Golden oldie Garmin Edge 530 still the most popular computer according to Strava data

Once again, the Garmin Edge 530 has proven the most popular cycle computer on Strava, according to the fitness platform's annual trend report.

This affordable GPS unit, which is now five years old was top of the pops on Strava last season too, giving credence to the old adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

Unlike last year though, Strava has given us a top-three best bike computers, both for cycling and running. Runner-up to the Edge 530 was its big brother the Edge 830, while the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt V1.

All three garnered four-and-a-half out of five stars from our testers when we reviewed them. In fact, we called the Edge 530 "quite possibly the best cycle computer Garmin has ever produced". Post Black Friday it remains a great buy, available at Amazon for £189 (24% off SRP), or $199 in the US (33% off).

With the Edge 830 we said "it feels like Garmin has finally nailed the touchscreen… we absolutely loved using the Edge 830", while we said the Elemnt Bolt was "a viable alternative to Garmin that we can highly recommend".

There were other gear insights too, with Strava drilling down even further than before to separate road from gravel. When it came to skinny tyres the top three remained exactly the same as last year, with Trek on top, followed by Specialized and Giant. The same brands featured in the gravel top-three too, just in a different order, with the rough-stuff riders preferring Spesh the most, then Trek, then Giant.

More women on bikes

Women increased their share of total cyclists on Strava by 11% in 2024 and what's more, they proved 20% more likely to bag a QoM crown than men were to win a KoM.

Their runs and rides, however, were 40% more likely to be indoors than men's – perhaps reflecting a vulnerability felt by women when out on the roads that needs to be addressed.

Additionally 35% of women's morning weekend activities are likely to be in a group – that's 20% more than men.

Mental health goals

Riding a bike is about more than bashing out the miles and getting a decent FTP for Strava users, it seems, with 58% of those surveyed saying that mental health was a health and fitness goal for 2025.

This rose to 65% for Gen Z. On a similar tack, 56% of respondents said that longevity was a goal for next year, rising to 63% for Gen X.

Going short

Shorter workouts became more popular in 2024, with most people surveyed saying their ideal workout length is 45-60min.

This played out in actual activity length too, with the median duration being 53min. When it came to weekly goals, users seemed to be setting manageable targets too, with 77% of riders meeting their aims.

Big days out had far from vanished though, with a 9% increase in century rides, ultras and marathons in 2024, and 43% of users saying they wanted to do a big race or event in 2025.