Study shows cycling apps become wellness tools, not just competition trackers

Are sports apps only about competition and breaking personal records? Research conducted by scientists from SWPS University shows that cycling enthusiasts in Eastern Europe are increasingly treating digital tools as a path to well-being and comfort, not necessarily as a virtual racetrack.

Cycling enthusiasts eagerly embrace digital tools that not only allow them to track their achievements, but also provide a space for finding inspiration and community building.

Researchers from SWPS University decided to analyze how cyclists use sports apps and digital platforms, and what narratives they create around those tools. They focused on two apps: Zwift and Strava. The former can be described as an interactive cycling application, which enables users to traverse virtual routes in their living rooms while riding their bicycle on a trainer. The latter is one of the most popular activity-tracking applications.

Both applications allow users to integrate health monitoring sensors and devices. They can also be used to share achievements with a specific group of people on social media. The key tool for operating both platforms and transferring data between them is the smartphone.

The study group was selected primarily on the basis of their engagement in local cycling social media linked to two YouTube lifestyle and cycling channels. Eighty cyclists from Eastern Europe completed an online questionnaire with open and closed questions, and 10 in-depth interviews were conducted. The researchers wanted to understand how digital tools were being used by their users for self-development, maintaining health, and community building, not just for measuring athletic performance.

The results are described in the paper “Mobile health cycling: How Eastern European amateur cycling enthusiasts frame their experiences with Zwift and Strava,” published in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport.

Digital tools used every day

The analysis was conducted by Mateusz Felczak, Ph.D., a cultural studies expert from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, and Mirosław Filiciak, Ph.D., a media expert, professor at SWPS University and director of the Institute of Humanities at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. It shows that digital platforms and social media, originally intended to enable performance monitoring, are an important part of the cycling world—they influence cyclists’ motivations, activities, and perceptions of physical activity.

Researchers have observed that digitally enhanced forms of both indoor and outdoor cycling are more often associated with common, everyday activities than with participation in races or other public events.

Participants were asked, among other things, about their motivations to use an indoor trainer. The most frequent motivation for choosing indoor cycling was the desire to gain or maintain physical fitness (85%). The second motivation was economic factors. The cost of maintaining outdoor equipment was a frequent topic among participants: even without serious accidents, bicycles used outdoors in typical Eastern European weather conditions require regular maintenance and periodic replacement of mechanical parts, which is a significant entry barrier in this sport. Nearly three-quarters of respondents use indoor trainers regularly.

Respondents emphasized that using indoor trainers is a more convenient, safer, and weather-independent form of activity for them. They also noted that it is easier to find time for it, and it allows for a more precise training plan. The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant factor in many people’s involvement in indoor cycling.

More than competition

Why exactly do cyclists use apps like Zwift and Strava? For most, the main reasons are general well-being and maintaining a desired level of physical fitness, which is directly related to their social lives. It also turns that being inspired by the achievements of others is very important to users. 67.5% of respondents indicated “being inspired by tracking the achievements and workout routines of others,” while only 56.4% chose “tracking personal training data in real-time.”

Although applications like Zwift offer the possibility of participating in virtual races, nearly half of respondents say they are not interested in watching online competitions. Furthermore, 35.6% of respondents declared they were not interested in participating in online contests on digital cycling applications and platforms, and 22.2% had never done so. This aligns with observations on YouTube, where viewers are more interested in cycling itself, rather than cheering on others.

“Our results show that applications designed as advanced performance measurement tools are becoming platforms for building communities, inspiring each another, and shaping an identity associated with cycling as a lifestyle that prioritizes mental health and social aspects over pure competition,” Felczak emphasizes.