of the most upvoted comments (250+ upvotes) read:
“Strava is by far the one with the biggest difference in features and behaviours between the website version and the app.”
Martin responded with surprising candor:
“Some of the differences are by design, and some of them are because we’re still working on bringing select features across web<>mobile. We started off around 2009 as a web-only product… our architecture remained very web-centric.”
He added that just 1% of Strava’s users are web-only, which informs their mobile-first approach—but acknowledged the demand for a more unified experience:
“We try to make sure that features are rolled out on the platforms that make the most sense… there are some things like sophisticated route planning that are better done on web than on a mobile screen.”
3. Subscription Value: Still a Work in Progress
Several commenters took issue with the perceived imbalance between subscription costs and delivered value—particularly when new features are locked to mobile or feel incomplete. Martin defended the strategy while admitting it’s a work in progress:
“We want subscribers to feel like they’re getting value, and we’re actively working on better consistency across the board. Your feedback on this is extremely helpful.”
One user noted “Best Efforts” tracking isn’t fully available on desktop, despite being billed as a subscription perk. Martin didn’t reply directly to that comment, but his broader remarks about web/mobile parity suggest the team is aware of this and other gaps.
4. Where Strava Is Going: Smarter, Safer, and More Social
Martin offered high-level thoughts on the direction of the company, focused on growing the platform in three main areas: community engagement, performance tools, and safety features. While not all ideas were fleshed out, he teased upcoming developments:
“We’re investing in tools that help athletes train smarter and stay safer. There’s more coming soon—we’re just not quite ready to share all the details yet.”
Strava has already expanded features around group activities, route creation, and messaging, and Martin hinted that further evolution of the social experience is coming.
5. Feedback Loop: How Reddit Is Shaping the Roadmap
Throughout the AMA, Martin returned repeatedly to one theme: the user community drives product strategy.
“We hear you. The ideas in this thread are already sparking internal conversations. Reddit isn’t just a PR stop—it’s part of how we prioritize.”
Top-upvoted user questions ranged from nitty-gritty feature requests to broader philosophical questions about the future of the platform. Several responses reinforced Martin’s openness to feedback, and he pledged to host more AMAs going forward.
The bottom line
Martin’s AMA didn’t unveil splashy new features, but it did something potentially more important: it acknowledged the platform’s faults and gave voice to a passionate user base. Whether that turns into tangible product change remains to be seen—but this was a start.
