Just had an email saying that the strava app will stop supporting a direct linked HR monitor at the end of the month, because apparently it can cause the app to crash. But it’s okay; I can just buy a nice £500 watch from Polar instead for a generous 20% off. Marvellous.

This is a bit of a pain in the arse as it’s how I record all of my running data and I’ve just bought a new wahoo tickr.

Strikes me that the motivation here is not a technical reason at all, rather a corporate one; this will encourage many people to purchase expensive smart watches etc in order to monitor their exercise, previously by allowing a direct connection the need for additional fancy hardware was largely bypassed.

Or am I just being cynical? Either way, irritating.

Horses mouth

Strikes me that the motivation here is not a technical reason at all, rather a corporate one;

Strava don’t make watches.

Could you record your run on something like the Garmin app and set it to sync automatically to Strava?

I use my Garmin watch to record most runs /rides and it is linked to the Garmin app on my ohone, but autosyncs with strava. I view my rides etc in Strava not Garmin and it works seamlessly.

Strava don’t make watches.

No but their corporate partners whom they rely upon, do. It’s bad juju to allow users to cut out your symbiotic businesses.

You mean like wahoo?

Title needs changed really, only affects folk that use phones.

Could you record your run on something like the Garmin app and set it to sync automatically to Strava?

I reckon that’s the best bet. Irritating though. Why don’t they just fix their app?

Actually, wahoo do an app that syncs directly with strava. Use that.

Title needs changed really, only affects folk that use phones.

Noted and done so ✅

Wouldn’t use my phone with this amount of rain. As above Wahoo to Strava. Usually uploads automatically before I out the bike away.

Plenty of watches in the sensible money bracket that will record HR and upload to Strava. Even ones with wrist HR are that expensive now and it’s easier than taking a phone running.

Have they also removed support for Ghostracer? My Ghostracer app stopped uploading to Strava this week.

I suspect it’s just to keep their corporate partners happy ie promote Polar / Garmin / Wahoo devices etc.

Personally I never use the Strava App, my iPhone battery doesn’t last at all long with GPS enabled; I just use a Polar watch / cycling computer.

Plenty of watches in the sensible money bracket that will record HR and upload to Strava. Even ones with wrist HR are that expensive now and it’s easier than taking a phone running.

Yeah, I’m using a Forerunner 35 for running and most riding. Auto syncs to Connect which auto syncs to Strava.

i saw a blog post from the veloviewer guy, they changed the authentication process for third party apps recently. if ghostracer havent updated then it’ll be shut out.

on the bluetooth thing? it looks to me like they’ve made a sound decision, I would hazard a guess that the numbers of users that directly connect bluetooth devices to the app is tiny but the impact of the crashes on the majority is big.

if it was an easy fix then they would have done it, the approach they have taken suggests it isn’t, requires significant engineering time and so removing the functionality is the most straightforward approach.

but yeah. conspiracies are better. 😉

I would hazard a guess that the numbers of users that directly connect bluetooth devices to the app is tiny but the impact of the crashes on the majority is big.

Except that for the majority that don’t use BT HR monitors it’s highly unlikely that the BT code would cause a crash as they’d not be using that functionality….

As for conspiracy theories, it’s hardly a conspiracy, one of their stated commercial objectives is to increase revenue from partners through paid promotions / integration / advertising etc.

Supporting Bluetooth devices was causing the app to crash during recording, whether or not a sensor was connected. Disabling this feature significantly improves recording stability for all athletes.

Out of interest, anyone had the Strava app crash on them recently? I do use Bluetooth HR with it and it’s not crashed once.

but yeah. conspiracies are better.

Because corporations never fib to consumers? Must be nice in your world 😂

Maybe it is pressure from their sport tech partners, but in all fairness they need to make money somehow. How many people actually pay for Strava?

Because corporations never fib to consumers? Must be nice in your world 😂

But It’s free, how else do you expect it to pay for itself? Sponsor partners and ads are the reality.

How many people actually pay for Strava?

Me, have done for years. Started paying cos it was cheap, but I’m used to using the premier functionality now. Better value than a bike mag subscription IMO. 😉

Out of interest, anyone had the Strava app crash on them recently? I do use Bluetooth HR with it and it’s not crashed once.

As an occasional app type person, it doesn’t take much screaming from a few people who’ve bought the cheapest HR monitor on Ali Express moaning that it doesn’t work properly with their out-of-date Android handset and blaming your app for it to be easiest to just drop a feature that only a few people use.

Not saying that’s necessarily the case, but it could be a factor. Especially as they’ve linked to the Wahoo app as a way to carry on.

Because corporations never fib to consumers? Must be nice in your world 😂

so if they’d worded it.

‘this feature is more hassle than its worth. we can’t be arsed fixing it so its easier just to remove it. deal with it’

would that make you feel better?

This was covered in the DC Rainmaker Podcast recently, he wasn’t exactly complimentary about this. Instead of fixing the bug, Strava just decided to remove the feature 🙁 From what I understood, if you already have a Bluetooth HR strap paired with your Strava app, then it should continue to work, but you can’t add new ones.

Pretty poor show from Strava really, basically forces anyone to get a stand-alone device to record rather than just their phone.

I’ve stopped auto app updates to see if I can eek out extra time. Other than that; looks like the wahoo app is the way to go; irritating extra layer of stuff but hardly the end of the world.

so if they’d worded it.

‘this feature is more hassle than its worth. we can’t be arsed fixing it so its easier just to remove it. deal with it’

would that make you feel better?

Actually, it would. At least it would feel honest…

its why i’m not in sales anymore…

So if you are currently using a bluetooth hrm what options do you have to track heart rate?

Just a different app that does link to the HRM, and then syncs with Strava. Not the end of the world, just unnecessarily complicated.

Google discontinued their chromecast audio because they partner and make speakers – but mine’s going strong and making my really good early-90’s stereo almost as functional as a sonos.

When the chromecast dies, so does my stereo…

…not really conspiracy. Just good business sense at the expense of consumers.

I found BT HR straps to be a bit rubbish on battery (it was a while back though TBF) Since opting into dedicated GPS devices I have started using Ant+ sensors including a HR strap which has been pretty bulletproof.

My previous phone had ANT+ compatability built in (sony), but on my current phone (also sony) they had removed it. ANT+ in phones is the way forward IMO, it’s handy if you want to record HR for a turbo or treadmill session.

But it’s okay; I can just buy a nice £500 watch from Polar instead for a generous 20% off. Marvellous.

TBF other GPS devices are available at significantly lower prices and they are generally a better option once you get to the point of recording HR and other metrics when cycling or running.

I do record some trips via the app on my phone, typically short journeys and commutes where I don’t bother with any sensors but I want to just keep a track of the basic mileage I’ve done… which is about all the app is good for IME.

So if you are currently using a bluetooth hrm what options do you have to track heart rate?

I have a Bryton device which apparently supports BT and ANT+ sensors (but I still tend to use my Garmin most of the time), I’m sure there are other available (although not Garmin as they are keen to sell you their own ANT+ accessories and so BT is only really there to allow for uploading via a phone). The best place to look is probably DC rainmaker, he normally tabulates all features compatibility for a given device in his reviews…

At the end of the day it might well be worth stumping up for an ANT+ HR strap if you are looking at getting a dedicated watch or bar mounted GPS device, it does just work better and they’re not silly expensive (IME)…

Bluetooth LE (aka Blueooth Smart) is a lot lower power than previous versions. So should have much better battery life.
A lot of newer Garmins support both Ant+ and Blueooth LE sensors. And most new HR straps can transmit both.

It’s a major pain for me as I use my phone for all strava activities, zwift and mapping with a blue tooth hrm and use elevate plug in for Trimp.

No battery issues here on Android with decent battery.

So, I now need an app that records Bluetooth hrm and ride/hike/run data and will them sycn to strava? Does something like mapmyride or ridewith GPS do that?

Other option is forget hrm as I’ve no plans to buy a garmin.

Edit: I can use an ant+ dongle if I want that hanging off the phone

So, I now need an app that records Bluetooth hrm and ride/hike/run data and will them sycn to strava?

same here. Wahoo fitness app seems to fit the bill. Doesn’t mean I’m not grumpy about it.

Cheers I’ll look into the wahoo app

Have they also removed support for Ghostracer? My Ghostracer app stopped uploading to Strava this week.

Will try and remember to test this, I’ve had Ghostracer Pro for a few years, from before I bought a GPS computer (Lezyne).

Wahoo gets some pretty shit reviews.

it’s not just BT but also ANT+ from what I’ve read

They’ve effectively removed the ‘record’ functionality from their app completely for anyone who pays them for their ‘summit’ level of subscription. Bit of an alienating move. Disappointing.

I still have “Record” in the app but that’s the free version. I’d be pretty disappointed if I’d paid and lost it.

The button is still there, but there’s no point using it as I want HR data. It seems that if I want HR data in Strava now, I have to use a third party app or device to collect it. Seems A very strange way to treat paying subscribers.