sdmc530

You can get a free trial of Strava Premium if you join the Red Bull Million Mile Challenge for July. You have to get a can of Red Bull but for a few bucks to get the code as well but you can try premium if you have ever wanted to try it. I am going to give it a try just for the heck of it.

DrIsotope

Sadly,

"To enter the Promotion you must be a resident of mainland UK (excluding Northern Ireland and Channel Islands) and over the age of 18."

If you try to get to the challenge page from a non-UK ISP, it just reroutes you to the main challenges page.

...unless they're doing more than one million mile challenge in July. But I doubt it.

sdmc530

well damn! I might try to see if I can get a free month still.

DrIsotope

You're not the only one bummed-- there are quite a few unpleasant comments on the challenge page. I mean, you can't even participate in Ireland. So England and Scotland only. Why even bother? Sure, there are plenty of "North America only" challenges, but that's like 580 million people. England and Scotland is 56 million.

smarkinson

Strava keeps offering me a free trial (no need to do a challenge or spend money on a crap drink). See if this link works for you:

https://www.strava.com/try-premium/2018-web-feed-1st-30

TimothyH

Yeah, they offer me a free trial every time I look at the silly app.

sdmc530

DrIsotope

I pay for my Strava Premium annually, to the tune of $59. In the less-than-grand scheme of things, that is a pittance. I've spent more on a pair of bottle cages than a year of Strava. I probably own 5 years worth of Strava in just socks. The features are worth 5 bucks a month to me. I don't even think twice about paying it.

sdmc530

TimothyH

I have no need for Strava's paid features but pay for Training Peaks.

Metieval

what do you get for $60?

I did a trial once all I noticed was 'suffer score' and trophy stuff. i refused the trial a second and third time.

to me RidewithGPS has a much better pick a segment on the fly look at my speed/cadence/hr graph for the segment then deselect it. and look at another specific area of my ride. (which is on free version)
If I was to pay $60 a year it will be to RidewithGPS for the advanced cue warnings on routes, rather than Garmin always being an intersection too damn slow. Or most often even worse than that slow on the cues.

DrIsotope

If you're tracking power and heart rate, you really need Premium to get the most of it, or pay for another service like Training Peaks. I don't like the layout of Training Peaks, so I stick to Strava. Premium combined with the Stravistix plug-in gives me more data than I actually know what to do with. Personalized Heat Maps are also pretty cool. It's definitely not a "need" item. But I don't need most of this stuff. I still want it, though.

TimothyH

Strava really isn't a training tool though.

It doesn't come close to Training Peaks in terms of creating and following a structured and measurable athletic training program. Neither does Training Peaks have any social features.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that like tools, they have two different purposes altogether. If one is doing structured training then Strava just isn't the correct tool.


-Tim-

DrIsotope

Strava is a social app with a fairly decent set of training and analysis tools. Training Peaks is for people who hire a coach. I can get plenty of data out of Strava, which also has training plans, though I have little desire to participate in them (which I learned by trying it a few times.) I use the fitness tools more as a "make sure you don't overdo it and wreck yourself for six months," rather than "I want to up my FTP before next race season."

Rollfast

A Million miles?

A group or just you?

Just you is like trying to score enough Pepsi Points to get the Harrier Jump Jet for free...remember that?

Milton Keynes

Yes, some kid actually did collect enough points, though he didn't get the jet, obviously.

Personally, the basic Strava does far more than I need it to, which is to just keep track of how many miles I ride.

pdlamb

In reverse order, I've had better luck with the Garmin built-in turn cues than RWGPS; the latter beeps about the middle of the intersection.

Strava has good live tracking, better than RWGPS. I use it to keep my wife off my back.

RidingMatthew

i do the free trial when they offer it. I don't get much out of it. You can set it to downgrade automatically.

TimothyH

Perhaps I'm wrong about Strava and training plans then and if so I stand corrected.

Training Peaks certainly does make coach access very easy but the idea that it it is only for people who hire a coach is a misconception. It can easily be used very effectively without a coach. I have done so, as have countless others.

Do the fitness, fatigue and form numbers in the screen shot come from Strava or a third party add on? Just curious. I'd be very impressed if they come from Strava premium. My hat would be off to them.


-Tim-

Metieval

better than the "paid for" advanced cues?

I will agree the free version of RWGPS cues are no better than Garmin's. The Paid RWGPS version of advanced cues are a godsend though.

CliffordK

I don't see this million mile challenge showing up.

However, Strava used to have a free month in the Spring, but I think it is all the time now.

https://www.strava.com/try-premium/2018-web-feed-1st-30

Just sign up for your free month.

pdlamb

I haven't seen any difference between the paid and the free versions on routes I create.

I recall some routes having significantly better cueing; maybe the people who developed those routes knew the tricks better than I do.

Metieval

on the Paid RWGPS route making cues are not automatically advanced. they have to be set to be that way as an option.

I never paid to find out..... My last route making went like this

looks at route online, scribbles Left /right and road names on paper with pencil. Paper in zip lock with my tracphone, read 3 in advance while riding and was perfect! ( might not work in states like PA that has missing road name signs 50% of the time.) LOL