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This is just another example of how frustrating it is to try and keep track of workout data! I personally have tried Nike+, Google Fit, now I have Fitbit... it

This is just another example of how frustrating it is to try and keep track of workout data! I personally have tried Nike+, Google Fit, now I have Fitbit... it is hard to keep track of all of this! Companies try to keep users locked into their ecosystem but the companies come and go!

buro9 7y ago
My joy at having purchased a Garmin device is discovering I can't see that data in Google Fit. At least... not without sharing the data even wider to jump from sync service to sync service until a magical path or co-operation emerges that connects the two services together!
Ididntdothis 7y ago
I am really starting to hate all the cloud stuff. Wherever you put your data there is a very good chance you will lose that in a few years. For my hikes I now store GPX files locally and I will do that with FiT files too.
- nraynaud 7y ago
  And it’s always the story of the little guy creating his company amongst the big bullies and becoming the bully as soon as they gain size.
- siddharthdeswal 7y ago
  Agreed, most "cloud" software slowly try to lock you in, only to lose it in a few years when they get sold, or shut shop, or don't get the next round of funding. It's a pain, and I now wish we just have internet connected hard drives where we can save whatever we want.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    “internet connected hard drives where we can save whatever we want.” That’s how it should be. You have your data under your control and give companies access which you then can revoke whenever you wish.
- d1zzy 7y ago
  I keep all my .fit files uploaded to Google Drive. So I do use the cloud stuff but it seems unlikely (barring a disaster) that it'll go away anytime soon. If it does I can simply upload them to another cloud file storage service. When I joined Strava (8 years ago... wow time moves fast) I immediately realized it's not the best place to use as main storage of your fitness activities. Not just because it might just "go away" at any time (and back then they didn't have any clear monetization plan, not that it's much better now) but because it didn't seem to provide a mechanism to bulk upload/download the original .fit files. You uploaded a .fit file but then downloaded some other format (.gpx I believe?). That made it clear it's not a good place for archiving/storage. Since .fit files are really small, even using something like Google Drive's 5GB free tier should be plenty for many years of fitness activity storage.
nradov 7y ago
If you're willing to commit to the Garmin ecosystem (fitness trackers, bike computers, sensors) then it can track (almost) all workout data across multiple devices. They've been around for years and probably aren't going anywhere. The down side is that their device firmware QA is rather weak and updates often introduce new defects.
- penagwin 7y ago
  > They've been around for years and probably aren't going anywhere. Even if they don't go anywhere, all it takes is to not support certain devices, block some other services, maybe focus on a different market (They didn't use to be as into fitness trackers), etc.
  - nradov 7y ago
    Yes that's always a risk. The Garmin Connect cloud service has only ever supported their own devices, but after 15+ years they've never dropped support for any of those. Third party service integration is fairly good. If they do block another service you can still always download your original FIT files and manually upload them elsewhere.
samuel 7y ago
Android's Syncmytracks has served me fine to keep all my runs in Endomondo. Worth a try.
8ytecoder 7y ago
I think of all the types of data, it’s workout data that’s freely moving between systems. I use Apple Watch, Garmin, Peloton, Zwift and Cyclemeter. I have various ways to move data between them. Of course there are gotchas but it mostly works. Apple health drops GPS data and heart rate when synced to. Strava is my primary hub and the bulk export feature neatly exports all the workouts as is. Zwift syncs to Garmin and Strava and Garmin syncs to health. Peloton syncs to health and Strava. And so on. I use strava as the hub. Primarily because of the bulk export feature and their ability to maintain the original Workout upload as is.
stevenwoo 7y ago
Have you tried Golden Cheetah? It's open source and takes data from a lot of different devices. It's aimed at cyclists/triathletes but can be used by other endurance athletes. https://www.goldencheetah.org/ https://www.goldencheetah.org/
- tb303 7y ago
  Agreed, Golden Cheetah is incredible. I stopped using TrainingPeaks and SportTracks when I found it
sorenjan 7y ago
I've been using tapiriik.com to sync my activities from Strava to a folder on Dropbox. It's been working fine for years, but about two weeks ago I got an email from Strava saying they've temporarily deactivated the syncing to Tapiriik, and it's still offline. I still recommend Tapiriik, it can sync between a lot of different services. I don't like the idea of having years worth of personal data on a proprietary platform, so I like the ability to keep them as GPX-files on Dropbox. https://tapiriik.com/ https://tapiriik.com/

buro9 7y ago

My joy at having purchased a Garmin device is discovering I can't see that data in Google Fit. At least... not without sharing the data even wider to jump from sync service to sync service until a magical path or co-operation emerges that connects the two services together!

Ididntdothis 7y ago

I am really starting to hate all the cloud stuff. Wherever you put your data there is a very good chance you will lose that in a few years. For my hikes I now store GPX files locally and I will do that with FiT files too.

nraynaud 7y ago
And it’s always the story of the little guy creating his company amongst the big bullies and becoming the bully as soon as they gain size.
siddharthdeswal 7y ago
Agreed, most "cloud" software slowly try to lock you in, only to lose it in a few years when they get sold, or shut shop, or don't get the next round of funding. It's a pain, and I now wish we just have internet connected hard drives where we can save whatever we want.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  “internet connected hard drives where we can save whatever we want.” That’s how it should be. You have your data under your control and give companies access which you then can revoke whenever you wish.
d1zzy 7y ago
I keep all my .fit files uploaded to Google Drive. So I do use the cloud stuff but it seems unlikely (barring a disaster) that it'll go away anytime soon. If it does I can simply upload them to another cloud file storage service. When I joined Strava (8 years ago... wow time moves fast) I immediately realized it's not the best place to use as main storage of your fitness activities. Not just because it might just "go away" at any time (and back then they didn't have any clear monetization plan, not that it's much better now) but because it didn't seem to provide a mechanism to bulk upload/download the original .fit files. You uploaded a .fit file but then downloaded some other format (.gpx I believe?). That made it clear it's not a good place for archiving/storage. Since .fit files are really small, even using something like Google Drive's 5GB free tier should be plenty for many years of fitness activity storage.

nradov 7y ago

If you're willing to commit to the Garmin ecosystem (fitness trackers, bike computers, sensors) then it can track (almost) all workout data across multiple devices. They've been around for years and probably aren't going anywhere. The down side is that their device firmware QA is rather weak and updates often introduce new defects.

penagwin 7y ago
> They've been around for years and probably aren't going anywhere. Even if they don't go anywhere, all it takes is to not support certain devices, block some other services, maybe focus on a different market (They didn't use to be as into fitness trackers), etc.
- nradov 7y ago
  Yes that's always a risk. The Garmin Connect cloud service has only ever supported their own devices, but after 15+ years they've never dropped support for any of those. Third party service integration is fairly good. If they do block another service you can still always download your original FIT files and manually upload them elsewhere.

samuel 7y ago

Android's Syncmytracks has served me fine to keep all my runs in Endomondo. Worth a try.

8ytecoder 7y ago

I think of all the types of data, it’s workout data that’s freely moving between systems. I use Apple Watch, Garmin, Peloton, Zwift and Cyclemeter. I have various ways to move data between them. Of course there are gotchas but it mostly works. Apple health drops GPS data and heart rate when synced to. Strava is my primary hub and the bulk export feature neatly exports all the workouts as is. Zwift syncs to Garmin and Strava and Garmin syncs to health. Peloton syncs to health and Strava. And so on. I use strava as the hub. Primarily because of the bulk export feature and their ability to maintain the original Workout upload as is.

stevenwoo 7y ago

Have you tried Golden Cheetah? It's open source and takes data from a lot of different devices. It's aimed at cyclists/triathletes but can be used by other endurance athletes. https://www.goldencheetah.org/ https://www.goldencheetah.org/

tb303 7y ago
Agreed, Golden Cheetah is incredible. I stopped using TrainingPeaks and SportTracks when I found it

sorenjan 7y ago

I've been using tapiriik.com to sync my activities from Strava to a folder on Dropbox. It's been working fine for years, but about two weeks ago I got an email from Strava saying they've temporarily deactivated the syncing to Tapiriik, and it's still offline. I still recommend Tapiriik, it can sync between a lot of different services. I don't like the idea of having years worth of personal data on a proprietary platform, so I like the ability to keep them as GPX-files on Dropbox. https://tapiriik.com/ https://tapiriik.com/