Strava vs Garmin – Strava clarifies the problem, but gets the problem wrong. Rant #2
Having sued its biggest customer, Garmin, and as a prelude to a mega-IPO in 2026, Strava has clarified its position. Its position is now as clear as mud. Here’s why.
Incredibly, Strava clarified that the lawsuits didn’t reflect the issue they had with Garmin; the real reason, they say, is that they didn’t want to put a small logo on workout data that came from your original data on Garmin Connect.
Strava vs. Garmin – Strava sets the record straight. (Except it doesn’t) – Rant #1
As I pointed out in a related post, this is hypocritical, as Strava requires its partners to do precisely that.
Furthermore, and here’s the latest crazy nugget, Strava is wrong about what is expected of them. As shown in the image below, Garmin clearly states the text Strava must add to YOUR workouts. The text doesn’t claim that the workouts are owned by Garmin or anything evil like that; it’s just required to say how the data got there….and there is no mention of a logo being needed.
I had a vague, slight problem with Garmin requiring Strava to add its logo, but as it’s not true…well. Strava, what the heck are you playing at, guys?
One slight point of order is worth making, though. As you can see below, an acceptable message is “created using data provided by Garmin devices.” This can never be known, as the FIT file that Strava received merely has various Garmin identifiers, signalling the company and watch model as the source. It is super-easy to modify the FIT file from a Wahoo bike computer and change it to say it’s from a Garmin Fenix 8 Pro.
Top tip: Get out of bed on the other side tomorrow morning. You got out on the wrong side today.
Q: How do you think Ride with GPS will fare from this?
Q: Do you think the real case is a PR stunt by Strava to support its IPO, did Garmin agree not to get annoyed by it?
Answers below on a postcard, please.
With 20 years of testing Garmin wearables and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, I provide expert insights into fitness tech, helping athletes and casual users make informed choices.
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What makes you think the generic requirements Garmin has for smaller integrations is what applies to Strava? It seems obvious that Strava and Garmin would have a custom agreement for their integration
What makes you think the generic requirements Garmin has for small integrations is what applies to Strava? It seems obvious that Strava and Garmin would have a bespoke agreement.
As to your suggestion FIT file metadata can be faked, what? Strava knows when data comes from Garmin because _it comes via the Garmin integration._
1. in that case strava has very poor negotiators and garmin unreasonable ones
2. manually uploaded data direct to strava, possibly also manually uplaoded files to Connect. small in number admittedly