I’m completely addicted, to the point where the first thing I do when I get back from a ride is upload my GPS file and see where I’ve been!

I particularly like the social features – can see what all my friends have been up to whilst I’ve been on Holiday.

Me too. Upload a ride then see who’s time I have beaten. If someone has put a ride on Strava with a time that I will ride, I will try and beat that time. Can’t help but try and beat it.
The final descent of the Verderers trail is on Strava. Jonsey from Dirt mag clocked 2mins 49secs the fastest I’ve done it in is 3.09. I did have Trailrakers on though 😉

Exactly the same for me, loving it. only frustating thing about the various times is when a non local/race whippett comes along and posts a really fast time on ‘our’ trails. for instance the fastest time on a local hill has been posted by a south african on holiday. Otherwise best gps type tracker i’ve found.

Ahh, fisherboy – I’m back in Devon over christmas and I’ve been chasing as many ‘KOMs’ as I can! Made a few segments around my area too, so we’ll see how they stand up when the tourists (or is that tourers?) arrive in the summer.

Just started using it with my heart rate monitor too and its actually pretty useful for training, if you’re into that sorta thing.

Just gone onto their website and clicked the android app link and it’s broken – which isn’t a good start!

I’m really enjoying it. Knowing that you’re racing a time on your local singletrack adds some of that race urgency to a normal night ride!

And stats help me to justify running 🙂

I have signed up but my gps is on the blink on my phone. grrrr

OMG thank god it’s not just me! Conscious that the road climbs I’m against are put up by road boys with too much tarmack under their wheels….

Been using this for the last week. Utterly brilliant!! Love the bike-specific features like being able to track how many miles on each bike & even the miles on each component on your bikes! I’m finding the segment leaderboards great for motivation as well (need more in my area though). Everyone on STW should sign up for this (free) so more segments get mapped and in case they do another club-wide KOM competition like last year.

Yep I really like it! I have 21 ‘segments’ on my commute, need to get KOM on as many as possible! Loads are about 200 yards long though, and very traffic light dependant.

I’m KOM on about 7 segments, although 3 of them are the same climb at Mayhem, not sure how that works 😕

2 of them are descents too, so they must be very hidden!

I’m KOM on about 7 segments

nice work! There’s only one segment on my commute so far, I’ve been closing on the no. 2 guy and I’m going to be pedaling full-chat tonight to make up those last 24 seconds and overtake him! This is funny to me because normally I’m the least competitive guy ever.

How does it recognise segments, simply by GPS? E.g. if I incorporate one or more on a route will it record each one without me having to do anything?

Can I create a segment afterwards when I upload my route?

Someone has to create a segment manually in the first instance (bring up a map of your ride then click on the “actions” drop down menu if you want to do this) but then anyone else who rides the same segment (in the same direction) is automatically added to the leaderboard! I’ve not checked but I suspect this would work retroactively as well. Yes, it uses GPS, be it your Garmin/iPhone/Android/whatever.

Thanks I was hoping it was that simple. Signed up for free and will see what happens.

What’s different about the paid verion?

I was wondering that.

I also don’t really get the power figures – plenty of people seem to have wattages against their times, and it says if you input weight and what not it can give you (estimates of) power. Sometimes there’s a little ‘lightning’ symbol next to it, which I assumed was a proper measured power, but it rarely seems to pull through my PowerTap data.

Not a huge issue as I use WKO3, but seems a bit odd.

The trouble I have is that I can never remember where any of the segments are on my commute – I need to focus on one at a time I think and gradually take over the South-West London/CS7 leaderboard 🙂

I think the paid version has a lot more detailed analysis available, especially if you have HRM/power gizmos. Could be useful for the more serious cyclist. It also lets you filter the leaderboards but tbh there aren’t enough people on there at the moment for that to be necessary.

It’s only £40 or so for the year though so if I carry on using it I’ll sign up. I’d like to see them develop the iPhone app a lot more and I suppose they need an income to do that!

Sometimes there’s a little ‘lightning’ symbol next to it, which I assumed was a proper measured power, but it rarely seems to pull through my PowerTap data.

As you say, the symbol denotes the use of measured power. I don’t have a powertap so can’t comment on any problems pulling in the data though.

It used to be that you could only upload 3 rides a month for free and so it was worth paying for the premium subscription for unlimited uploads. However, now I think the only extra is that you get the ‘suffer score’ and more detailed HR/power analysis. Not really sure what this is though.

I’ve been using it since the summer, had a free 3 months with the paid for features and don’t think they give me much of interest.

How about setting up a STW club on there?

BTW, some people are wary of recording rides right from their house but there’s a security option for this where you can hide postcodes.

How about setting up a STW club on there?

Good idea, done!

HERE.

Hopefully it’ll work…

Need other people to join that club now… it looks lonely with just me and Nick 😳

Couldn’t find an appropriately sized logo either – we’re anonymous!

I’ll join later as can’t access from here. If there’s only a few maybe I’ll have some of the best times on some of the Surrey Hills climbs…!

Nah, I’m in the Surrey Hills, KOM of Leith Hill 🙂

Edit: no I’m not, some bugger’s taken it off me.

Alright then… I uploaded the history that was on my Garmin, which was about 3 months worth, but it doesn’t seem to have retrospectively applied my segment times for all rides, any idea why? Like my Leith Hill time, I’m sure I’ve been quicker up that than I was a couple of weeks ago and yet it reckons that’s my quickest time. Ditto I don’t appear in certain segments that I’ve definitely ridden, is it very sensitive as to start and finish points?

I love Strava, but go through phases.

Not used it for a week now, aminly because I think it was using a fairbit of data on my phone.

Just updated my profile with last weeks rides, and joined the STW group. I’ll starting using it again now I think 🙂

The segment matching can be a bit hit and miss though mostly OK – often due to the GPS location being recorded wrongly at times. If you look at the Boxhill sections you’ll see some of the fastest guys have got times when they are descending – I think on the middle section. It must be getting better as times for Coombe Bottom have improved – the end points sometimes got messed up due to the tight final corner.

Nah, I’m in the Surrey Hills, KOM of Leith Hill

OK, maybe you’re a bit faster than me…!

Just uploaded a few routes. I love it! found I’m KOM for a local climb (blagdon) and a few 2nd and 1sts.

My parents are in Church Stretton, not many Strava users around there so easy to get a few KOMs unlike Surrey…Boxhill must have the most Strava times in the UK, anywhere else have more?

Nick – I think they process segment times in the background, so your historical rides might turn up as segments sometimes in the next day or so.

IME they only take a few minutes to appear – well less than 30 anyway.

I suppose we can settle the age old argument about quick times around cwm carn

http://app.strava.com/segments/884827

Think i need to get down there 🙂

Logo?

I’m on there. Although I’m confined to South Wales.

Been using it for some time but don’t always upload my rides onto there. KOM for the Rhigos climb at the moment and a few other lesser known ones, and I’m no roadie.

I’m using it with with the iPhone app. It’s working well for me so far :)Havent won any of the KOM or anything, but I’m liking it.

wondered what all the fuss was about – keep hearing about Stava this and that.

well signed up… quite clever isn’t it!

I uploaded a couple of garmin plots Got 6th fastest across the top of Richmond park on my commute in from Woking to London

http://app.strava.com/rides/3221164#56855308

Bah, got the app for my touch the other day but I keep losing signal, only recorded the last 6 miles of the last ride I did.

Anyone else had this? It was stashed at the bottom of my work bag though, I’ll chuck it in the jersey pocket next time.

If you have a track that isn’t plotting against the segment you know it should be, you can raise a ticket and they’ll sort it. Sometimes the GPS freaks out and puts a random plot in the wrong place which leaves you unable to “join” the segment; like I said though, they’ll fix it for you.

Looks like more miles are needed.

the times for my local climbs seem pretty slow…think i might go out at the weekend and bag a few KOTM points before the website really catches on 😀

became KOM on my commute home yesterday (Crab & Winkle). Woohoo!

http://marcpro-strava.com/blog/2011/08/22/how-to-cheat-at-strava/