And it has left me feeling rather pathetic and inadequate on a road bike. I knew I was no Bradley Wiggins but I didn't realise I was such a Christopher Biggins. When people are averaging 75% quicker than I am I am impressed and belittled.
I think I'll be deleting it and going back to pootling in my happy oblivious style.
Use it to track your miles, and track your own progress over time, maybe follow your mates if you're bothered.
For that it's actually a really great tool (although others are available as well without the comparison bit).
Do NOT get sucked in to comparing yourself against the leader boards and the quick people in your area. It will end in tears.
pootling in my happy oblivious style
^ if the tech gets in the way of your happy, then ditch the tech 🙂
^this
For one fleeting moment I got into the top five of the main segment on my local loop. Now the top time is 30-40% faster than my 'flat-out with a tailwind' attempt. I can either forget about it and just monitor my own times or buy a CX bike. Or an MX bike.
If you are using it on your commute, be very wary that your desire to get there quicker does not interfere with your normal sense of self preservation.
Just trust me on that one......
Delete the app now! it will make your future rides miserable, you will be constantly on the clock, ride free and ride for the fun 😉
your welcome, Lol
[b]Lawmanmx[/b] says good! 8)
It is addicted as hell... At the beginning the app makes you want to go faster. This makes you put more effort every ride. You become faster. You get to the top ten. And that is when your life changes forever... 😆
But to be honest I love Strava - I met few really nice guys thanks to it, after some time it becomes like a social network thing, with a lot of positive energy going through.
Pffft
ignore the haterz!
everything in life is a competition, every green light is a race.
STRAVA FOR THE WINNZ!
:rolling eyes smiley:
i use it to log miles walked with the dog, and total milage on bike, as it's easier to find than the garmin one!
I use mapymyride for logging miles /routes rather than strava. As above, I do not want to find myself "competing" for a better time, I'd rather just potter along the towpath and enjoy the sights
It might not be cool but I love it. I know I'll never rival the top hill climb times and I'd be terrified to try to get close to some of the road descent KOMs, but it's really motivating to slowly rise up the ranks and monitor my own progress.
I'd rather just potter along the towpath and enjoy the sights
This is perfectly fine, so long as you get out the way when someone yells "Strava run!".
You'll find that some of the top times are people slipstreaming trucks, or where people've left their device running after getting in the car...
everything in life is a competition, every green light is a race.
STRAVA FOR THE WINNZ!
Races are for racing. Everything else is training for racing.
Strava is not racing. As molgrips says, you know nothing about how times are set. Windy conditions, chain gangs, motor pacing, local TTs, etc. It's just a bit of fun.
As molgrips says, you know nothing about how times are set. Windy conditions, chain gangs, motor pacing, local TTs, etc.
I just assume most of the fast, flat road KOMs are set by chaingangs or TT bikes, it's easier on my pride that way.
It's a tool, how you use it is up to you, why not set yourself a challenge of how far you can go in a month/year, or ho much climbing you can do, your only competing against yourself then.
For KOM's now you often have to pick the right day with the right wind direction, and the right type of bike, gone are the days when you could just go out and get them on any ride.
I just assume most of the fast, flat road KOMs are set by chaingangs or TT bikes, it's easier on my pride that way.
And most off-road KOM-holders have lots of mates who have cycled ahead to open all the gates. 🙂
[quote=amedias ]Do NOT get sucked in to comparing yourself against the leader boards and the quick people in your area. It will end in tears.
Unless you are quick, or you are happy not worrying about the people and times and the top and can manage just being interested in how far up the leaderboard you are and the times of the people around you. I do both - have some KOMs, though mainly because the really quick boys haven't ridden those segments and plenty of top 10s - however I also Strava on my unicycle, and with that I'm pleased to make it into the top half, whilst I find I do know some of the people with similar times and it is a challenge to try and move up a few places.
[quote=molgrips ][s]You'll find that some of the top times are people slipstreaming trucks, or where people've left their device running after getting in the car...[/s] I am a cynic
Generally times set in cars get removed because people flag them when they get their KOMs nicked by obviously dubious "rides" (I've done it, and had it done to a unicycle ride yesterday when I didn't get round to changing it from a run to a ride and nicked all the running KOMs 😳 ). As for the trucks, then maybe on some segments, but I doubt it's widespread and arguably neither is it against the "rules" so long as you aren't holding on. Certainly all the KOMs on road segments will be set with a good tailwind - I know if I'm in the mood I'll target segments based on the wind direction, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Have only once taken the TT bike out KOM hunting 😳
if comparing to others just be aware that there are people sad enough (and I know at least one) who plan their ride on a windy day by taking the bike on a train out to a station in the direction the wind is coming from and ride back from there.
who plan their ride on a windy day by taking the bike on a train out to a station in the direction the wind is coming from and ride back from there.
I've done that, just not with Strava particularly in mind. Riding with a massive westerly at your back all day is just fun!
There seems to be huge amounts of cynicism about the quick times from people in the middle of the leaderboards!
I enjoy it, I do record all rides (by virtue of using a Garmin all the time), I certainly don't ride hard every ride, but I do often target segments whilst out riding, it gives intervals a purpose!
Yes a number of segments are unattainable for all manner of reasons - racing, drafting, favourable weather (I've got KOMs in each of those categories!), but so what! If it's genuinely spurious (in a car, GPS error etc), then flag it.
I really like it, makes riding more fun, but I'm not a slave to it!
Ha! This is a common mistake. Strava is the cannabis of cycling data, it's merely an intro to the hard stuff.
It's not about the bike, ride, leaderboard or any of that yesteryear shit it's all about the power data - IF, NP, TSS, FTP etc. Get a powermeter, sign up to Training Peaks and start customising your graphs.
Power corrupts.......
This may be controversial on here... but Strava isn't all about the KOMs (no really, it isn't.) Actually use the social side of it more and don't pay much attention to the scorers. Enjoy sharing rides and commenting on other people's rides. Got to know a few local riders through Strava. Also good for scoping out decent training routes.
It's not about the bike, ride, leaderboard or any of that yesteryear shit it's all about the power data - IF, NP, TSS, FTP etc. Get a powermeter, sign up to Training Peaks and start customising your graphs.
🙂 This is true, the hard turbo work all goes into TP for analysis. Can't see the point of putting that on Strava, who wants to see a turbo session!
I had a KOM due to GPS malfunction that I was proud of(there was no way that twisty DH could be done at over 50kph). some devil flagged it after about a year.
It is quite fun as long as you don't let it take over your life (yes, many do, and think its 'actual racing').
The most objective use is on off-road uphills, i.e. fewer opportunities for favourable conditions
Pah, who cares about objectivity? Tailwinds rule.
Then you'll start getting bitter about all the people who use iphones and similar which have different sampling rates to Garmins etc which makes them (artificially) quicker even though they are no way as quick as you ever......
'Tis a long and slippery slope.
Personally, I love it, it gives me some focus so I don't just do 'dead' miles.
+1Use it to track your miles, and track your own progress over time, maybe follow your mates if you're bothered.
Roadies proper hammer strava, it's a little off putting seeing how far down the board you are. IME offroad is a bit more open - and as I'm an MTBer first and foremost I guess that makes sense. You're still going to struggle to hit the top 10 on widely contested segments tho.
Just use it as a ride diary, you can keep track of how many miles components last, some of the challenges may help you ride more, follow your mates.
It's not racing, don't take it seriously.
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I think its great. Use to follow mates rides, see how they are getting on etc... plus as said above it does give purpose to some of the climbs. There is one climb near me I have a go at during lunch, that I have moved up the leaderboard throughout the year from midpack to 2nd, somehow I need to find 3 seconds to take the KOM off one of the local heros....
I also really like the challenges, again gives purpose. And the stats, there is always something to hit on the next ride - for me it was just turning over 10000miles last ride!
I've even got an overpriced gran fondo jersey!
Ha! This is a common mistake. Strava is the cannabis of cycling data, it's merely an intro to the hard stuff.
This is so true! I signed up to Strava near the beginning and felt pretty good about myself when I had all the local QOMs. Then I listened to you lot going on about how Strava isn't "real racing" and how the only way to prove you are truly quick is to enter proper races.
So I've raced 2 seasons of XC in the local league, and have found myself embroiled in a fitness "arms race" with one of the vet singlespeeders. This has resulted in the purchase of a turbo, subscription to Trainerroad and an unhealthy love of power graphs. It's awesome 🙂
I still have most of the local QOMs 😉
chakaping - MemberI just assume most of the fast, flat road KOMs are set by chaingangs or TT bikes, it's easier on my pride that way.
My one road KOM is a segment that's just 2/3ds of my very short commute- for everyone else ever, it'll be part of a bigger ride but I can just spin up to speed, smash the segment, then collapse 😆 It's not exactly cheating but it makes a mockery of it really.
amen. Then look at the guy you just knocked off top perch and see that his ride was covered in PRs and KOMs.smash the segment, then collapse
Hollow victory
but I'll take it 😆
Then I listened to you lot going on about how Strava isn't "real racing" and how the only way to prove you are truly quick is to enter proper races
in our local woods I'm generally only a couple of seconds off a mate of mine on most DH segments. come race day? he's on the podium and I'm in the mid table wilderness....
the whole wind assisted road KoM makes me think there must be a potential mash-up with some historical weather database and the strava API to normalise the leaderboards for wind assistance.
Do NOT get sucked in to comparing yourself against the leader boards and the quick people in your area. It will end in tears.
I was trying to improve one of my segment times on the way home from work last week (8pm on wet gritty country roads may not have been the best time), cost me a new jacket, tights a fair bit of skin and a chunk of pride. 😳
And I didn't even improve my time.
It is quite fun as long as you don't let it take over your life (yes, many do, and think its 'actual racing').
Has anyone ever met of one of these 'many' people?
It should be obvious but is there a way if using Strava to compare only my own times on segments(either private or public)?
Has anyone ever met of one of these 'many' people?
Seriously? I can think of half a dozen that I know of.
Filters on the segment page should allow you to do this.
It should be obvious but is there a way if using Strava to compare only my own times on segments(either private or public)?
Have you tried via VeloViewer?
It does tell you how many times you've done segments, so you may be able to drill down.
[quote=scotroutes ]It should be obvious but is there a way if using Strava to compare only my own times on segments(either private or public)?
<View full leaderboard>
When you have that there is a vertical menu on the left, top is "Full Leaderboard" in orange, just below that is "My Results" (you can also compare just with people you follow or people in your club, your age group etc.)
I may try mapmyride instead then if it's less about competing and more about personal logs.
I assume everyone faster than me is on drugs.
I think I'll be deleting it and going back to pootling in my happy oblivious style.
Just don't enter into the online willy waving and focus on what you want, half the KOM's belong to people who forgot to press stop on their garmin before they drove home anyway...
Do you want to get faster? do you have any training goals in mind?, Strava can be used for that rather than simply ego stroking.
Use Strava as a tool for keeping track of your riding, measuring and helping you to define progress (Or any one of the other very similar app's available). but don't get caught up in the pretend racing aspect of it... those little 'PR' icons are a better helpful indicator of progress than beating Duncan from accounts at online racing...
I may try mapmyride instead then if it's less about competing and more about personal logs.
I'd agree with blobby about the social networking aspect being one of the best things about Strava. Seeing where your mates are riding, chatting about it, getting ideas for future rides etc.
I've a few top tens both on and off road though there are much fewer who've ridden the off-road segments. In general I reckon to add 50% to the KOM time and that will put me in the top third to quarter.
I tend to be competitive amongst my friends and club mates who use it, little point in comparing yourself against a pro rider or the national hill climbing champion who's 30 years younger and 20Kg lighter 😳 Other than that it's a way of measuring your inevitable decline as the bus pass approaches 😥
I was pretty cynical about Strava but signed up about a month ago and have ot say am really enjoying it. Its given a bit of focus to tired local loops - adding in a couple or three high intensity segments seems to be helping the fitness a bit.
However 90% of the local off road KOMs are held by one guy, I've taken a few and it probably seems like I have some kind of vendetta against him!
[quote=neil the wheel ]I assume everyone faster than me is on drugs.
[quote=cookeaa ]half the KOM's belong to people who forgot to press stop on their garmin before they drove home anyway...
All sorts of other reasons for unlikely KOMs, but as explained above very few are taken that way (which aren't flagged and removed). I agree with njee - a lot of people are sceptical about the fast times because the quick guys really are unbelievably quick.
This may be controversial on here... but Strava isn't all about the KOMs (no really, it isn't.) Actually use the social side of it more and don't pay much attention to the scorers. Enjoy sharing rides and commenting on other people's rides. Got to know a few local riders through Strava. Also good for scoping out decent training routes.
This mainly. I started following one of the local TT animals I didn't previously know just to see what he was up to on training rides and races. Started exchanging kudos then recognised each other at a race, now sharing lifts and will be on the same shop team next year which is cool, pretty much all down to Strava. Also follow most of the local fast guys who I ride with and some of the segments would look like the "implausibly fast" as mentioned above, the flat one's are tail wind assisted but all plausible. Go ride with some fast guys and it's insane how hard they can go on the flat.
Also, as a premium member you can now measure your fitness and freshness via an HR monitor now instead of just a power meter which I think is a really cool feature.
This may be controversial on here... but Strava isn't all about the KOMs (no really, it isn't.) Actually use the social side of it more and don't pay much attention to the scorers. Enjoy sharing rides and commenting on other people's rides. Got to know a few local riders through Strava. Also good for scoping out decent training routes.
+1
A mate (a very quick 1st Cat roadie mate with loads of KOMs) recently strava'd his ride home from work, all of about 1/3rd of a mile. He got more comments and kudos on that than most of his other rides put together but it was all really funny, some proper piss-taking going on. Use it as a social media tool and it's very good. Get obsessed with KOM-ing everything and it'll ruin every ride quite quickly.
i like to use it from time to time to map where ive been, how far and how long it took etc. but i dont record every ride so the stats are bollocks. i have zero interest in how quickly i ascended up anything, but i might compare descents against my followees if i was felt it was quite quick - which usually incurs disappointment.
I agree with njee - a lot of people are sceptical about the fast times because the quick guys really are unbelievably quick.
Oh and I'd agree with this too. Through club rides, racing, TTs and Strava I now know most of the chaps who are top 10 on most of the busy segments around here and I'd not question their times. I rarely see times that I'm sceptical about.
The best bit about Strava is when it's dismissed by the heathen on the basis of wind/type of bike/GPS drift/part of commute/phone OS/ground conditions/traffic lights......
I use Strava mostly to measure myself, I've a a few top 10 on the mountain bike, but even when I go all out of the roadie, some of the times make mine look like they were set by an old maid.
Doesn't help that the ToB came through where I live, a lot of the local segments got utterly pwned.. 😆
molgrips » [s]You'll find that some of the top times are people slipstreaming trucks, or where people've left their device running after getting in the car...[/s] I am a cynic
Of course, what you say is true, but in this particular case there was an improbable one that really looked like a truck assist. Although 2nd was pukka.
Problem is with roadies is that they tend to ride in bunches, which means most flat KOMs are unattainable. The climbs are also unattainable because I'm fat. It's just not a level playing field.
I use it just to log miles and rides. I can see how it may become addictive.
Me ( after a ride ) "Wow I got 6th fastest on a segment"
Wife " out of how many "
I look at the leaderboard
Me " Six " 🙁
Hah.. only KOM I ever had was me creating a segment (to be fair it was a climb I had been training on for years) and being the only one to have done that particular combination of trails. Most people seem to turn off at a different point. Turns out a few other people did it slower than me but I didn't get notified I had a KOM until I got the email saying I'd lost it.
over time you get to know the segments where you have at least a fighting chance of getting in the top ten, so take a moment about a qtr of a mile before it starts, get your breath back and relax, headphones on with your best aggressive cycling music...... start slowly then GO !!!! hammer hammer hammer like you're in a race, spanking your absolute fastest, GO Go GO bang bang bang on the pedals.... all the way past the end, collapse in a heap blowing out your a*** ... then ride home & check your times only to find you've only shaved 3 seconds off your best and not moved up the leaderboard at all ... harumph!
A mate (a very quick 1st Cat roadie mate with loads of KOMs) recently strava'd his ride home from work, all of about 1/3rd of a mile. He got more comments and kudos on that than most of his other rides put together but it was all really funny, some proper piss-taking going on.
I always give kudos to people who've clearly had some sort of GPS error, and a guy I work with gives me kudos for every commute I do with no achievements! With Garmins auto uploading it's actually harder to remove individual rides, even if they are 90 seconds long to check the battery in the PowerTap is ok!
The climbs are also unattainable because I'm fat. It's just not a level playing field.
That's right, it's a climb. 🙂
You'll just have to get some friends!
Obviously the roadie segments around here seem to be out of reach (there have been all these dodgy foreign names on them since July), but I have fun seeing how far up the list of thousands I can get on a MTB with knobblies. Anything near the top 50% is a major victory.
The climbs are also unattainable because I'm fat. It's just not a level playing field.
Molgrips, thanks for the lol 🙂
righog, not as soul destroying as the times set on my local hill climb... 😆
When Alex Dowsett is 14th!!! you know you're never going to get anywhere 😆
Re the post above where the ToB went through and smashed all the KOMs. There is a long drag around here which was one of the 'climbs' in the women's ToB. It is interesting to see how much quicker the women pros are than all the local hot shots. Sort of puts ones 'ability' into perspective.
Doesn't help that the ToB came through where I live, a lot of the local segments got utterly pwned
That's happened on our local hill climb course.
An average time is about 7-8 mins
Good time is about 6-7 mins
Fast time is about 5-6 mins
Very fast time is 4:30 - 5 mins (ie: pro and sponsored riders)
TOB best time? 3:58 😳
And that was after ~100miles of Devon hills, the quick guys really are very very quick.
I didn't get notified I had a KOM until I got the email saying I'd lost it.
haha, I've had that on segments that others have created after I rode them.
If you have a KOM and nobody sees it on your feed, is it really a KOM?
And that was after ~100miles of Devon hills, the quick guys really are very very quick.
And riding in a group of 100, which in that instance is the overriding factor!
righog, not as soul destroying as the times set on my local hill climb...When Alex Dowsett is 14th!!! you know you're never going to get anywhere
Depends if they've done a 'proper' hill climb up it, that'll skew the results because there are suddenly a load of people riding for 5 minutes flat out!
getting a kom and then the previous owner going out to regain it next day, that's when you know you have a bit of a duel going on 🙂However 90% of the local off road KOMs are held by one guy, I've taken a few and it probably seems like I have some kind of vendetta against him!
my phone used to be pretty good but it was all over the shop last night - weather dependant?GPS drift
[quote=crazy-legs ]A mate (a very quick 1st Cat roadie mate with loads of KOMs) recently strava'd his ride home from work, all of about 1/3rd of a mile. He got more comments and kudos on that than most of his other rides put together but it was all really funny, some proper piss-taking going on. Use it as a social media tool and it's very good. Get obsessed with KOM-ing everything and it'll ruin every ride quite quickly.
I Stravaed the school run yesterday because I'd just come in from a ride so already had the GPS running, and thought it might be amusing. All 700m of it - sadly most of that is in my privacy zone.
Sadly Nairo Quintana doesn't seem to be on Strava, or at least he wasn't when he fought for the stage win on my local big climb.
This reminds me I've got some rides to upload.
[i]because there are suddenly a load of people riding for 5 minutes flat out![/i]
setting the sorts of times that mere mortals like myself tend to look at and say "what the actual fuccccccc......" 😆
And riding in a group of 100, which in that instance is the overriding factor!
true, I was still impressed though 🙂
setting the sorts of times that mere mortals like myself tend to look at and say "what the actual fuccccccc......
If it's any consolation I did my first hill climb a few weeks back - up Leith Hill, my meagre time of 4:29 is good enough for 97th out of 12513 riders on the segment and mid table on the day, but the KOM (set during the same hill climb) is 3:17 😯
The majority of the top 20 times are either from the hill climb, or the London Surrey Cycle Classic in 2013, which is arguably more impressive!
Yep, no one ever cut a corner before Strava.
haha, I've had that on segments that others have created after I rode them.If you have a KOM and nobody sees it on your feed, is it really a KOM?
Just go to your ride, set it as "private" and then set it back to "public" - Yeah! You've got a KOM! 8)
If it's any consolation I did my first hill climb a few weeks back - up Leith Hill, my meagre time of 4:29 is good enough for 97th out of 12513 riders
This smells a bit of a humblebrag 😉
I'm always delighted if I can make top 1% on any segment.
try Endomondo, same kind of thing but without all the willy waving 😉
Going back to viewing your all your own previous times on a segment, I can't find a way of doing it on the android app, but I know how to do it on the Web version. So is it only possible on the Web version?
This smells a bit of a humblebragI'm always delighted if I can make top 1% on any segment.
The segment is on the Ride 100, so lots of nodders to ride up it slowly and further inflate my ego! The point was more that what in the wider context is still a relatively quick time was still decimated by the KOM! If I was going for the humblebrag I'd have chosen one of my three pages of KOMs as the example 😉
Going back to viewing your all your own previous times on a segment, I can't find a way of doing it on the android app, but I know how to do it on the Web version. So is it only possible on the Web version?
Found the same on the iOS app, so seems that way.
Found the same on the iOS app, so seems that way.
thanks njee20, it's a shame as I find it most useful, nowhere near any KOMs for me.
try Endomondo, same kind of thing but without all the willy waving
Hardly anyone I know is on Endomondo though so you lose out on the social stuff in Strava.
I always give kudos to people who've clearly had some sort of GPS error, and a guy I work with gives me kudos for every commute I do with no achievements!
Gosh, that might explain how I managed to get a kudos on my run commute this morning. It wasn't my fastest or furthest, got no achievements (didn't even pass through any segments), but the GPS tracking did wander off to imply I ran through a hospital across the road. Don't know the guy who kudos'd me though.
Have not read all of the above..
For my 2pence the day before I learnt about strava I was over 15 stone, now 11 1/2 stone.
Strava gave me the final push I needed
I think its brill!