Carbonfiberboy 

I pay for Strava, RWGPS, and TrainingPeaks. They each have something different to offer. It is a PITA to upload to them all, but even with all three, it's cheap per day and interesting. I would never use a phone on my bike, so I care nothing about the Strava app. Or the RWGPS app, etc.

venturi95

Just getting a free ride.? I like to keep track of the climbing and mileage I do. I used to live in a place with way too many little segments for my liking. I know where I get a good cell signal and use it for casual mountain bike exploration without downloading a map in advance. I’m too lazy to check out RWGPS, but when I start touring next year I will probably use that.

seypat

I don't have a need for Strava and don't have it.

indyfabz

How do you pronounce "Strava"?

billyymc

I don't use Strava that often. I prefer ridewithGPS which I do pay an annual fee for - I think it's $50. Earlier this year I picked up a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt because I wanted turn-by-turn capability, and it works well with ridewithGPS.

The only time I use Strava is the rare occasion when I want to share a ride with one or two of my riding buddies. My (free) account is private, except for a few friends. I don't care about KOMs or if I passed near someone else.

wipekitty

I started using the free version of Strava to record rides when I went back to doing that a few years back. Now I record using a cheapo GPS computer and heart rate monitor and upload to Strava. I use the free version because it's primarily a social site for me; I have cycling 'friends' from around the world and it's neat to see where they ride.

The data is nice, but there are other ways to see it. I could really give a hoot about leaderboards, and took myself off when people started taking them too seriously and starting drama about KOM/QOM status. I have my Google account set up so that my SO can see my phone's location, so if something really did happen, he could track me down that way.

I am currently paying for RWGPS, primarily because I moved to a new area with a lot of roads and no grid system, and the navigation is nice.

DrIsotope

Add to that that I always use the Elevate plug-in and also subscribe to Veloviewer and there we are.

My wife rides significantly less than I do and uses the free version, so I've had the opportunity to view them side-by-side. In my case, paying for Summit is worth it.

Rides4Beer

Strava

dougphoto

I'd pay for it if I lived some place with a longer riding season and better areas to ride, but since nov-april is about 90% inside riding I don't want to pay for an entire year.

OBoile

I pay for one of the (IIRC) three "Summit" packages on Strava. No need to, but I like looking at my data and it costs like $3 per month so I definitely get my money's worth.

dagray

I pay for it as a premium subscription to Strava syncs my rides to BKool which is used to control my smart trainer. With BKool I can set a previous ride on a route as a ghost and race myself on that route. I like being able to ride indoors with the same resistance as I ride outdoors.

heresy

I pay for it, but I have never used it to track a workout. Garmin Connect is linked to Stava and my workouts somehow find their way from one to the other.

shelbyfv

I use the free Strava. It's fun to see the elevation and segments after a ride, plus my friends' rides. I'll never have a KOM unless it was age group, which is just silly IMO. I do pay for RWGPS because I often provide routes for my group and the pay version offered something extra. Can't remember what

MoAlpha

No. If it’s not given freely and joyfully in a committed relationship, I don’t want it.

_ForceD_

I use the free version of Strava. There really isn't much that the Summit version offers that I care for. But, I'm sure those services can be useful to riders who care about the things the paid portion of the app offers. For one of them, I know that it had to pretty much be just me that provided the initial input. I'm talking about the 'heat map.' A couple of years ago there was a new road put in just a block from my house that now provides safe connectivity between two areas that before were only interconnected by a safe cycling route of about 10-15 miles. This section of street/road is only about a half-mile long, and it's only a block from my house. I started using it right away. This is on Aquidneck Island so this new connectivity is big as it opens up lots of routes for cyclists. But where this new road was built, there was no other reason for a cyclist to be back here. It's a secluded dead end at farming fields. In other words...no one (cyclists) was aware of the connectivity. But I was using it all the time. Other cyclists using the heat map on the paid portion of Strava seeking routes to ride must have seen my routes using that new road. Soon I started seeing more and more bikes going past my house to use that road. Now I see cyclists go past at least daily. It had to be me, and the heat map.

Dan

SayWatt

I use the free version. I don’t really really care about the social or competitive aspects of it, just see it as a simple way to keep track of hours and miles ridden.

Sy Reene

I assume you use a GPS or some sorta head unit on the bike. At least with Garmin, and while I can't recall exactly how I set it up, but after hitting "save" on a completed ride on my Garmin, about 5 minutes later if I visit Strava, RWGPS, or Garmin Connect, the ride data is sitting on all 3 sites.

Kabuki12

I have used the free version for a few years since my daughter told me about it. I like it and I use it to keep track of my rides and different bikes performance. I have contemplated the Summit version only for Beacon so my wife can keep track of me and know I'm alright(I ride alone). Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

Carbonfiberboy 

Much newer Garmin than mine. My Edge 800 has no internet connection. The perceived value to me does not reach to the cost of a new unit. OTOH, I'm very pleased that my Garmin still works.

Sy Reene

ahh, ok. It's not that newer Garmins have internet connections per se, but they have bluetooth.. the data goes from the unit thru a smartphone's installed Garmin Connect app I think (and I usually carry my phone in my back jersey pocket anyway). The 800 doesn't have BT I guess.

BengalCat

I pay because I enjoy the total experience of riding plus monitoring my real-time performance, competing against myself and against my peers.

RJM

I used to use Strava and when I did I paid for the premium membership. I no longer use any tracking device and sold all my electronics since I just stopped recording rides. I did dig the personal heatmaps and route maker on the premium side of things.

bbbean 

I pay for two simple reasons:
1) I use the service daily and want it to survive. It's a great tracking, planning, and training tool, and I really enjoy the social media aspect. I've met a lot of new friends on Strava. I know software doesn't design and service itself, so I can spend less than the cost of taking my wife out to dinner once for a year's worth of service.
2) I use the premium features.

nesdog

I subscribe to get the Live Tracking feature for the Bolt. Provides some incentive for me to try to get PR's when I can see where I'm at relative to earlier attempts.

Stretch44

I use it for free to track my rides, don’t need anything more robust for my purposes.