SpokePlan

How to import a GPX file: Garmin, Komoot, Ride with GPS, Strava, Wahoo

Updated 2026-04-19

Got a GPX file and need it on your bike computer or cycling app? Here’s how to import a .gpx into the five places most cyclists use: Garmin Connect, Komoot, Ride with GPS, Strava, and Wahoo ELEMNT.

These steps work with any standard GPX file, whether you planned the route on SpokePlan, exported it from another tool, or a friend sent one over.

Garmin Connect

Three options, depending on where the .gpx lives.

From the web

  1. Open Garmin Connect Courses.
  2. Click Import (top-right), pick your .gpx file.
  3. Review, then Send to Device. Your paired Edge, Fenix, or Venu picks it up on the next sync.

From the Garmin Connect app on Android

  1. Tap the .gpx in Downloads, Drive, or an email attachment.
  2. Choose Open with… → Garmin Connect.
  3. Name the course, save, then tap Send to Device.

From the Garmin Connect app on iOS

  1. Tap the .gpx in Files, iCloud Drive, or an email attachment.
  2. Tap the Share icon, then Copy to Connect (tap More if it’s not in the first row).
  3. Name the course, save, then tap Send to Device.

If Copy to Connect isn’t in the share sheet, fall back to the web method above. iOS sometimes hides it when other GPX-aware apps are installed.

Older Edge units

If yours isn’t picking up the course over Wi-Fi, plug it in and side-load with Garmin Express.

Komoot

  1. Go to komoot.com/upload (you need to be signed in).
  2. Drop the .gpx file in or click to browse.
  3. Check the preview. Komoot may realign your route to its own roads, so scan the whole map before saving and nudge anything that drifted.
  4. Save as a tour.

Ride with GPS

  1. Open Ride with GPS Upload.
  2. Select your .gpx file. On the save form, make sure Record as Trip is off so it saves as a Route you can navigate, not a ride you already did.
  3. Save. It’s now in your account and visible in the mobile app.

Strava

Uploading a route to Strava needs a Strava subscription. With one:

  1. Open Strava’s route builder.
  2. Use the upload option in the builder to pick your .gpx file.
  3. Name it, then save.

Once saved, the route syncs to the Strava mobile app and head units paired with Strava.

Wahoo (ELEMNT)

The companion app depends on your device:

The upload flow is the same in both:

  1. Open the app.
  2. Explore → My Collection → My Routes → (+) Add → Import a file.
  3. Pick your .gpx. It syncs to the head unit automatically.

Shortcut: tap the .gpx on your phone and pick the Wahoo or ELEMNT Companion app as the opener.

Wahoo doesn’t have a consumer web upload page. If you want to import via the web, upload the .gpx to Ride with GPS, Komoot, or Strava first, then link that service in the Wahoo app and the route syncs across.

Question I didn’t cover? Drop me a line at hello@spokeplan.com.

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