[Closed] Awesome Strava tales

This isn't a tale, more a frustration. I have a friend who is Strava mad.. So I follow him on some sections and he ends up being 10-30 seconds faster than me.. Strange, as he didn't leave me behind.

On holiday, he was bragging about his times, so we hit the trails. I left a 20 seconds gap, before catching him up and buzzing his rear wheel for the rest of the section.. Again he was 20 seconds faster than me...

I worked out that the iPhone has shitty GPS, so it shows you being at the bottom, when really you're not. I was using a Garmin Edge, which was a lot more accurate. I would say most of the time the iPhone shortened the section , there were only a couple of times that I have noticed Garmin being faster than the iPhone.

Just to annoy him I turned on my iPhone, rode the trail and ended up 20/30 seconds faster than him, which is 40-60 seconds quicker. 😆

Stick with the iPhone for super quick times, Garmin for super accurate.

I have a local climb on which I test myself. Each time I upload my result I think I've got the KOM only to find that since my last effort someone else has beaten it so I'm perpetually 2nd. Taxi25 off here was one of the someones.

However I also set myself a 40 minute figure 8 simulated race course loop in the local woods that I had a KOM by default on and didn't even know - and taxi25 tried to beat me but failed 🙂

20-30 seconds sounds like a ridiculous margin for error. And I can't see how one device would do that consistently - surely even if you get over the finish line "quicker" due to noise, you're going to go over the "start" line earlier too.

I know you can get some error, particularly under trees etc, wish there was a way of getting Strava to filter out dodgy GPS, some of my times in the past were more dependent on GPS reception on that day for my phone than my actual speed.

There should definitely be a leaderboard for people using proper GPS devices, rather than mobile phones.

I'd probably have, ooh, two or three more KOMs.

😀

At 47 I'm still getting the odd KOM off the youngsters, all of the down variety so you oldies thinking you're getting slower remember the old adage "old age, cunning and treachery will beat youth, fitness and exurberance"

Sometimes even "proper" GPS devices go a little "wonky". I was contacted by Strava support about a ride, presumably someone had flagged it, with the comment about "odd data". The last ten miles or so of the ride were shown at a constant 30kmh - up-hill, down-dale, along the flat it was a constant 30kmh. I deleted the ride. The unit was a fairly old, three or four years, Garmin Forerunner.

Age isn't (yet) a problem. 58 is just around the corner and I'm still getting KOMs and top tens and not just on rarely travelled segments though on popular segments it's more usual to be top 25%.

20-30 seconds sounds like a ridiculous margin for error. And I can't see how one device would do that consistently - surely even if you get over the finish line "quicker" due to noise, you're going to go over the "start" line earlier too.

+1 > It would be great if they had an accuracy indicator.

Not true Kerley....I'm 55 and still have a bit of life in the olde legs. Okay I'm not getting any faster, but on a good day in the right conditions, can still put down a decent time.

It is true for me. I have loads of life left in the legs, they are just not fast enough to trouble the fastest times I did 4 years ago. Each KOM I lose will be lost forever.

Don't enjoy riding any less.

Broke my arm on the mountain bike, rode 13km home one handed (front brake too, so almost over the bar every time I braked) on road as I thought if I phoned an ambulance they'd leave my bike. There is a steep road downhill section that I'm still quicker one handed on my MTB than on either my CX or Disc Braked road bike. I'm crap at road bike descending.

Strava is woefully inaccurate at times. Followed a mate down a local 2-3 minute track, finishing 3 or 4 seconds apart. It gave me a time of around 10 minutes, and him 6. It's a bit of fun basically (awaits stoning)

2nd down The Widowmaker on Dartmoor. Timing meteorology is EVERYTHING.

You must be right apparently I'm in the top 7% on a Rigid Singlespeed. ( I would also add not meeting any DoE's on the way down is critical)
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My only STRAVA anecdote is to actually having had someone shout STRAAVAA behind me on a trail at Haldon, I did chuckle and pulled my bike to the side let the bloke come through, of course he had all the Elbow and Knee Safety Pads on etc etc so I got back on my bike and sat on his wheel all the way down back pedalling for maximum Hope effect.

Was 7th at one point down Walna scar to appletree bridge even with crossing the finish line on my face.

I got a top 100 on the riddler at cwmcarm today. Must have been to tired to brake! Someone once drove to the top of a trail trail so they could try and take my KOM while fresh.

I love it when people should stravvvvvvaaaaaaa while you hold a gate!

Stick with the iPhone for super quick times

all my best times were using my iphone

On our Weds night rides, we have one Strava fanatic with a Garmin and others with their phones and I can honestly say we've never noticed any timing issues.

And... we are sad enough to compare notes in the Pub afterwards. 😳

I set up a segment for the bike commuters over the last mile to work. Into a power station/dead end so realistically no one else will ever ride it apart from us, for the proper bragging rights.

Two ball bags have had their Strava on in the car, and deny all knowledge. I could flag it, but that would make it seem important. Tossers.

Doesn't Strava work on a two second ping? If so, all those split-second KOMs are actually give-or-take two seconds...

My only STRAVA anecdote is to actually having had someone shout STRAAVAA behind me on a trail at Haldon, I did chuckle and pulled my bike to the side let the bloke come through

I've taught my 8 year old that this an acceptable way of asking to overtake.
Note, [i]asking[/i], not demanding 🙂

Rockape63 - Member

And this was on my MTB with slicks

You see this is why I get soo frustrated with Strava......people just don't play fair!

I assume he was joking. Even if you were off road why wouldn't it be "fair"? I've ridden my road bike on tow paths and stuff before, I'm sure I could smash some easy off road segments, wouldn't be unfair IMO, just pointless!

I once got my first top ten coming in at 7th place on a popular downhill section near me. It did "feel" fast as well so I was quite happy with myself. I then realized on closer inspection when getting home that I was 7th out of... seven. The popular section had some changes made so was reclassified/renewed on strava.

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Had someone shout straaavaaa and come flying past me and my mate on an uphill section, we watched him follow my other mate down the fast section and he got massively held up. He was red faced by the end of the section and stopped to make a few comments at said mate who held him up. We laughed it off and let him ride on.
Next section on one of the fast red ones at Swinley forest with a load of humps, we all rode to the top and there was a queue to start it. We watched this guy go off down the section. We heard in the distance "Straaaavvaaa" and started chuckling to ourselves. Didn't think we would see him again. We all rode down together and found him pulling brambles out his lycra cladded arse having exited a berm and entered a bush. As we went past each of us shouted strava for good measure.

My only STRAVA anecdote is to actually having had someone shout STRAAVAA behind me on a trail at Haldon, I did chuckle and pulled my bike to the side let the bloke come through

A couple of years ago in the Three Peaks CX race, I was descending PyG, well on course for a PB in the event. In front of me was a slower rider so, mindful of the need to get past him without incident while also avoiding the riders pushing/carrying up the trail, I yelled "ON YOUR RIGHT!" to the slower descender (had to yell over the wind noise and the noise of tyres clattering on rocks).

Off to one side of the trail, a spectator immediately screamed back "STRAVAAA!"

Nearly fell off the bike laughing. 😆

I like to draw Strava pictures. Big cocks and big flowers, but mostly big cocks.

I'm KOM on the Philips Park cock.

I assume he was joking.

Indeed I was...clearly unless we are all riding £5k carbon machines with skinny slick tyres on hard packed smooth surfaces, with a gale up our arses...any achievement is exactly that.

On the day the TDF hit Sheffield I went to the top of Jawbone Hill (on a road bike). Once the race had passed the roads were clogged full of people on foot, so going at walking pace, until a support car went through with horns going etc. So a few of us followed it down to hillsborough - roads still closed so ignoring the lights and going flat out. Now admittedly I only just scraped into the top 30 on the segment, but there were lots of big names above and below me. One place behind me was Nikki Terpstra, winner of Paris Roubaix that year

Coming off the pentlands past bonaly scout camp the current kom is 8 sec at 60mph. Its only 0.1 of a mile but even if you take the road and the gate was open that is some going! Oh forgot there is no gate after someone in a 4x4 drove through it. Maybe he got the kom!

I'm placed 603/1200 cant get much more average middle of the pack

Commuted home and attacked a few segments-got a few PB's, met my wife at her mums and threw my bike in the back of the Volvo, forgot to end Strava and ended up collecting a few KOM's on the drive back to our house.

Ended up deleting the ride (and my PB's)

Why didn't you just edit the ride to remove the unwanted part?

This isn't a tale, more a frustration. I have a friend who is Strava mad.. So I follow him on some sections and he ends up being 10-30 seconds faster than me.. Strange, as he didn't leave me behind.

On holiday, he was bragging about his times, so we hit the trails. I left a 20 seconds gap, before catching him up and buzzing his rear wheel for the rest of the section.. Again he was 20 seconds faster than me...

I worked out that the iPhone has shitty GPS, so it shows you being at the bottom, when really you're not. I was using a Garmin Edge, which was a lot more accurate. I would say most of the time the iPhone shortened the section , there were only a couple of times that I have noticed Garmin being faster than the iPhone.

Just to annoy him I turned on my iPhone, rode the trail and ended up 20/30 seconds faster than him, which is 40-60 seconds quicker.

Stick with the iPhone for super quick times, Garmin for super accurate.

I use my Garmin watch for recording all my activities and on a recent ride a friend who didn't bring a pack asked to put his phone in my bag to stop it getting wet as he stored it in his pocket.

None of our times matched afterwards even though his phone was on my back and my watch on my wrist! on one climb, where my effort took 12mins his phone was 45seconds off, but then on the descent on the other side, he was 10seconds or so quicker! This was back when I used to have my watch on 1 second recording and GLONAS turned on. Since then I take it all with a pinch of salt.

So where are these "awesome" tales?? I blame OP for setting the standard.

Finally got the road kom into my village last night.. Taken a few years and the right wind conditions to align

I took a road KOM from a French pro while he was otherwise occupied with the 2013 TDF. A few days afterwards he was awarded the combativity prize. I like to think that he was motivated by the Strava email...