City chats: where local riders talk roads and plan rides

Group rides are planned. A lot of riding isn't. It's a sunny Tuesday after work, a question about whether the pass is open yet, a rider new in town looking for the good roads. That's what city chats are for.

One chat per city

Every city or riding region gets one chat, named after its riders: Zagreb riders, Ljubljana riders, Milan riders. One per place, so nobody has to guess which of five groups is the real one.

You'll find them in the Community tab, in three lists:

• Your chats: the ones you've joined.
• Popular now: the busiest chats.
• Near you: chats within 200 km.

Or search for a city or region by name.

What riders use them for

• Road questions. "Is the road over Učka still closed?" "Anyone ridden the coast road since the storm?" Someone local usually knows within the hour.
• Finding riders heading out. "Leaving at 17:00 for a loop over Sljeme, anyone?" Quicker than posting a group ride when you're leaving in an hour.
• Planning group rides. Talk it through in the chat, then post it as a group ride so riders can join and you know who's coming.
• Places. Where to eat, which café opens early on Sunday, which mechanic is good with older bikes.
• New in town. The fastest way to find the roads and the people when you've moved.

When someone talks about a ride in the chat, post it as a group ride, not an address. The ride has the meeting point, the time and the riding level, and the people who join get its own chat. Read more in how to host a group ride.

Joining a chat

Tap a chat, read a few messages, tap Join. You can join any city chat within 60 km of you for free. With MotoBFF Pro you can join city chats anywhere, which is handy before a trip: join the chat where you're heading and ask the locals.

Everyone in a chat can read what you write. Before you post, the chat reminds you how many riders that is.

No chat for your city yet?

If your city doesn't have one, you'll see Start with its name, like "Start Zadar riders". Start it and you'll be its admin. Riders around you can then find it and join.

As the admin you can:

• Pin a message, like a welcome or this week's meetup.
• Pick co-admins and share the work with riders you trust.
• Mute riders for 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days.
• Remove riders who break the rules. They can't come back unless you let them.

If you're away for 30 days, the chat passes to a co-admin, or to its most active rider. A city chat belongs to the riders in it, not to one person.

The rules

Every city chat runs on the same few rules:

• Be decent.
• No selling. No bikes or gear for sale.
• No contact details. No phone numbers or links. Keep it in the app.

You can report any message, and admins can remove anything that breaks the rules. MotoBFF can step in if something goes wrong. If you're meeting riders from a chat for the first time, read meeting new riders safely.

Getting the most from your city's chat

• Say where you are, roughly, and what you ride. "Novi Zagreb, on a Tracer, free most evenings" starts more rides than "hi".
• Ask specific questions. "Best loop under 150 km from Zagreb with no motorway?" gets real answers.
• Mute it if it's busy. Replies to you and mentions still come through.
• Turn talk into a ride. The chat is where plans start. The group ride is where they happen.

MotoBFF started in Croatia, so the Croatian chats are among the busiest. Wherever you are, if the chat is quiet, the first ride you post is usually what wakes it up.