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It doesn’t seem to come up for non-subscribers – which is a bonus for me.
I was thinking about subscribing, but this has put me off somewhat!
Loving your logic.
You: Hi tesco, I don't like the new orange juice you sell so I am not going to shop at Tesco
Tesco: I'm sorry about that, when did you try it?
You: Oh, I haven't, I am not one of your customers but I do park in your car park for free sometimes. I was thinking about shopping with you but now I wont because you sell something I have never tried and don't like...
Not meant to be, but when it comes to aggression I am amongst the most passive 😀. Much as I love getting any kind of badge on Strava I just couldn’t get any joy from this one, I am failing to understand it’s purpose and trying to work it out
I'm with you, I'm a runner and a roadie and I think it's pointless too 🙂
Perhaps age-graded KOMs could be a more fruitful way of engaging riders who wouldn't otherwise be hitting leaderboards?
Isn’t that the Strava equivalent of giving everybody a medal at sports day?
Not really. Strava was better for the average person (for the purposes of argument, I'll generously lower myself to average here) when it was a younger platform. Not because they've changed it to make it worse, but because they've just accumulated far more efforts.
Try this: It is the year 2288. I can never get a KOM because of that one local guy who was freakishly good in the mid 2210s coinciding with the golden age of the current hover-bike technology. That one guy got a KOM in 2281. It was on the news-wall. etc etc
Strava can't go on forever using a single KOM leaderboard; KOMs would be vanishingly rare and the chance of getting a KOM is what drives a lot of people. It's not even fair to say that the segments are on the same trails, since erosion and building changes the face of trails entirely over the course of a few years (obviously this applies less to road cycling).
I keep seeing this thread and it reminds me of the video from the London station of the self-styled "Legend of Margate".
Personally I'd hate to have local legend status in any respect. That is all.
It's a bit like handing out a special prize for effort to the fat kid at the school sports day because he has no chance of winning any of the proper prizes..
Fastest by weight - KOF (King of Fatties)
Perhaps age-graded KOMs could be a more fruitful way of engaging riders who wouldn’t otherwise be hitting leaderboards?
Fastest by weight – KOF (King of Fatties)
These are both already features on Strava!!
These days, to get a KOM I have to be either really lucky, or find a segment only a few hundred people have ridden, or have the prevailing winds or weird once-a-year conditions
I know of one local guy who starts his ride a few metres into a descent, and pauses it a bit before the end, saw him doing it one day and never thought anything of it. It does his KOM on a local descent, as he's not particularly quick, or good.
Seems like Strava are indeed pushing this as the achievable goal for a segment - last night MrsP got an 'UhOh! You're no longer the Local Legend on ... because ... has ridden it 17 times in the last 90 days - get out there and get it back' type email, similar to the one you get for KOMs/QOMs.
I know of one local guy who starts his ride a few metres into a descent, and pauses it a bit before the end, saw him doing it one day and never thought anything of it. It does his KOM on a local descent, as he’s not particularly quick, or good.
Starting in the trail would count against him wouldnt it? surely its better to enter a segment already rolling and gain a few seconds? equally slowing down to press pause must take a second or too and be slower than just rolling out of the trail?
If you're close enough to trigger the start point detection you get a head start, same at the end so long as you're close enough when you end the ride. Total time is less, but if you're near enough you get credited as having done the segment.
You could still have a rolling start, just hit the start button at speed a little beyond the start.
Trier of the week award
Maybe they could have implemented the yearly KOMs better, so you didn’t sweep up every single one on New Year’s Day while out doing your shopping. For example, if they set the benchmark on the results in the month (or even 3 to 6 months) prior to New Year’s Day. Or even as a percentage of the existing KOM.
12-24 month rolling leader board would be my choice. Covers all of the seasons so that the fast summer conditions are always covered and as it's constantly evolving any changes in the trail conditions automatically get accounted for. Also means that if someone got a lucky run (one of mine is one) on a particular trail it drops off and allows others a shot at it.
You could still have a rolling start, just hit the start button at speed a little beyond the start.
Wow that's a new kind of lame. Why not just Strava dope if you're willing to cheat?
Wow that’s a new kind of lame. Why not just Strava dope if you’re willing to cheat?
Same reason you get multiple versions of a trail all starting in different spots.
People create a segment with a lead in, or longer tail, in the hope they'll get the KOM. Or I assume this is why, otherwise, why create a duplicate.
12-24 month rolling leader board would be my choice. Covers all of the seasons so that the fast summer conditions are always covered and as it’s constantly evolving any changes in the trail conditions automatically get accounted for. Also means that if someone got a lucky run (one of mine is one) on a particular trail it drops off and allows others a shot at it.
This would be perfect. Add an archive to this so you can look back at who had the KOM each year and the age of the segment too.
As @Superficial mentions ^^, the KOM is no longer an aim for the vast majority on Strava because, unless you are genuinely very good indeed, most are unattainable under normal conditions.
I remember the days of getting a KOM or two every ride. Now the only way I can get close is by finding a weird random segment completely by chance on a long ride - one of those obscure ones that does all sorts of loops or takes in a random back road that wouldn't be the normal choice for a roadie - and then going back to have a proper go at it.
Can see why Strava have introduced it, it might appeal to the regular competitive commuter type! Currently it's only on the mobile app, the notification from Strava that I had was that it'll be brought to the web version soon.
I'd quite like to see a feature listing KOMs recently lost. Strava sends the "uh-oh" email but then it drops off your feed and there's no way of keeping track of it; next to the existing page of your KOMs / PRs, it'd be nice to have a "you were KOM" tab to see segments that you'd lost, the time difference and a sort of motivator to improve, go back and try again.
I think a lot of off road segments are irrelevant anyway. I've seen a lot of instances where it's obvious that the leaders haven't actually been riding the trail but just a fireroad running roughly parallel to the trail.
Even worse I've come across a segment where the top 10 or so leaders have all been riding a road running downhill, pretty much in a straight line that bears no resemblance to an uppy/downy/wiggly sort of in a gully actual segment. The result is the top 10 range from 6 to 9 seconds.... my pathetic attempt... 42 seconds. Now, I'm bad but not that bad.
The mapping and gps accuracy for so much off road stuff is pretty flaky so can't get too excited about it...more interested in how I do against my own previous efforts.
yay ive got one. probably because its my ride hole from every ride.
however its absolute bobbins. why is this a thing?
i thought hey had yearly leader boards? i agree a yearly reset would be good
You could still have a rolling start, just hit the start button at speed a little beyond the start.
Wow that’s a new kind of lame. Why not just Strava dope if you’re willing to cheat?
i never said anything about lameness or otherwise. I just explained why he might be doing it & how it might work.
There’s a segment near here (a sprint up a short rise) where all the top times* come in from a side street and scoot off up the hill. But the side street junction joins the segment ~25m after the start of the segment, and since it’s short that’s a decent percentage knocked off.
*mine included! I didn’t plan it, just happily accepted the top ten when I saw it after getting home!
I think a lot of off road segments are irrelevant anyway. I’ve seen a lot of instances where it’s obvious that the leaders haven’t actually been riding the trail but just a fireroad running roughly parallel to the trail.
Let's not get started on E-bikes and off road segments! I've given up flagging them now as it's almost a full time job, it's not just the ones I've gained but others too and I know they're legitimately "won" without a motor. Quite happy to be a local legend on my commute, though! 😉
"Local Legend" sound like someone who gets into a lot of fights, sleeps around and takes enough drugs to kill a horse.
or King Arthur
It just a marketing tool to try and attract subscribers who know that getting into the top 20 isn’t going to happen let alone a kom. It gives them something to earn if the are bothered
The KOM was probably achieved several years ago after the trail was resurfaced and was temporarily super-quick.
In Cambridge a bunch of local fast riders hired a transit van and spent several days drafting it at 35mph+ taking a lot of the main road KOMs!
Sort of tells you all you need to know....
I got blue lighted to hospital in a police car once, got surprisingly few KOM's. My top speed of 138kmph down the M4 was good though!!
I deleted the ride the next day after recovering from surgery!!
If we are Strava whingeing then I wish they would sort out a way of dealing with uplifts.
In Cambridge a bunch of local fast riders hired a transit van and spent several days drafting it at 35mph+ taking a lot of the main road KOMs!
A load of the road KOMs over flat roads are taken by people in group rides.
I've noticed a load of mainly women uploading ebike rides and getting KOMs on climbs too when looking at my other halfs rides they do a 18kmph average to the shops but bag 3 KOMs up hills with pictures of the rider on an ebike. A surprising number of blokes seem to be listed as women too!!!
Still I like it, find it fun
Sounds like a pointless thing to justify their costs and massage the egos of people who have nothing better to do all day than ride their bike or go for a run….
Seems I’ve picked up a couple from when I was on furlough, when I really did have nothing better to do all day than ride my bike.
Bloody lifesaver that was.
A surprising number of blokes seem to be listed as women too!!!
I'd noticed round here a bloke and his (I assumed wife) always have the same time on every segment. I'd thought they just used his GPS data for both their rides.
(It also means she's QOM on most segments).
Now you've got me thinking that he's got two accounts, and is using the female one to Hoover up all the QOMs! Probably not 😆
I’d noticed round here a bloke and his (I assumed wife) always have the same time on every segment.
Tandem? Mrs NBT doesn't bother with Strava, but our friends have an account each, so they're often listed as riding together if she goes out with him on the tandem (she never rides a solo)
I looked at the local legends thing a couple of days ago and there was only one segment listed as eligible - which I hold as it's part of a loop we've been riding on the tandem three or four times a week since lockdown started. Checked last night and suddenly I have about 19 Local Legend segments, all on variations of our local loop
Yes! I'm a local legend (non app user). Knew it was coming now that we're out of lockdown and everyone else is driving further to ride off road.
Wait till Poundland see strava have stole their logo 😉
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It's almost worth it, for the (somewhat childish) comedy value...
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It seems I’m a local legend on 4 segments. One of which I rode just once in the last 90 days (and even that was an accident after missing a turn).
I am a creature of habit and generally ride one of 6 loops with all the segments therein. I imagine I would be local legend on lots of segments if I was to ever subscribe and see them. They don't interest me at all.
I did used to like a KOM like but as I get older and as each segment gets more riders the chance of me getting a new KOM i sin the distant past. Like the idea of resetting them as it would make it more fun again as could temporarily get them, get new challengers getting them back etc,.