Human Forward, founded by former Rapha Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Director Peter Abidi, is opening sign-ups on 4 November 2026 for a community platform aimed at cycling, running and outdoor brands. The platform is designed to let businesses launch an app under their own name without building and maintaining the technology in-house.
Features include chat and groups, official events and schedules, member-organised rides and runs, competitions and tools to find other members nearby. Garmin integration allows rides, runs, swims and workouts to appear automatically in the community app. Human Forward says integrations with Strava, Wahoo, COROS, Polar, Suunto, Apple Health and Google Health Connect are planned. Memberships, paid events and kit drops are billed through the brand’s own payment account, while member data is stored separately and processed in its chosen region: the UK, EU or US.
Each app will carry the brand’s own name, look and feel. Further features due to roll out with founding brands include a console for managing communities across cities and languages, covering events, local content, moderation and club leader appointments, alongside single sign-on and a Figma connection for larger teams. Human Forward also has people in the UK, US and Australia to support brands in establishing local clubs and events.
Alongside the community launch, Human Forward has published research into bike retailers’ visibility in AI shopping recommendations.
The company says that, of four UK bike retailers tested across six AI assistants, three — Tredz, Sigma Sports and Evans Cycles — were not recommended when the assistants were asked for the best retailer in their category. The full study is available to read at humanforward.io/research/ai-shopping-2026.
Human Forward’s wider product portfolio includes Storefront, which the company says makes products accessible to AI shopping agents in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Meta’s Muse through existing product feeds, regardless of platform. Its Findability product measures brands’ visibility in AI answers.
Peter Abidi, founder of Human Forward and formerly Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Director at Rapha, said: “My time in cycling showed me that people don’t just stay for a product, they stay for each other. The Sunday ride, the coffees, the group chat. I’ve seen the same in every business I’ve been part of: the brands that last are the ones people feel part of and can relate to. Most know that but can’t afford to build that level of engagement. This is for them, whatever their size and whatever their sport or activity. Loyalty schemes stop at the transaction. We are going far beyond it and building communities.”
“AI agents are about to handle the transaction, and that’s good news. Brands can stop wrestling with technology and get back to their people, their physical stores and their products. We take care of the agents and the plumbing. They take care of the Sunday ride.”
Availability
Sign-ups open on 4 November 2026 at humanforward.io/community. The first apps are due to launch with founding brands in the coming months.
