Suffermate

Project Overview

As a long time Strava user, I noticed a big gap in the platform, there just wasn’t a reliable way to track your bike components in detail. I’m talking drivetrain, tyres, hubs, all the bits that make a difference when you’re clocking serious kms.

There was clearly a need for a more complete solution, something that gives users a central place to track both their gear and their rides. That’s where the idea for Suffermate came in.

Team

Design team (myself)
Development team
Early adopters / test users

Role

Product design
UX research
Interactive prototyping & testing
Market & technology research

Tools

Figma
Google docs
Photoshop
Illustrator

The Problem

Strava does an excellent job at tracking your rides, but it falls short when it comes to gear management. You can’t get granular with the data, things like how long a drivetrain has lasted or how many kms your tyres have done before needing a swap.

For cyclists and athletes who take their performance seriously (and like to nerd out on stats), this kind of information matters. Not just for gear maintenance, but for optimising performance and avoiding mechanical issues mid-race or on a big ride.

Project Process

Suffermate is a companion fitness app designed to plug the gaps left by Strava. It gives users a complete yearly activity overview and allows them to track individual equipment parts over time.

The app is being built using Strava’s API, allowing full integration with the activity feed. So any ride logged on Strava can sync into Suffermate and from there, users can assign specific gear to specific rides and monitor usage across time.

For example, athletes will be able to see exactly how many kms a particular chain or cassette has done and get notified when it’s time for a service or replacement. That means better performance and less risk of breakdowns during key rides.

The design is responsive and mobile first, and the end goal is to offer a native app for both Android and iOS, alongside a web version. Right now it’s still in active development with an MVP already prototyped and tested with early adopters.

Responsibilities & Contributions

Persona development
Market and technology research
Design ideation and concept exploration
Wireframing and UX design
UI design and prototyping
User testing and feedback loops

Outcome & Learnings

Suffermate is still a work in progress, but it’s shaping up to be something genuinely useful for the cycling community, especially for the gear focused rider. It’s exciting to be solving a problem I’ve personally experienced and the feedback so far has been super encouraging.

As the project evolves, I’ll continue to refine the UX, roll out new features and keep testing with real users to make sure it delivers real value. Watch this space.