[Closed] Anyone else never used or not interested in.... Strava ?

[quote=slowoldgit ]Now if someone can tell me there's a category for retired blokes with health issues, then I might be interested.

Well you can filter leaderboards based on age which might help (though the top is presumably filled by ex semi-pros). Can't do anything about the health thing. Though I self-handicap by using an inappropriate steed for a lot of the rides I upload, and if I do look at the leaderboards I'm usually aiming for the top 50% at best - mainly I'm just interested in how I compare to previous times I've ridden. It's not all about getting KOMs even if you are being vaguely competitive (though I did for a while have a unicycle KOM - it appeared that anybody who might have been faster stopped for a breather in the middle of the segment)

p.s. my previous comment was just taking the piss out of typical comments on other Strava threads, no offence intended!

never used it, never will. i do like to keep a record of my mileage, which i do with plotting routes on bikehike.

dont care how fast i travel whilst riding....longer on the bike the better in my eyas.

The Forcan ridge looks to be popular on heatmap. Would that be Danny Macaskill under an alias? 😀

i've never used/had any interest in strava.

I have used it to sniff out trails in places I don't know my way round but in general I think it's that bloke thing: You have to be able to quantify an experience, it's not enough just to have experienced something.

Measuring your rides seems like a geek approach. I don't race anyone, I have no "goals," other than to ride bikes for a lot longer.

Many useful responses, thanks, even the critical ones 😀

I had a look at the heatmap link and can see how it could be good for route planning in new areas etc so will explore it a bit more, cheers.

I'd not have found some mint routes around the dales if it wasn't for strava ,simply looking at other lads routes then linking them together etc , routes that you'd never find on google earth/maps etc .
Not into this kudos crap though .

No, not fussed about it.
It seems to have taken over a lot of people's riding, obsessing over being the fastest etc.
I'm just happy being out on a bike, any bike.

The route finding side sounds good though.

Although there are good things about it I suspect that the overall effect on my riding experience is negative. But I can't seem to stop using it 🙁

I avoided it for ages, being fat & slow, but eventually got sucked in as my m8's did (& the others are now) & really like it.. No I'll never get any up hill KOM's but I now have a reasonably accurate mileage count (yes other apps do that too) that doesn't reset when the cycle computer dies & maps of the rides I've done with little or no hassle. I regularly point my g/f to previous runs pre-ride if I'm going out solo, so if didn't re-appear & she could be bothered, she could tell ppl where I might be. I always ride with my phone, so it's hardly a hassle to switch an app on. Most of my riding is leisurely with m8's, (mid table on segments) but it is nice/rewarding to find I've beaten my own PR on a segment & an nice incentive to try harder next time. You get interesting info back from it, that I'd have never known otherwise..like finding my new FS is faster uphill as well as down, as my old HT, silly but good in a geeky way to me. No it won't change you life, but it's still interesting stuff, & quite good for poaching local tracks you didn't know about. Use it/don't use it but please don't whine about it (not pointing fingers at the OP)

I don't use it but I can understand the benefits of finding new trails without the need to explore or speak to local riders.

I suspect it is partly to blame for the 'racing' lines on every trail nowadays.

loddy_dosser dont get me going on that, some lovely twisty trails just turned into straight line motorways around here just to get that stupid time. me i know a good ride leaves me with a smile a bad ride leaves me fast asleep on the sofa. just keep it simple and enjoy it for what it is.

Strava, like most things, is what you make it.

I use it to record most of my rides, but phone is stowed in bag or back pocket and not looked at unless I need to check the time or get a message etc. I don't have 'premium' and don't use any live features.

I think it's a good motivational tool, you can look back & see how little, or slowly you've ridden lately, and it sort of gives you a kick up the arse to get out on the bike and put some effort in, rides up to an hour long I enjoy having a proper go at and pushing myself. Longer rides, and whilst exploring it's just handy to refer back to and to see how many miles you've done.

I've created a few segments, but nobody else has ridden them! Nice to see how I'm improving though, even relatively short ones I'm minutes faster now than when I started riding more regularly back in March.

I still always carry a paper OS map with me if I'm going on longer rides or unknown territory, I don't really trust, or particularly like digital mapping on my phone, especially if you have to pay for it or spend hours pissing about on the pc to convert files and crap. I already have loads of OS maps from rallying mainly, and once you cut the cover off and trim them they're quite compact & light. Locally there's some little walking maps printed on shiny paper to, they're handy.

Really, I see strava as a bit of fun, self motivating, and a good tool to measure my own improvement.

glad it's not only me showerman.

Use it every ride, great when training as people can see if you are not putting the hours in.
It's also great to track progress and how you are doing.
Sometimes I think those that don't like/approve need a badge or club to belong to maybe somebody could do an app...

throwing the gps in the bin was the best thing I ever did with regard to my riding. So no never used strava

I really like the social aspect of Strava, seeing what my mates are up to when our riding is out of sync (most of the time at the moment due to a new baby). I've been riding with a GPS since the start of 2010 so my Strava history goes a long way back - it's nice to see the progress, see how often I've ridden certain trails, etc. I've created 60 segments on Strava so I'm probably the exact opposite of everyone agreeing with the OP!

If you're into it and enjoy it, great- a few of my friends use it and obviously get a kick from beating personal records. I'm not that fussed to be honest, I might like to give it a go but I'm too tight to buy a phone to run it!

http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/gizmo.htm

loddy_dosser dont get me going on that, some lovely twisty trails just turned into straight line motorways around here just to get that stupid time

That was happening before strava though. It's just a way to blame someTHING rather than someONE. Everywhere I've ridden since I was a kid has trails "reshaped" by lazy riders and even without strava it'll be there.

As for strava I use it all the time. Good for finding routes, remembering where you've been, seeing how you're progressing when you're training for a specific goal etc. Doesn't reduce my enjoyment one bit and arguably has enhanced it as it's helped me find new routes, trails, climbs and even a few new riding buddies.

[i]It seems to have taken over a lot of people's riding, obsessing over being the fastest etc.[/i]

No one I follow obsesses about it, or being the fastest. (mostly as most of us will never be the fastest 😆 )

[i]I suspect it is partly to blame for the 'racing' lines on every trail nowadays.[/i]

Lines been cut on trails ever since I've been riding, I don't think strava makes it worse.

I love it. It's not just for segments. I cycle all over the place, so it is a cycle diary for me, and the heatmap (premium) function is brilliant; I'm working on making all of Scotland red...........

Glentress was suffering from straightliners long before strava in some cases its not for quicker times it's to make it easier. Ianc what do you use? You said you keep the profile locked. Strava is what it is. Interesting for some a training tool for others and a way to show boat for those who kom. (you know that if you take a kom off a mate it'll get mentioned). Ride for fun or ride to train or show off use it or don't at the end of the day does it matter?

Never used it, nor have I ever wanted to. Someone once tried to persuade me, saying that it would help make me fitter, to find new routes and trails, to plot long rides and to keep track of both mileage & heart rate. "Pfffft" I thought. Who wants all that s**t?

I'm too slow to even consider it.

I like racing, I assume this is virtual racing? I would be surprised if it was accurate under dense trees, where I do the majority of my riding.

I assume this is virtual racing? I would be surprised if it was accurate under dense trees, where I do the majority of my riding.

And for the straight lines most I've ever seen is post race, racers will take the quickest line between the tapes.

Ianc what do you use?

Had a computer once, realised I'd started riding to reach targets instead of riding for fun

For me, most of the fun, certainly on local rides IS trying to better myself. Simply trundling around at the same pace all the time on the same old trails would be boring as hell, defintiely not fun at all.

^^ why not go somewhere different ? Surely that's the whole point of riding bikes for fun ?

Surely that's the whole point of riding bikes for fun ?

why not go somewhere different ?

Given 2 hours after getting in from a family day out I've pretty much covered every new place I can go!

Not all riding is big days out with mates...

[i]I really like the social aspect of Strava, seeing what my mates are up to when our riding is out of sync (most of the time at the moment due to a new baby). I've been riding with a GPS since the start of 2010 so my Strava history goes a long way back - it's nice to see the progress, see how often I've ridden certain trails, etc. I've created 60 segments on Strava so I'm probably the exact opposite of everyone agreeing with the OP! [/i]

This.

Maybe folk who are anti-Strava don't have mates to ride with? Also living in Scotland we can ride anywhere, so while many trails are marked on the map, none of the locally built and/or new 'routes' are 0 Strava knows though.

b r - I'm not anti it, I just don't use it and haven't really seen the point. Some good info on here though such that I think I'll investigate it, so glad I posted it up. Glasgow based and lots of riding pals 😀

[i]Given 2 hours after getting in from a family day out I've pretty much covered every new place I can go![/i]

Not like that here (Tweed Valley), new stuff been created all the time - must be 2-3 miles of (severe) singletrack been added to just the Golfie in the last year or so.

I've not used it and I'm not interested in it. It's like a disease around here. Trails I've been involved in creating and riding for 15 years now suddenly have shortcuts created or trail obstacles removed because a few think that makes them faster. They are of course kidding themselves, but in the meantime have ****ed up some great sections of trail. Wish they'd **** off back to the road to be honest.

Swayndo, Strava isn't the problem, a few riders are. And for all you know they may not even be using Strava. It's just typical observer bias as always seen with anecdotal evidence. You could just as easily blame slacker longer bikes for being more prone to straightlining turns and wider bars for the removal of trees - in fact that's much more likely to be the cause!

I've not used it and I'm not interested in it. It's like a disease around here. Trails I've been involved in creating and riding for 15 years now suddenly have shortcuts created or trail obstacles removed because a few think that makes them faster. They are of course kidding themselves, but in the meantime have ****ed up some great sections of trail. Wish they'd **** off back to the road to be honest.

Disease, evil Strava, trails ruined, roadies should stick to the road and stay off our trails.

You missed out the migrants, surely they must be to blame somewhere....

Have never owned a speedo and don't really care how far or how slow I ride

I've used Strava since 2012.. Saturday I decided to deactivate my account thus gifting quite a few KOMs etc.

Am I bothered? nah.. I started using it to follow some mates, quite a few have since stopped using it, a few people from work have started following me (I want to keep work and personal life separate, I'm not 'friends' with anyone on Facebook from work).

I've jointly ran Endomondo and Strava for a while so will now use Endomondo for seeing what my mates are riding.

I don't see the point in giving someone kudos for riding 5 miles

Saturday I decided to deactivate my account thus gifting quite a few KOMs etc.

you need one of these..

[img] [/img]

[quote=Bedds ]I don't see the point in giving someone kudos for riding 5 miles

I have done for doing 10 miles quite fast on an ordinary (which is what somebody I follow mostly rides).

I give Kudos to folk that are clearly pushing themselves, I've a lot of friends that are runners on it, and coming back from injury, a 5 mile run is something to be celebrated TBH.

Everyone likes getting a "nice one" don't they?

Okay I was maybe ranting a wee bit, but there is something in what i say. I know or know of the people involved so it's a bit more than anecdote. Some of them have had public arguments on social media about the validity of each others times etc.

My roadie comment was maybe a bit cheap, but came from my belief that Strava suits road riding better than mountain biking. You won't get any benefit from carrying your road bike through a field instead of riding around it on the road. The distance and terrain between 2 points is fixed for everyone.

That doesn't translate to narrow ribbon singletrack crafted out of deer tracks. If someone misses out that beautiful switchback to record their record time who are they kidding? Without Strava it was only themself.

Only my opinion and I know opinions are like arseh0les. If that makes me a Nazi sobeit.

Until very recently I've had no interest in it whatsoever, but now I think it's great. I only use it (or am interested in using it) on my road bike. For anything other than that, I just care about where I've been, how long it took me and how many cakes I can eat.

But for road riding, where I repeat the same route, the segments bit is awesome for telling me if I'm getting fitter/faster. I don't care how fast I've gone compared to other riders... at least not enough to want to get any KOMs... but if I can see an improvement over last time... then I'm happy 🙂