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[Closed] Too fast for Strava? "Please explain why this activity should not be flagged."

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I had a YouTube live stream stopped for breeching community guide lines yesterday. I hadn't even turned on the audio so it was just me staring at the screen looking for the audio settings while students typed we can't hear you.

It's a harsh online world


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 9:36 am
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Bet there isn’t much else in your trophy cabinate.
Cracking ride that.

Probably - but it's a start towards the real trophy cabinet, isn't it?

I used to do stuff like this on strava back in the day - actually very similar to the OP, power KOMs on busy segments. Made me realise I actually had power on the bike relative to others, so I started racing for real - do a lot of cyclocross and time trialling. (although still working on the trophy cabinet I have to admit - but it is very hard to win bike races).

POint is racing can seem like an unrealistic or intimidating prospect if you're just a strong bloke riding around, not in a cycling club so don't know other racers etc. Strava can definitely give you some confidence to try it.

Ironically the segment here which is short, GPS error-strewn, and round the corner from his house still shows that the OP has one of the most important things to do well at a road race - 30 second power. Way more important than mileage, or being fit enough to ride a long way at a hig average speed.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 9:57 am
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Way more important than mileage, or being fit enough to ride a long way at a hig average speed.
Yeah, we'll just ask everyone else to wait for him to catch up before the finish...


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:03 am
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KOMs are fun, I don't care what anyone else says, it gives you the motivation to really hammer a section and practice all your best gurning and aero posturing. Without a KOM to chase you would just feel silly. And most of my rides are similar to the OPs e.g. easy spinning in Zone 2 with a couple of flat out sections. As I understand it that is basically polarised training 101 rather than ragging yourself for 5 hours in Zone 3 and needing to recover for ages without having actually made any useful gains.

Plus bragging rights, am nervously watching my boss slowly close in on one of my favourite cobble sections in Edinburgh city centre (although I'd actually lost the KOM ages ago).

I limit KOM chasing to sections which are fun to ride, so locally that includes a nice smooth but twisty farm road which is often subject to a decent tailwind, a similarly long rolling climb in a local estate (also quite often subject to tailwinds, see a theme here?) and some local flat gravel sections which are just loose and lumpy enough to make them challenging whilst still allowing you to basically get on top of a big gear and replay Paris-Roubaix fantasies in your head.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:06 am
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I think the OP is nuts to think it matters.
I also think some people on here are nuts to think it matters that he thinks it matters. It’s just a bit of fun.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:18 am
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you do know the difference between a sprinter and an endurance specialist?

I think I get it. 6 miles is in the endurance category as it is so, so far and the sprinter just competes in races that are 6 miles long and where everyone follows behind them waiting for their awesome sprint at the end.
Is that correct?


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:19 am
 Drac
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A sprinter runs to shops and stock piles on energy gels, endurance know they’ll be plenty of feed stations so take their time.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:34 am
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Go on a 60 mile ride tomorrow,

Then he'll get flagged by the lock-down curtain twitchers.

I've had a 30 mile road ride flagged for this reason. Abusive comments etc.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:41 am
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The speed profile is unnervingly stable through the section in comparison to others. A 10min warm up with no efforts/surges before putting out what would be over 1000 watts for 25secs also looks sus.

Come back after you have your power meter data on a ride. Its only really efforts with power meters for uphill/flat sections that feel trustworthy. Downhill, not so much as that's more of a skill/balls thing.

Editing .gpx data before uploading to strava is now so easy it makes me very suspicious of everything out of the ordinary.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:41 am
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20% !
Did you fit your GPS to a catapult mounted on your bars ?
Did you ride it on an electric bike ?

Looking at the evidence it does seem suspicious, not surprised it was flagged.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:46 am
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Actually, thats on a road, I reckon you hung onto the back of a bus 🙂


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 10:49 am
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whether the OP is a bit sad, or a sad roadie short-KOM hunter, or a Sky fanboi, or whether the seg is too short, is not the point.

The question is why another Strava user has flagged his ride, and if this is justified.

32mph average on a short uphill seg is pretty quick but not impossible, with a tailwind, and the stats look legit (average is less than the max, for example, and the speed does fluctuate between 31 and 33) so it doesn't look like dodgy GPS, or in a car, so the flag appears to be some kind of someone-has-just-nicked-my-KOM (SHJNMK) problem, which is actually the sad bit of all this.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:04 am
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Tbh anyone that knows anything about road riding knows that those speeds are absolutely believable when you have the latest Chinese deep section wheels and knockoff skinsuit 🙂

As had been pointed out already, getting a Kom is actually pretty easy when it's the only effort you put in during a very short ride. That said, op is clearly happy with it, so that's the main thing.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:11 am
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Ironically the segment here which is short, GPS error-strewn, and round the corner from his house still shows that the OP has one of the most important things to do well at a road race – 30 second power. Way more important than mileage, or being fit enough to ride a long way at a hig average speed.

Except he’ll get pinged out the back of the group long before he gets to use it


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:18 am
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and the speed does fluctuate between 31 and 33

Sort of - the speed jumps up a bit on the last 30m or so but its within 1.5kmh for the other 340m which is quite hard to do. With no cadence or power meter data and just a phone doing the gps tracking its all a bit vague. To be fair the other 1400 odd people were probably doing it on busier roads not in the middle of a pandemic so his ability to hold a virtually static speed for the bulk of it whilst no one else seems to is less odd. And it's just Strava so just a bit of fun for those that gaf.

As said most Strava users have long since grown up and don't look too much at the KOM leader boards. 1200-1350 of those riders of that segment will be completely unaware they are on one and are JRA. I tend to look at some of my longer climbs and compare them to my previous efforts as it 'might' give an indication of current fitness but for a couple of years I have had my privacy settings set to 'only me' so don't appear on any public boards. I only make my rides public once in a while when I've done something interesting to share with friends. Other than that I regard it as just spamming. Any friend who I follow who has their settings so that my feed is full of their dross ride to the shop and back etc gets unfriended as I can't be doing with that. It is a nice way to see what friends are up to though. That and personal data analysis is what Strava is for me now.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:26 am
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One reason why it may be flagged is because it looks like you’re breaking the law travelling faster than the 50km/h speed limit

Ah could be, most people seem to drive around 55 km/h. From wiki about germany: "There are two default speed limits: 50 km/h (31 mph) inside built-up areas and 100 km/h (62 mph) outside built-up areas"

A cheeky KOM doesn’t really hide the fact that you barely seem that interested in riding a bike, just interweb props.

This thread gives me a lot a joy! I've never been called out for cheating before or been blamed for having fun in the wrong way.

Let me explain, I just started using Strava, and only on occasion (i might take it a bit less serious than some people here have come to believe). Just built up a roadbike and previously rode a MTB exclusively. Not that I go for 60 mile rides.

What do people have against team sky?? Just got the sky one because a) it looks good b) it's rapha so presumably good quality c) it cost £15 used on ebay. I did not look for a sky jersey, but well happy with it! Go SKY ;p

Thanks for the support Gary, 13thfloormonk, reggie. I'll post some power data when I get the 4iii, seems you need it to get KOMs. All I have for now is some echo bike numbers, can prob get to >1500w on it with a few more tries.

null


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:40 am
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Except he’ll get pinged out the back of the group long before he gets to use it

Sure, first few times. But anyone can train the strength to sit in a Cat 4 group if they really want to. A hard sprint is something you either have or you don't.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:41 am
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As said most Strava users have long since grown up and don’t look too much at the KOM leader boards.

null


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 11:48 am
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hols2 - I genuinely think that - the vocal/visible minority might still care about KOMs but most don't. My 74 year old mother has a strava account ffs (I didn't do it for her - she found it all by herself!). And shares her ehybrid rides with her old duffer friends complete with photos of wild flowers she spotted on the way. I very much doubt she edits her rides to ebike either so feel free to report her. But if you get to feel better about yourself for beating her on any section you have a problem! That kind of use is more common than you'd think if your periscope on to the world was just through bike forums. The atypical 'Stravaaaa' battle cry caricature of a typical user stopped being relevant in about 2015. Since they added all the other functionality to the platform the KOM element is now effectively a bolt on for the vast vast majority. I'd say its not really what it's about anymore.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 12:03 pm
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Oh but I do like the trend for offensively named segments which make you regret trying in the first place (which is the point I guess).

My friend recently got one called "Great big honking sweaty beef-flaps" and I got one ages ago (another cobbled section, I can't help myself) called "Sad cock wannabe street racer".

I think the suggestions at the time were to flag our own rides to have them removed 😀


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 12:39 pm
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What covert said ishowi use it now.

I can be arsed with seeing that someone has gone a 2miles family walk ? Or some prick having a bbq and putting strava on for a laugh. I had a cull a while back but you still get people putting a walk on that knowone is interested in.

Also reading this thread I am surprised how many strava pros there are still...


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 12:51 pm
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Best thread this year. Really made me laugh

1) koms are not important, it's prs that are. Race yourself, beat your own times. Build a data base so you can judge your fitness. I have a loop I do every year to see where my fitness stands.

2) the op is clearly enjoying himself, he likes researching and buying things, fair play to him.

3) if it makes him ride more getting a kom then great.

4) very brave (or stupid) to post a link to his strava

5) I'm impressed with his responses and the way he has taken the abuse. Most people on here would have flounced long ago. Perhaps a good flounce would have made this thread even more enjoyable.

Good luck op.

Please find another 400m segment close to your home and attack it and share your results with us. Or perhaps we should find one for you? 🤔😁


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 12:52 pm
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I’ll post some power data when I get the 4iii, seems you need it to get KOMs.

Eh???? Why on earth do You need a power meter to get a kom on strava? Dude you are taking this far far too seriously. As convert says, no one gives a shit about strava times, it's not real racing, because it's not a level playing field. It's a great tool for measuring how you compare against yourself, plus your mates, but what's the point of waiting for the right wind, getting your skin suit on, then going out for a 5 mile ride purely to break a Kom.. means nothing.

I'll give the example of a local hill to me, 1000 odd folks have done it, 2 national champs at top of leader board. I was out for a 10 mile Pootle the day before an event making sure bike worked. Hadn't broken a sweat and found myself at bottom of said climb, with strong wind behind. Smashed it for 2 min, got kom. Am I faster than the guys I'm ahead of, am I xxxx. They had all put in 60 mile hard rides. Any other normal ride I do I'm far slower up that hill.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 12:59 pm
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As said most Strava users have long since grown up and don’t look too much at the KOM leader boards.

Paraphrased from:

"It turned out I'm mediocre middle aged mid-fitness mid-leaderboard, not even going to be good enough for making up the numbers cannon fodder in a cat4 race, so I just look at the PR's instead and given that there's so many duplicate segments I always get a PR somewhere"


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 1:07 pm
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I’ll give the example of a local hill to me

I applaud your choice to make the ride private and give back the KOM. 🙂


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 1:09 pm
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I applaud your choice to make the ride private and give back the KOM. 🙂

Didn't actually realise I could do that! It's over a year ago now, I no longer have it! I will regain it though..just waiting for the right wind and my tt helmet to arrive..


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 1:13 pm
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31 seconds of indoor bike POWAH!??!???

How could anyone doubt your prowess?
I take back all my previous comments. And just as soon as the UCI get round to ratifying the "Rolling start, 350m bridge sprint" as a competitive event you're going to be a champion... or at least top 10.

I think your original question has now been answered in a round about way, you got flagged because anyone who spends a minute looking at you're stats on Strava discovers someone who apparently doesn't really ride a bike and then suddenly turfs out 1000W+ to score interweb points on a minute segment, it simply looks suspect... Take it or leave it.

Of course I believe Strava have their own forums too if you want a second opinion, you could go and whine on there if you like. You could also complain about how the tubby mountain bikers of STW didn't take you seriously despite you owning a used Sky jersey and murdering the Watts out of a stationary gym bike for over half a minute...
There's a whole wide interweb of strangers to vaguely perturb, so crack on buddy.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 3:16 pm
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Nah. It's Germany, so he got flagged because the road has a 50kmh limit and there's a cycle path running alongside.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 3:36 pm
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Sub one minute Strava segments shouldn't count for shit due to the likelihood of increased timing errors and most of all the pointlessness of them.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 3:41 pm
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Please find another 400m segment close to your home and attack it and share your results with us. Or perhaps we should find one for you? 🤔😁

Haha, be my guest - I found a hillsprint just over 1 minute..Hills are hard to come by here and seems like level sprints aren't ideal re safety and speed limits. Maybe if you go a bit further into the boonies where it's 100 km/h.

Eh???? Why on earth do You need a power meter to get a kom on strava? Dude you are taking this far far too seriously. As convert says, no one gives a shit about strava times, it’s not real racing, because it’s not a level playing field. It’s a great tool for measuring how you compare against yourself, plus your mates, but what’s the point of waiting for the right wind, getting your skin suit on, then going out for a 5 mile ride purely to break a Kom.. means nothing.

I’ll give the example of a local hill to me, 1000 odd folks have done it, 2 national champs at top of leader board. I was out for a 10 mile Pootle the day before an event making sure bike worked. Hadn’t broken a sweat and found myself at bottom of said climb, with strong wind behind. Smashed it for 2 min, got kom. Am I faster than the guys I’m ahead of, am I xxxx. They had all put in 60 mile hard rides. Any other normal ride I do I’m far slower up that hill.

You need a power meter to prove your KOM is real apparently! Plus it's fun and can in some cases show if you got a KOM from tailwind ("behind wind") alone.

Real racing a level playing field? lol. Strava is as level if you're talking KOMs, they're nearly always in ideal conditions i.e. strong tailwind where it's wimdy, but I guess if you really wanted to che..win you'd get lead out at hit it at 65 km/h. (Had a good laugh about the group that used lead outs to just beat that Strava troll's time..).

I don't have a skin suit, I just have a normal jersey. Don't even have an aero helmet, shoe covers, shaved legs or gobble baking soda before I head out - lots of KOMs left on the table :S

Good job on the hill, post your strava too - It's surprisingly entertaining!

You could also complain about how the tubby mountain bikers of STW didn’t take you seriously despite you owning a used Sky jersey and murdering the Watts out of a stationary gym bike for over half a minute…
There’s a whole wide interweb of strangers to vaguely perturb, so crack on buddy.

I'll link to the thread in the follow up from Strava. Whine?! I wasn't whining I was "humblebragging" - it's the opposite!


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 3:43 pm
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Made my day this thread 🙂 Props to op for taking it on the chin too. It’s bike riding it’s all for fun 😊


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 4:12 pm
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Everyone knows the only KOM's that matter are DH Gnarrrrrr KOM's


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 5:55 pm
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I'm with the OP. Been on Strava since 2010 (just checked) and I still get excited about KOMs.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 6:02 pm
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I guess we've all changed

Everyone knows the only KOM’s that matter are DH Gnarrrrrr KOM’s

A few years ago he would have been abused for being a roadie and going for an uphill strava kom.

A lot of us now have road bikes or some description, gravel, hybrid etc


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 6:19 pm
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It's a bit of fun and as long as no-one takes it too seriously there's no harm in KOMs. Once saw a guy motor pacing up box hill, he's open to any abuse going.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 6:30 pm
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What I listened to before, during and after the KOM


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 6:30 pm
 MSP
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…actually how do you respond to a flag anyway?

USA...USA...USA...


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 6:31 pm
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no one gives a shit about strava times, it’s not real racing

Speak for yourself op! It's like KOM ping pong over here!

All those serious cxers seriously in the mix.


 
Posted : 21/04/2020 7:18 pm
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Tested the powermeter today and botched a sprint up da bridge going out too hard https://www.strava.com/activities/3336631879

But why is my power and hr data only showing on my profile and not on the segment view??


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 6:52 pm
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No idea what you should tell Strava, but I don't really get the hating for going for KOMs. Yes it's pointless but it's a bit of fun, and yes it probably doesn't mean much on such a short segment given the variation in timing you can get, but then surely deleting the segment is the solution.
Having said that, a 13mph average speed with a segment like that would raise my eyebrow if I was strava stalking the leaderboard, no that I'd ever be so sad obvs.
One of the segments I had (which was on my commute, therefore I've had all the weather possible on it) got taken by someone who I knew was a bit slower than me. But it turned out he'd got a friendly HGV driver in front of him for the full segment, I just found one half way along it. 🙂


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 7:32 pm
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Ah it was showing and old segment or smth, set it to private and now it works - very exciting I know. https://www.strava.com/segments/23383924


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 8:28 pm
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You bought and wear someone's sweat filled skin rubbed second hand lycra jersey .yuk!


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 8:45 pm
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More aero that way.


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 9:29 pm
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OP

Since you're new to strava you may not know this or maybe you have done it already.

But you should set up 'PRIVACY ZONE' This means that the public wont be able to see exactly where your ride starts and ends. Its not the best idea to broadcast where you live and keep your expensive bikes...

Settings>>>Privacy Controls>>>Additonal settings>>>Privacy zones

This lets you hide your exact location.


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 9:46 pm
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Thx! Done, do I somehow need to update old segments with it?


 
Posted : 22/04/2020 10:00 pm
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