What's New (Sept 2026)

September 9, 2026

Hi there,

Almost ready for indoor season? We hope you enjoy this month's updates 😍

Massive view distances

All users now have 10x the view distance! Distant mountains previously hidden behind fog are now clearly visible. The difference is stunning!

Borrego Springs is a great example of how distant scenery transforms routes. Below is a section of Alpe d'Huez. Screenshot taken in 'Blue Thunder" mode, i.e. the backtick key 🚁

Urban nightscapes

Biketerra now renders sidewalks and streetlights in urban areas. Some windows will light up at night, making the 3D world feel more alive.

As mentioned last month, you have full control of the Time of day and Time flow. 24x completes a full day/night cycle in an hour.

The Dashboard now shows the number of active riders (and friends).

Clicking takes you to the Live Map, where you can see who's riding each route. You can now join others mid-ride!

Every activity now lists other riders on the same online route with you. If your schedules line up, why not ride together next time?

Rebuilt HUD

The HUD has gotten a facelift. Stats are more customizable. The Rider list and Chat boxes are now more polished.

The positions of other online riders are now shown in the Elevation Profile... particularly handy for races.

Several new stats are available, including Altitude and HR Zone.

The Devices area is now much easier to use.

Mobile users in "portrait" mode will now see a stats cluster at the bottom of the screen, freeing space for actual scenery.

The menu is now fully keyboard accessible.

In-ride screenshots 📸

Press "K" to take a screenshot... or set a custom hotkey from the menu.

A reel will appear with your 3 most recent screenshots.

Select one to save with your activity, or click a highlighted photo to deselect. By default, the newest screenshot will be saved automatically.

Climate-influenced routes

Biketerra now pulls in real-world climate data to determine every route's ground cover, atmosphere, and foliage distribution.

Warmer, wetter routes will look greener and more lush. Cooler, drier routes will look more neutral and parched.

The atmosphere is also affected by climate data. Sky colors, sunrise/sunset intensity and even view distances vary based on the route's climate.

More foliage

Biketerra now has over 2 dozen species of trees and shrubs.

Most species are region-bound, meaning they'll only appear in their native ranges. E.g. redwood trees will only appear in some California routes.

In addition to common varieties (oak, pine, poplar, birch), we've added some exotic species like prickly pear, saguaro, baobab, redwood, willow, etc.

Native apps - better auto-connect

When pairing a device using the native app, that device will be saved, and will auto-connect on your next ride. Similarly, when you manually disconnect a device, that device will be automatically forgotten.

Efficiency improvements

The 3D has been optimized, so there's a greater likelihood your device will be able to run on maximum settings.

Subscriptions directly fund ongoing development. If you like what you're seeing, please subscribe and help spread the word.

In a market dominated by large VC-backed corporations and mergers, we're adamant about Biketerra staying lean, focused, and independent.

Upcoming events

OTR TTT - Season 6
TTT - Add a team and join in
Week-long stages

Ollie's Friday Social Group Ride
Social
Mondays @ 17:00 UTC

Monday Malarkey SERIES 4
Mass-start race
Starts Sept 21 (Mondays @ 18:00 UTC)

Rainbow Tour 2026
Mass-start race
Starts Sept 21 (6 weeks, 6 stages, 3 time slots per stage)

Chasing the Sun
Social
Starts Sept 23 (13 stages)

🕒Chrono Championship october 2026
ITT
Starts Sept 28th @ 00:00 UTC

Team LOU Sunday Group Ride
Social
Sundays @ 12:30 UTC

Vuelta Virtual
Competitive (ITT + Mass-start)
Runs through Sept 14th

See all upcoming events

Everything else

Route editor - improved speed of the "Auto-detect brunnels" feature 🔥
Improved roadside grass coloring and blending
Improved forest ground cover
Increased tree trunk poly count
New turnaround statues!
Fixed multiplayer bug in the old (WebGL) engine
Hardened race events to prevent spoofing
HUD - added chat "toasts" when the chat box is minimized
HUD - added "Power step" setting to control ERG step (default = 5W)
Events page - grouped by series AND event type
Server-side - optimized world datasets
Redesigned activity pages, including new "Training Load" stats
Redesigned athlete profile pages
Redesigned event detail pages
Redesigned club detail pages
Redesigned challenge pages, better description of actual goals
Redesigned site-wide tables (much more usable)
Added font smoothing
Patched some edge-case tunnel seams
Added new start arch
Exported filenames now include the activity ID and title
Styled the export buttons, added progress indicators
Fixed bug with disappearing bridges / guardrails on short loop routes
Spectate any populated route
Click a rider in the rider list to show a context menu: teleport or mute them
Activity detail - new "You rode with" section to easily follow the people you rode alongside with
Settings - added a Privacy tab with clearer descriptions
Added subscription details to the Settings page
Improved the subscriber workflow, show renewal dates
3D grass now extends beyond the roadside
Distant trees stay correctly lit as the sun moves through the day
Fixed route quality scores shifting after saving a route
Route editor: prevent smoothing when using "Align elevations"

You made it! 👏

Congrats for scrolling this far down! Consider joining our Discord chat to share your feedback and participate in feature discussions?

Have a great month,
Matt @ Biketerra