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

Lawmanmx 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. 🙂

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.

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.

Use it to track your miles, and track your own progress over time, maybe follow your mates if you’re bothered.

+1
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.

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 – Member

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.

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.

smash the segment, then collapse

amen. Then look at the guy you just knocked off top perch and see that his ride was covered in PRs and KOMs.
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.

<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…