How ROUVY Communities work and how to start your own

You can belong to only one Club at a time, which makes joining one more of a commitment. Communities are less restrictive, so you can follow several interests at the same time.

How does In-Ride Chat work?

In-Ride Chat lets you exchange live text messages with other riders during an active ride or workout. You can send messages in the ROUVY App or use the Companion App, which may be easier when your main screen is out of reach. Voice input also saves you from trying to type halfway up a climb.

Messages are visible to riders in the same session and disappear after it ends. Event riders and riders using regular Ride mode on the same route cannot see one another's messages, so make sure you and your friends have joined the same type of session.

You can switch chat off when you want to concentrate. ROUVY saves separate settings for rides and workouts, allowing you to keep it visible for social rides and hide it during intervals.

A short hello is often enough to get the conversation moving. Once somebody starts chatting, the rider list feels more like a group and less like a collection of avatars.

Why join a ROUVY Club?

A ROUVY Club is a private home for a small group of up to 30 riders. Each Club has a discussion feed, member chat and weekly leaderboard covering distance, elevation and active riding time from indoor and synced outdoor rides.

You can belong to only one Club at a time. Membership can be open or approval-required, and owners can invite riders directly.

Clubs suit friends, training partners, workplace teams and real-world cycling clubs that want to stay connected between rides. The leaderboard adds a little accountability too. Nobody needs to announce that they squeezed in an extra half-hour on Sunday evening. The numbers will do it for them.

What are ROUVY Communities for?

Communities are open groups with unlimited membership, created around events, brands, routes and shared cycling interests. You can join several at once, and there is no leaderboard.

Every Community has an Owner, who may appoint Curators. Owners can let every member create posts or reserve new posts for themselves and their Curators. Everyone can still read and comment.

A Club is closer to knowing who will probably turn up on Tuesday evening. A Community feels more like the noticeboard at a busy cycling hub, with more riders, more subjects and less expectation that everybody knows one another.

Where can you find Clubs and Communities?

You can find Clubs and Communities in:

• The Social area of the ROUVY App
• The ROUVY Companion App
• Rider's Portal on the web

All Communities are open to join. Clubs may let you enter immediately or ask you to submit a request.

Owners will find the complete creation and management tools in Rider's Portal. The ROUVY App and Companion App are handy for finding groups, checking posts and staying in touch.

If you want to see where ROUVY riders already gather outside the app, our guide to the indoor cycling community by ROUVY covers the forum, the Facebook group and the wider global rider base.

See what a social ride feels like

Group rides make more sense once you have joined one. Read Inside a ROUVY group ride to see how the pacing, conversation and shared effort work, then find a ride that suits your schedule.

How do you start a Club or Community?

You currently need to reach Rider Level 10 and earn 5,000 coins before you can create a Club or Community. Once you are ready, these quick tips will help you get it moving:

• Choose one clear purpose: tell riders exactly what the group is for.
• Pick the right format: use a Club for a small regular group and a Community for a wider interest.
• Use a specific name: "Wednesday social ride" says more than "People who like cycling".
• Explain who it is for: include the expected pace, ability level, topic or goal.
• Choose the access setting: make your Club open or require approval for new members.
• Decide who can post: Community posts can be open to everyone or limited to Owners and Curators.
• Write a welcome post: explain what members can expect before inviting them.
• Set the first ride date: an actual event gives people a reason to join now.
• Invite a small core first: three active riders are worth more than 30 silent names.
• Ask a simple question: route suggestions and preferred start times are easy to answer.
• Post the pace clearly: riders should know what they are joining before the start.
• Use In-Ride Chat: greet riders and share useful information during the session.
• Keep a regular time: one dependable weekly ride is easier to remember.
• Use the Club leaderboard: turn it into a friendly weekly prompt rather than a source of pressure.
• Share results or photos: give members something to discuss after the ride.
• Welcome new arrivals: a short reply makes a new member more likely to return.
• Ask for help: Curators can keep a growing Community active.
• Avoid filling the feed: a few useful posts are better than ten announcements at once.
• Listen to the group: continue the rides and posts that receive a response.
• Keep the schedule realistic: consistency beats enthusiasm that runs out after three weeks.

Rider-led groups to search for on ROUVY

These groups show how a simple idea can develop into a recognisable place for riders to meet.

Muckers Worldwide

The Muckers Worldwide Community runs three distinct weekly formats. Sunday's Hill Climb Championship is scored by elevation rather than speed, Tuesday uses a weekly watts-per-kilogram target and Thursday is the flat-out race night, with monthly competitions feeding into an annual world championship table. The events are listed as races so riders receive credit towards ROUVY Challenges, but members also work through the routes as a group and try to meet outdoors once a year.

Team GRC

Community Team GRC welcomes everyone from first-time racers to experienced riders chasing the front pack. Its programme includes Sunday Short Races and longer Saturday events, while its Discord group gives members somewhere to ask ROUVY questions, share cycling knowledge and chat between races. Search for Team GRC in ROUVY Communities or join the Team GRC Discord.

ROUVY Tuesday & Thursday 1.5–2.5

Ellen Penney's ROUVY Tuesday & Thursday 1.5–2.5 Community has been running social rides for around five years. The name tells riders the days and pace before they join, while its "Peace, Love & Ride" motto and matching jersey set give members something to recognise on the virtual road.

Start with one group ride

A group ride gives members a date, a route and a reason to begin talking. Post the start time and expected pace, invite a few riders and encourage them to use In-Ride Chat. If you have never organised one before, how to ride with friends on ROUVY walks you through setting up that first session.

Once riders have shared a session, later posts have names and legs attached to them. That is usually where a list of members begins to feel like a real group.