Send the Right File for Club Rides: GPX, TCX, or FIT

Pick GPX to share a route, TCX when you need lap and workout structure, and FIT when you want the full sensor record from your ride. Each format trades something for something else: GPX wins on compatibility, TCX adds training context, and FIT captures the richest data at the smallest file size. Coffeeride works with all three, but knowing which one to send makes every group ride and club upload smoother.

TL;DR:

• GPX files are ideal for simple route sharing and navigation, but they do not retain sensor data like heart rate or power.
• TCX files add workout structure with laps and course steps, making them suitable for structured training exchanges, though compatibility is not universal.
• FIT files store comprehensive activity data including sensor details and device metadata, often remaining in a binary format that offers the smallest size for rich data.
• Converting between formats results in data loss, with GPX stripping sensor info and TCX losing session details when shifted from FIT, so the choice depends on the specific use case.
• For group rides, sharing routes as GPX is most common, while FIT is used for in-depth post-ride analysis, and specifying preferred formats in invitations helps avoid compatibility issues.

Table of Contents

• GPX vs TCX vs FIT at a glance
• What is a GPX file and when should you use it?
• What does TCX add over GPX for structured training?
• What is a FIT file and why do devices use it natively?
• How do you choose the right format for the task at hand?
• How do you convert between formats without losing data?
• How Coffeeride members share files for group rides
• What matters more than the format debate
• Share your next ride through Coffeeride
• Sources
• FAQ

GPX vs TCX vs FIT at a glance

Before diving into each format, here’s how they stack up on the things that actually matter when you’re planning a ride or sharing one.

Two things trip riders up when they move between formats. Converting a FIT file down to GPX strips out heart rate, cadence, and power, since GPX typically stores only GPS trackpoints and elevation. And TCX sits in an odd middle ground: it carries lap and session structure that GPX lacks, but it still can’t hold the sensor depth FIT does.

• Clubs often standardize on GPX for route previews because members don’t need a converter to open it.
• Coaches lean on TCX when they want workout targets to survive the trip from one training platform to another.

What is a GPX file and when should you use it?

GPX, short for GPS Exchange Format, is a plain text XML file built around three ideas: tracks, routes, and waypoints. That simplicity is exactly why it’s supported almost everywhere, from bike computers to mapping apps to Strava. If you’ve ever downloaded a route to follow on a group ride, there’s a good chance it came as a GPX file.

A typical GPX track holds a string of trackpoints, each with latitude, longitude, and a timestamp. Elevation is usually included, and waypoints can mark rest stops, turns, or points of interest. What it generally leaves out is sensor data: no heart rate, no cadence, no power numbers baked into the standard fields.

That makes GPX the right pick for:

• Sharing a planned route with riders before a group ride.
• Loading a course onto a GPS device or navigation app.
• Publishing a route publicly where file size and easy editing matter more than sensor detail.

It’s the wrong pick when you need to preserve a full training file, since GPX simply isn’t built to carry that.

Pro Tip: Strip unnecessary waypoints and simplify track density before sharing a GPX file. It keeps the file lightweight and loads faster on other people’s devices.

What does TCX add over GPX for structured training?

TCX, or Training Center XML, is Garmin’s answer to a gap GPX leaves wide open: structure. Like GPX, it’s XML text you can open and read, but it organizes data into laps, sessions, and course steps rather than a flat list of points.

That structure is the whole reason TCX exists. A GPX track tells you where you went. A TCX file can tell you where you went, how the ride broke into laps, and what the workout targets were for each segment.

TCX earns its place when:

• You’re exchanging a structured workout and need interval or lap boundaries to survive the transfer.
• A course includes turn-by-turn steps rather than just a line on a map.
• A training platform expects session summaries alongside the raw track.

The catch is compatibility. TCX is supported by most major training platforms, but it’s not as universally accepted as GPX for simple route sharing, and converting a TCX file into GPX usually flattens the lap and course-step data down to a plain track. If the workout structure is the point, going to GPX defeats the purpose.

What is a FIT file and why do devices use it natively?

FIT, the Flexible and Interoperable Data Transfer protocol, is a binary format built specifically for storing and sharing data from sport, fitness, and health devices, according to Garmin’s FIT SDK documentation. Unlike GPX and TCX, you can’t open a FIT file in a text editor and make sense of it. It’s organized around predefined message types instead of a document structure.

A FIT activity file typically includes File Id, Activity, Session, Lap, Record, and Event messages based on Garmin’s own FIT Cookbook documentation on decoding activity files. Record messages carry the continuous stream: GPS position, heart rate, cadence, and power, sampled throughout the ride. Session and Lap messages hold summaries, and device metadata identifies what recorded the file.

Many devices record activity as FIT files natively, and FIT is commonly used in platform APIs to transfer activity data between fitness platforms, per Garmin’s developer documentation. That’s a meaningful detail if you’re moving a ride from your bike computer to a training platform and back: FIT is often the format doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes, even when you never see the file directly.

Garmin provides SDKs and tools, including FitCSVTool, in multiple programming languages to encode and decode FIT files, according to Garmin’s SDK page. FitCSVTool converts a FIT file into readable CSV, which is how developers and advanced users inspect message contents, check for missing session data, or troubleshoot a file that didn’t record cleanly.

Practical fallout of the binary format:

• FIT files are compact relative to the amount of data they carry.
• Full sensor detail, laps, and device metadata travel together in one file.
• Platform-to-platform transfers often use FIT under the hood, so choosing it for uploads tends to preserve more of your ride than exporting to GPX or TCX first.

How do you choose the right format for the task at hand?

Run through a short checklist before you export or share a file:

1. What’s the goal: sharing, archiving, or analyzing? Sharing a route favors GPX, archiving a full ride favors FIT, and analyzing training load favors either TCX or FIT depending on the platform.
2. Can the recipient actually open FIT? Most modern platforms accept it, but a teammate opening a file manually may only have a GPX viewer.
3. Do you need lap or workout structure, or just a line on a map? If it’s just the route, GPX is lighter and simpler.
4. Does sensor data need to travel with the file? If yes, FIT preserves it; GPX generally won’t.

A few quick scenarios: sending a weekend route to riders you’re meeting, GPX. Sharing a coached interval session with a training partner, TCX. Uploading a full ride with power data to a platform for analysis, FIT. Archiving your season’s rides for later reference, FIT, since it keeps the most detail in the smallest space.

Pro Tip: If you don’t want sensor data shared publicly, export a route-only GPX instead of your full FIT file. It keeps your heart rate and power numbers private while still sharing the course.

How do you convert between formats without losing data?

Reliable tools for this: FitCSVTool for decoding FIT into readable CSV, your device or app’s built-in export menu, and established web or desktop converters for GPX and TCX.

For a FIT to GPX conversion, export the route only. You’ll get the track and elevation but lose heart rate, cadence, power, and lap summaries, since GPX doesn’t have fields for them. Going from GPX to TCX, you can add course steps, but there’s no lap or session data to recover because GPX never had it. Exporting FIT straight from your device for a platform upload is usually the cleanest path, since it skips a lossy intermediate step.

Common pitfalls:

• Converting to GPX quietly drops heart rate, cadence, and power.
• Lap and session summaries don’t survive a trip to GPX.
• Timestamps can shift across timezones during conversion, throwing off pace calculations.
• A truncated or corrupted FIT file may be missing its Activity or Session messages if a device crashed mid-recording. FitCSVTool can help rebuild a timeline from the remaining Record messages.

How Coffeeride members share files for group rides

Ride organizers usually post routes as GPX. It’s quick to preview, opens on many devices, and doesn’t require decoding a binary file before a ride. When a ride includes structured efforts, some organizers ask for TCX so lap targets carry over. FIT comes up when someone wants a deeper post-ride breakdown, comparing power or heart rate across the group.

The best practice we’ve seen work: state the preferred format right in the ride invite, and add a line on how to export it. It saves a round of messages asking “what format do you need?”

What matters more than the format debate

The format argument gets more attention than it deserves. GPX, TCX, and FIT each do their job well, and the real friction isn’t picking the “best” one, it’s picking the one that matches what you’re actually trying to do with the file. Riders overthink this far more than the decision warrants.

What’s underrated: setting an expectation up front. A club that says “send routes as GPX, send full rides as FIT” saves everyone a conversion step and an awkward “this file won’t open” message. What’s overrated: chasing FIT for every use case because it’s the “most complete” format. If you’re just sharing where to meet for coffee before a ride, a GPX file does the job without forcing anyone to install a decoder.

Prioritize matching the format to the task, not to whichever one sounds most technical. A route is a route. Save FIT for when the sensor data actually matters to someone.

— Coffeeride

Share your next ride through Coffeeride

Whatever format your GPS spits out, the harder part is usually finding people to ride with. Platforms like Coffeeride let you post a route, discover local rides by discipline and pace, and run a club with chat and recurring events, all in one place instead of scattered across group texts and file attachments.

Post your next route and see who joins on Coffeeride Club.

FAQ

Is TCX better than GPX?

Neither is strictly better since they serve different purposes. TCX adds lap, session, and course-step structure that GPX doesn’t have, which makes it the better pick for structured workouts, while GPX stays the simpler, more universally compatible choice for basic route sharing.

Which is better, GPX or FIT?

FIT holds more data, including continuous heart rate, cadence, power, and device metadata, and is the format most devices record natively. GPX is easier to open, edit, and share broadly, so the better format depends on whether you need sensor detail or just a shareable route.

What’s the difference between TCX and GPX?

Both are text-based XML formats, but GPX stores a simple list of trackpoints, waypoints, and routes, while TCX adds laps, sessions, and course steps on top of that. TCX is the stronger choice when workout structure or training targets need to travel with the file.

Does Garmin use TCX or GPX?

Garmin devices primarily record activities as FIT files, with GPX and TCX available as export or conversion options depending on the platform. Garmin’s own FIT SDK documentation describes FIT as the format built specifically for its sport and fitness devices.