[Closed] What would your cycling look like if Strava didn't exist?

Never used it.

I ride for my own enjoyment, and it's great. I use my Garmin for tracking rides for my own interest only. Sometimes I try and ride a regular route a little faster than I did the last time, sometimes I don't care and just ride.

Knowing that TrailShredda123 rode a few hundred yards of my route faster than me would not improve my enjoyment one iota.

I wouldn't have pushed myself harder to get those extra km or climbing some months, probably wouldn't have got as fit as I did too, it's a great companion and training tool. Like all tech (and life in general) you get out what you put in

I do use it and

I ride for my own enjoyment, and it’s great. Sometimes I try and ride a regular route a little faster than I did the last time, sometimes I don’t care and just ride.

still applies. The only difference would be I'd ride a few less descents because there'd no strava heatmap or segments to easily check out new areas with. If it's a boring waste of time and distraction then that's because that's what you've made it to be.

If a KoM falls in a forest, but nobody is there to see it ...

Apart from occasionally turning around to have another go at a segment, exactly the same as without Strava!

A lot more trail centers as it would be much more difficult to find the good stuff.

Pretty much what CF said. I do use it but it's just for logging and looking back at my own rides.

I'd probably spend less time comparing myself against random strangers, which wouldn't be a bad thing. But Strava links to veloviewer, which encourages me to visit new squares on the map, so it's swings and roundabouts.

What is Strava?

This forum is my strava. 😶

My local cheeky would be a bit more exclusive. I might not have found other people's cheeky.

Apart from that, sod all difference. Strava arrived a year or 3 after the start of my fitness decline so for that reason I've not even really looked at the competitive element of the service. I know it's there and am familiar with the KOM/QOM terms but never got further than that.

Actually just ran the app. I had to have it installed for Zwift or something but never really looked at it...

Got to admit, it has shown me a few trails near here I didn't really know about.... So good for that I guess!😊

How much of what we do is just ego massaging ? Training, racing , uploading photos, witty ride descriptions

Exactly like it is now, because I don't compete unless there are stakes involved. Strava is for bellends. The worst offenders are the lot that go out on corporate or club rides in matching gear, fanny down the hillside and then loudly talk strava times in the bar/cafe etc.

I love it, but also agree with the potential described by the OP.

Strava has improved the way I ride, and does foster in me a sense of competition, but I think it’s all prett healthy, and I have in no way lost my sense of enjoyment or ability to just shut it off and ride.

Lonelier I guess. I like being able to keep up with what mates are up to while we aren't able to ride together. Which is most of the time.  I Think of it as Facebook, but with people you mainly like, and without the irritating activities you don't want to hear about.

Exactly the same as it is now ..never used it / never will and I'm not bothered how fast anyone else is .

I use Viewranger to record my routes which I sometimes share ...this and another mtb forum is my only dabble into social media ..Im happy with that ..

I keep in touch with family & friends the old fashioned way ..phone / txt / email ..

The same, as I never use it, or better as there would probably be less people out there on bikes.

Strava gave me an easy way to monitor improvements and push harder up the climbs, all in the name of getting fitter. Oldskool bike computers, telling me basic info like average speed, did nothing to motivate me.

However, when niggles prevent you from being able to train hard, Strava and turbo training lose their appeal for me. I did 20 miles yesterday on Zwift in zone1 power for my ftp and came so close to scrapping the session many times, it felt dull as dishwater and a look on Strava afterwards was very brief compared to normal.

Exactly the same

Absolutely no different other than I wouldn't;t know how far or fast I had ridden (as I don't use a bike computer)

Absolutely no different.  I ride for fitness, fun and mental health.

I only use Strava as a diary, I’m not really interested in the overall times.  I will say it has helped me set distance and climbing goals for the year and has helped push me forward.  So I like it for that reason, for me though chasing KOM is a recipe for disaster and resulting hospital trip so I no longer bother

The riding itself wouldn't be wildly different, but the whole cycling part of my life would be worse imo, for many reasons, including:

1) when I first started riding again strava pushed me to ride harder so I got fitter quicker. I've lost interest in the segment leaderboard side of things now though,

2) discovered new routes by looking st segments, people's rides, heatmap etc.

3) made friends with other local riders via leaderboard comparison and kept in touch with friends made at races etc.

4) allows you to keep up with the riding activities of other people both locally and further afield without being an activity bore on Facebook

I turned left yesterday up another hill to get me over 50 miles instead of the shorter, easier option. Did it as I couldn't ride over the weekend but was inspired by seeing friends banging in hard miles in hard conditions. Nobody would be able to convince me that's a bad thing.

Also sacked off all other social media so Strava stops me becoming a total misanthrope.

I wouldn't be so fit. I use it only as a means to improve fitness against my own times. I even switched to Wahoo so my live segments show my PR to chase rather than who I'm following. I think it's a great motivator and training tool. And whilst I'm not at my fittest, with Strava I can see how far off my PRs I am.

It'd be a shame to be without it on my many solo rides.

I don't care if I've done more Kms than someone else, and I don't know anyone who does.

i use it, its in private mode whatever that means? and i only follow a handful of people and only have those guys follow me back. its kindda like facebook but exclusively for us who are genuinely interested in each others riding.

couldn't really give a shit about distance and times. most of my rides are about 6 or 7 miles!

i enjoy looking back through past rides and reminiscing over the photos.

i like to see where the lads rode that time i couldnt make it, then take the piss out of it a bit.

i also love creating routes i never use! 😀

It would be almost indistinguishable. Sure there are times on the commute that I know I'm "on segment" and have a tailwind and fresh legs and no red lights, but I would probably go fast for fun either way.

Similarly there's the odd hill I'll blast up or down to try and get a KOM/beat my mates' times, but I would go for it from time to time anyway, just without knowing how fast I'd done an arbitrary section of the ride. And if my mates were out, it'd be about beating them on the day (if I was in the mood).

The old adage that you don't realise how crap you are until you go racing applies to beating mates on your rides as well as beating them on Strava. Surely even if you Strava a race it's the result that matters, not the Strava?

The people that are 'like that' would be like that with or without Strava. It's a tool of many uses but how you wield the tool is up the person (as always).

For me if I had never used it I would either be using something else to log and track my rides (computer, other app etc.). I would be using something else for route planning and exploring (more paper maps, other app etc.) and I'd also be using some other method of keeping in touch with some not-local riding buddies.

So on the whole it's made it easier for me to find new routes, easier to keep in touch with people I like, and easier to keep a log of my rides and helped my fitness, without it my riding would likely be lonelier, slower, and less varied. Seems like a good tool for me...

Bellendery is not a mandatory part of accepting the Strava T&Cs

I wouldn’t be so fit. I use it only as a means to improve fitness against my own times. I even switched to Wahoo so my live segments show my PR to chase rather than who I’m following. I think it’s a great motivator and training tool. And whilst I’m not at my fittest, with Strava I can see how far off my PRs I am.

if you only ride against yourself you can do all that without strava

I wouldn't ride as much.

I'd probably never have brought a Garmin and wouldn't have an easy way of keeping track of my distance/altitude/time riding which I now use to set myself targets.

Face it haters, Strava ain't all bad.

Give me a break.  Strava's pretty new, I (and a very large number of other people) have been riding waaay longer than Strava has been around.

I use it for logging exercise, I use the heatmap for scoping out new trails, and I have a couple of arbitrary KOM goals that I like to try and achieve.  No different to trying to beat a mate.  It's really not a big deal - if you think it is, then you are a bit too into it imo.

would have been a bitch to find some trails

Don't use it. Not a "hater" (arf). Tried Strava and Endomondo before it, just lost interest in recording rides. Mostly because I can't be arsed with fiddling with a phone app before and after rides.

It makes a great riding diary.

It makes a great riding diary.

yeah the software before strava was a right pain it would randomly delete ride data just for the hell of it 🙂

if you only ride against yourself you can do all that without strava

I would agree. But it's kind of obvious that you can do anything Strava enables without Strava. If you really really wanted to, you could sit on a bit of road and time every other cyclist that went past, then time yourself.

It's just Strava makes it easier. Doesn't cause (or alleviate) bell endery, doesn't make routes magically appear, and tbh I still prefer using a map or a riding buddy to find new routes.

It makes logging mileage much easier, as well as other things. But it doesn't really change *how* I ride.

Probably not too different TBH. Like most I chased top tens and KOMs when I started but now the only rider I compete against is the idiot I see in the mirror every morning.

These days, like a lot of posters so far, it's mostly a diary of what I've done rather than a willy waving exercise. Like @roverpig I've a VeloViewer account and getting explorer squares is a better game. The heat map is great especially in Scotland where the black dashed line can be anything from ace singletrack (Coire Lair in Torridon) to death march (Glen Garry).

I'm not keen on the recent "social media" style updates, posts, etc. I've not seen many of them recently so quite possible that those I follow on Strava aren't keen either.

It's a tool and it's a poor workman that blames his tools.

I use it only as a means to improve fitness against my own times.

If you really really wanted to, you could sit on a bit of road and time every other cyclist that went past, then time yourself.

make your mind up

if you only ride against yourself you can do all that without strava

Can you do segment times without Strava? Just wondering really. I don't want to because Strava is so good at it.

make your mind up

if I said the first bit on your quote, it was meant to be in quotes. It still doesn't change the fact that you can do, everything that Strava makes easier, just not as easily, without Strava. And if you ride like a bell end, you would do so anyway.

Only use such services to record where I've ridden (or hiked, etc.)

CGAS about segment times. I don't race on open paths, against either myself or others. Plus when I did use Strava for a bit, the segment/time recording and detection of going thru the end points was horrendously inaccurate.

Tend to use Polar Flow, because that's what the watch is. 2 button presses to start, 1 to stop, and about the same number to sync to the intawebz.

how does strava make it easier over any other software when just comparing to yourself ?.... the social side yes makes it easier to compare to others but if it's just you then it no different to other recording software

No different at all, I'd just know a little less about what I've done and when i did it.

@klunk - it's probably no easier than any other system. It was one of the first mainstream options so had that advantage. I don't know any of my riding friends who use Endomondo or Garmin as their main logging system for example.

I don’t know any of my riding friends who use Endomondo or Garmin as their main logging system for example.

i used some free thing off the internet till i saw sense an binned my gps... there are others out there such as training peaks for example if your need to track your progress/fitness

Klunk, as above I don't know if it makes it easier compared with other apps, but it certainly makes it easier compared to keeping a log of rides/segments manually!

Edit - I suppose technically in response to the title, this matters, as if Strava didn't exist, other apps undoubtedly would. So I guess my riding would have a less orangey background if Strava didn't exist. And I'd shout the name of another app at walkers/less expert riders that got in my way 🙂

Used to use Endomondo (and Everytrail before that), since it was there before Strava was a thing.

Even used to be monthly endomondo challenges on here. Then Strava caught on, because racing is more important than miles or km.

The apps were hopeless when I used them. Always crashing, or deleting data, or giving up half way thru a ride. Fortunately, most of the time I'd have the etrex running as a backup. Don't need such a backup with the Polar watch.

how does strava make it easier over any other software when just comparing to yourself ?

It's so easy that the 2mins to try and see how garmin did it led to me giving up, it presents it all in front of you with comparisons and graphs in seconds. It links to loads of other platforms and just works.

i wish there was a a more mtb friendly version tho, one that helps you easily identify segments as descents, gives you the option to switch off all tarmac segments, and lets you create segments shorter than 200ms etc....

I think my cycling would be roughly the same, I don't really need Strava for motivation.

The main difference would be that my local trails wouldn't be so trashed, and I wouldn't know a few cheeky trails that I've found on heatmap.

i wish there was a a more mtb friendly version tho, one that helps you easily identify segments as descents, gives you the option to switch off all tarmac segments, and lets you create segments shorter than 200ms etc….

Yes, and the ability to set the tolerance a bit tighter, e.g. there's a nice windy bit of singletrack next to an old railway path that I like to nip onto to liven up the ride back from some of my local trails, I tried to put a segment there but it gave my best time as a time I'd been on the road bike on the railway path 🙁

I also only realised there was another line through the woods (about 10-20m away from where I was riding) as I kept recording times on it! And I can never find less-popular-than-the-local-roads off road segments even when I know the name of them.

how does strava make it easier over any other software when just comparing to yourself ?

Because it is good software (phone app and computer) that is easy to use with good data presentation.  I carry my phone in back pocket when cycling so may as well have strava running on it.

No different at all, I’d just know a little less about what I’ve done and when i did it.

This.

I also wouldn’t know exactly where I fell off at BPW. I wish I’d left it running so I could have followed my progress with Mountain Rescue, in the ambulance and the hospital.

Yes, and the ability to set the tolerance a bit tighter

yeah we have dug a new track recently, completely fresh cut, but it does run quite close to and crosses the main bridleway through the woods. we made a segment for it because we didnt want somebosy else to claim it! but the leaderboard has times from 3 or 4 years ago, and when you look at their rides, they have just ridden down the bridleway..!

The social aspect of it is nice.  I can see when my mates have been out riding and ask them about their routes etc.  I've also noticed local people and friended them without knowing them, so I can see where they go. Found some good new spots that way.

I wish I’d left it running so I could have followed my progress with Mountain Rescue, in the ambulance and the hospital.

I can just see you now, in agonising pain, but scrabbling for the phone to avoid being flamed by roadies for nicking their KOMs in the back of the ambulance. 🙂

Use it really only for time and distance on local rides. On big away days when someone is leading me, I like to look at the map after. (I like maps)

Riding in the south east there are just too many people to get competitive over it. As solid midpack fodder in both enduro and XC, I have no local KOMS, often I can think I did something well, check later and I'll have scraped into the top 20 out of 100 for that day

What would your cycling look like if Strava didn’t exist?

A lot less like a giant cock and balls in the middle of a field.

Never used it, so my cycling would be just the same.

Like  many I have seen it for its diary properties rather than competitively. So my riding wouldn't really change, tbh I don't think it's great for off road use anyway, but starting the app is habit!

Mine would be similar. On balance I would potentially do marginally less and I would certainly be less fit than I am now. I find the segment aspect of Strava very handy for gauging fitness by looking at my regularly ridden very local segments and quite enjoy racing myself to get a good workout when I don't have time for longer rides. For a lot of people it's also an extremely handy and free (assuming ownership of a smartphone) bike computer / ride logger.

I've also ridden plenty of new places and different trails in known places as a direct result of the social aspect of Strava. As said above, and in common with an awful lot of technology, you get out what you want from it. Anyone determined to hate it will find reason to and those who enjoy using it will enjoy it.

I wonder what's more antagonistic, a Strava thread, a Rapha thread or a racing sportive thread 🤔

Anyway when I used it more I thought it was fantastic. My cycling previous had been mostly just roaming around and occasionally giving it the beans up some hills. Knowing that there was a segment that some pals had ridden made me dig quite a bit deeper. Even planning a ride I'd take in some segments and go for it. Because of this I reckon I got a lot faster than I'd ha before with the bimbling/half arsed effort.

Edit: I should ssy I found it more useful for road biking than MTB.

Also tightening up accuracy is more to do with the gps rather than Strava as I understand it.

if you only ride against yourself you can do all that without strava

Not without Live Segments you can't. When I'm slogging up a hill and I know I'm a few seconds behind my PR, I am more likely to keep at it than drop a gear to make it easier, which helps with my motivation and eventual fitness. Otherwise it's all just data after the fact. I'm fitter because of Live Segments. Works for me.

Only been using it a couple of years and I quite like it. It makes absolutely ZERO difference to how I ride. I'm still just as slow as I would be anyway.

I do like the flyby feature in a voyeuristic way.

I use it as a tool to gauge my speed and fitness, there are certain trails I ride locally where I know if I get a certain time I'm riding at an OK level. I also used to spend a lot of time sectioning trails and now tend to ride them in a oner so overall it's brought my fitness up.....plus I'm really really competitive.

Due to following being followed by people that use the same routes, I actually have some riding buddies that I wouldn't have otherwise known. And I ride quite frequently with them so it has certainly widened my riding circle.

Plotting (or plagiarising) routes has increased the places where I ride

Justification of new bike purchases to the wife based on the amount of miles that I have put down on the outgoing model!