Can you merge activities on Strava?
Yes, you can combine the data from separate activities and upload it as one new activity. Strava itself does not have a built-in merge feature. Its official guidance on merging activities points to third-party tools.
Stitch is a free tool for joining consecutive cycling activities already on your Strava account. It brings them into time order, shows you the route and each join, and creates a GPX file. You can download that file or explicitly confirm an upload to Strava.
It suits a ride split by a café stop, an accidentally ended activity, or a restart after changing your route. Combining two devices that recorded the same ride at the same time is a different task; Stitch rejects overlapping activities.
Before you start
Sync each part of your ride to Strava. Stitch currently supports two to eight activities with the standard Ride sport type, with GPS data and up to 50,000 points in total. Manual entries, runs, other ride types, and overlapping tracks are not supported.
Decide whether the activities belong to one ride. A short stop and restart is straightforward; a long break or a move to another location needs a closer look. Missing GPS data cannot be recovered by merging.
Keep your originals while you build and inspect the preview. If you might later remove an activity from Strava, also keep its original device file if you have it. Stitch’s backup contains reconstructed GPX files, not the original FIT files from your bike computer.
How to join your Strava activities with Stitch
Connect your Strava account
Open Stitch and choose Connect with Strava. Review the permissions on Strava’s authorization screen. Activity access lets Stitch read the ride data, including private activities; upload access lets it create a new ride when you confirm.
Select the parts of your ride
Choose between two and eight Ride activities from your activity list. Stitch orders them by their start times. Check the dates and titles so you select the parts of the same outing.
Review the route and every join
Open the preview and compare the map, times, distance, and gaps with what happened on the ride. Each original activity remains a separate track segment. Stitch does not draw a made-up GPS track between the end of one activity and the start of the next.
Download the merged GPX
You can stop here and keep a single file of the combined ride. Download the backup bundle too if you need reconstructed copies of each original activity. Creating or downloading a preview does not change your activities on Strava.
Confirm an upload when you’re ready
Choose a title, review the gap confirmation and your Strava default activity visibility, then confirm the upload. Stitch cannot set “Only You” through Strava’s documented upload API. Open the new activity in Strava to check its map, totals, and visibility. If Strava reports a duplicate, follow the separate steps below.
What carries across when you combine activities?
A merged GPX is a new activity file. It can carry the recorded track and supported samples available from Strava, but it is not a complete copy of the original activity pages.
| Data | What to expect |
|---|---|
| GPS and timestamps | Original positions and times, with separate segments for the activities. |
| Elevation and sensors | Available elevation, distance, temperature, heart rate, and cadence samples. |
| Distance, time, elevation totals | The preview uses source totals. Strava may recalculate them after import. |
| Power, laps, device metadata | Not transferred by Stitch’s GPX export. |
| Photos, kudos, comments | Not transferred to the new activity. Deleting originals loses their social history. |
What happens to pauses and missing sections?
Suppose you end the first activity at 10:35 and start the next at 10:38. If you were stopped for those three minutes, that is a real pause. Stitch keeps both timestamps instead of shifting the second activity backwards to hide the break.
If you were still cycling, that part of the route was not recorded. Stitch preserves the gap; it cannot know which road you took or how fast you travelled. A map can show the recorded parts together without turning the missing section into measured distance.
Moving time and elapsed time can therefore differ, and Strava’s imported totals may differ from the preview. Check the result against the ride you actually did. If the activities overlap in time, Stitch asks you to choose a different set instead of silently dropping points or counting both tracks.
What if Strava rejects the upload as a duplicate?
The combined ride contains data already present in your originals, so Strava may reject it as a duplicate. Strava’s guidance says the existing activities may need to be removed before the combined file can be uploaded.
Stitch never deletes an activity on Strava. After a duplicate rejection, it requires you to download a backup bundle before continuing. Inspect that backup and remember that it cannot restore photos, kudos, comments, or every device field.
If you decide to proceed, remove the relevant original activities yourself in Strava. Return to Stitch and confirm their removal separately. Stitch checks that the originals are no longer available before allowing another upload attempt. You can also keep the originals and retain the stitched GPX without uploading it.
A few more things to know
Is Stitch free to use?
Yes. Previewing, downloading, and uploading through Stitch are free. During early access, Strava limits how many accounts can connect. You can explore the example preview without an account.
Can I merge GPX, FIT, or TCX files directly?
Stitch currently reads activities from your connected Strava account and exports GPX. It does not offer local file import. If your ride is still on your device, first sync the individual activities to Strava.
Can I combine a ride and a run?
Not with the current version of Stitch. It supports standard Ride activities only. A multisport activity or two simultaneous device tracks needs a tool designed for that kind of merge.
Will my private rides become public?
Your activity data in Stitch is available only to your connected account. Uploading creates a new Strava activity using your Strava account’s default visibility. Check that setting before uploading. Read how Stitch handles your data for storage, backups, and disconnecting.