Just signed into STRAVA! LOL!
#26
Full Member
Segments
It's fun to look at popular segments. On the SF Peninsula, Old La Honda is very much a benchmark climb. A friend wanted to ride it, see how he was doing against prior years, and he convinced me to join him.
Of roughly 4000 Strava users who rode up OLH that year, I was the 9th BRAVEST!
Of roughly 4000 Strava users who rode up OLH that year, I was the 9th BRAVEST!
#27
LR÷P=HR
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I made the mistake of paying for the Strava Premium.
If you have Premium and a Heart Rate Monitor, Strava Premium will estimate your Wattage on a ride.
Well.... I didn't like the low wattage estimates I was getting for my Strava $60/year
So I purchased a Power Meter. Turned out that the Strava estimates were real close to actual.
So now I'm SURE I have low wattage, and that cost me a bunch more than $60.
I really do like Strava, even with my lack of watts
Barry
If you have Premium and a Heart Rate Monitor, Strava Premium will estimate your Wattage on a ride.
Well.... I didn't like the low wattage estimates I was getting for my Strava $60/year
So I purchased a Power Meter. Turned out that the Strava estimates were real close to actual.
So now I'm SURE I have low wattage, and that cost me a bunch more than $60.
I really do like Strava, even with my lack of watts
Barry
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#28
Senior Member
I made the mistake of paying for the Strava Premium.
If you have Premium and a Heart Rate Monitor, Strava Premium will estimate your Wattage on a ride.
Well.... I didn't like the low wattage estimates I was getting for my Strava $60/year
So I purchased a Power Meter. Turned out that the Strava estimates were real close to actual.
So now I'm SURE I have low wattage, and that cost me a bunch more than $60.
I really do like Strava, even with my lack of watts
Barry
If you have Premium and a Heart Rate Monitor, Strava Premium will estimate your Wattage on a ride.
Well.... I didn't like the low wattage estimates I was getting for my Strava $60/year
So I purchased a Power Meter. Turned out that the Strava estimates were real close to actual.
So now I'm SURE I have low wattage, and that cost me a bunch more than $60.
I really do like Strava, even with my lack of watts
Barry
#29
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I like Strava but don't use it to track my miles. Strava consistently reports more miles than my bike computer. On bike rides it's reasonable, +/- 5%, usually +.
On walks and hikes it's outrageous. Regularly, after a 2-3 mi hike the mileage Strava shows is 5-7 mi. When you look at the map there will be several "jumps" where it appears you jumped a quarter mile to a half mile then back. Adding considerable mileage.
I've seen explanations for this but it doesn't matter. The numbers are unreliable. I think my bike computer can be within +/- 1% if you measure your wheel circumference regularly. But +/- 2% is fine with me.
I track my mileage in a spreadsheet and do a weekly summary for "fun".
On walks and hikes it's outrageous. Regularly, after a 2-3 mi hike the mileage Strava shows is 5-7 mi. When you look at the map there will be several "jumps" where it appears you jumped a quarter mile to a half mile then back. Adding considerable mileage.
I've seen explanations for this but it doesn't matter. The numbers are unreliable. I think my bike computer can be within +/- 1% if you measure your wheel circumference regularly. But +/- 2% is fine with me.
I track my mileage in a spreadsheet and do a weekly summary for "fun".
#30
Non omnino gravis
#31
It's MY mountain
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#32
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I've been on Strava for years. It's an easy way to track hours and mileage, and the social aspect is nice. It's also a nice way to see what routes friends are riding.
It's also made for some diversion during the pandemic: a local racer set up a social distancing time trial series. He measures out different distances on a local path, and then every Thursday you go out and ride it by yourself, whenever you want. Upload to Strava, and he awards points for your finishing position. You'd think it would be boring doing the same path every week, but each week it's a little different. Different distances, different directions, Merckx v. full aero.
Good times.
It's also made for some diversion during the pandemic: a local racer set up a social distancing time trial series. He measures out different distances on a local path, and then every Thursday you go out and ride it by yourself, whenever you want. Upload to Strava, and he awards points for your finishing position. You'd think it would be boring doing the same path every week, but each week it's a little different. Different distances, different directions, Merckx v. full aero.
Good times.
#33
It's MY mountain
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Anybody know if there's a way to ignore trainer rides from your followings? I don't want to see fake rides in Mallorca and Scotland.
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#34
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You can always set who can see your rides. I have my default set as private but make most of them visible to followers, some to all.
#35
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First ride breaking in the Brooks B17 with Strava...
https://www.strava.com/activities/34...urce=ios_share
https://www.strava.com/activities/34...urce=ios_share
#36
Junior Member
My family uses Strava to share rides with each other.
We used to ride quite often as a family when my children were younger. Now they are all married and not living close by. We have all been of the bikes for at least 5 years(10 years for me). So 2 of my daughters and I are using Strava to challenge each other to ride further than the other. Right now my youngest daughter(22yo) is in the lead. I told her to "watch out" because her lead won't last long, I'm gonna surpass her real soon.
It is a great way for us to rekindle the memories of all the rides we did in the past.
We used to ride quite often as a family when my children were younger. Now they are all married and not living close by. We have all been of the bikes for at least 5 years(10 years for me). So 2 of my daughters and I are using Strava to challenge each other to ride further than the other. Right now my youngest daughter(22yo) is in the lead. I told her to "watch out" because her lead won't last long, I'm gonna surpass her real soon.
It is a great way for us to rekindle the memories of all the rides we did in the past.
Last edited by Dave9040; 05-14-20 at 07:53 AM.
#37
Senior Member
I’ve been on Strava for a while mostly to keep track of myself. Just for ****s and giggles I signed into one of their challenges for the month of May. Something like, ride for 30 hours for the month and get a virtual trophy in your Strava trophy case. There are people on there with over 130 hours logged for the month already. They’re saying they ride for 10 hours a day? Lol! Long story short, don’t take other people on Strava too seriously.
#38
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I have heard a few tales of people who drove to a route start, did a ride, and forgot to turn off Strava, which recorded the drive home. Some amazing times and speeds on those segments.
#39
Senior Member
I use both Rouvy and Strava and sync them. Even with that much information, I still find both lack something so basic that I'm not sure how they missed it. They don't have a daily roll-up or view of all data, only miles, time and elevation. I would enjoy totals and averages of power, kj/calories, cadence on a daily basis since I do morning and evening rides. But, aside from that, I really enjoy having the information because that is why I ride. Those metrics are my motivation.
The OP mentioned that not being familiar with segments, but I find those to be the most useful in determining improvement. There are options to create your own if you ride where none exist. Then you can pick parts of a route you ride, and mark it off as a segment. This allows you to have some great control over the metrics you get back each time you move through that segment. Now I'm saying that, presuming you monitor GPS, power, HRM, cadence, and speed as I don't know how useful it would be without those. The segment can be a personal growth tool without it being competitive. I don't think it's totally relevant to measure yourself against others since that is just measuring genetics and environmental training, though it is interesting in a statistical sense within age groups. What is very relevant is using goals on segments and measuring against self. I'm starting to realize when I do that, that I can be focusing on technique improvements and not attempting to always do my all-out best on a PR, but rather establish a baseline and play with the variables. Wind factor was mentioned. It makes the same segment a different segment on a different day and destroys any consistency. I found that in winter, may as well have been on a different road and segment on a windy day. Comparisons weren't useful.
The OP mentioned that not being familiar with segments, but I find those to be the most useful in determining improvement. There are options to create your own if you ride where none exist. Then you can pick parts of a route you ride, and mark it off as a segment. This allows you to have some great control over the metrics you get back each time you move through that segment. Now I'm saying that, presuming you monitor GPS, power, HRM, cadence, and speed as I don't know how useful it would be without those. The segment can be a personal growth tool without it being competitive. I don't think it's totally relevant to measure yourself against others since that is just measuring genetics and environmental training, though it is interesting in a statistical sense within age groups. What is very relevant is using goals on segments and measuring against self. I'm starting to realize when I do that, that I can be focusing on technique improvements and not attempting to always do my all-out best on a PR, but rather establish a baseline and play with the variables. Wind factor was mentioned. It makes the same segment a different segment on a different day and destroys any consistency. I found that in winter, may as well have been on a different road and segment on a windy day. Comparisons weren't useful.
#40
LR÷P=HR
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Cheating 8-)
Strava app let me clip the end of the ride to remove the offending segment so I didn't loose the whole ride.
Barry
#41
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#42
Senior Member
#43
Senior Member
I used another tool, RoadBike Pro, for years, but the GPS tracking accuracy got really bad over the past year and the app itself was fairly limiting, so I finally moved to Strava this spring. I'm not into all the motivational aspects and social media sharing but have to say that even the basics are excellent - the GPS accuracy and granularity (individual segment tracking) is quite amazing. Excellent tool even in basic (free) form.
#44
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This happens all the time. If you notice that you've done it yourself, you can crop the ride file. If you notice that someone else has done it, you can flag their ride.
#45
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I use both Rouvy and Strava and sync them. Even with that much information, I still find both lack something so basic that I'm not sure how they missed it. They don't have a daily roll-up or view of all data, only miles, time and elevation. I would enjoy totals and averages of power, kj/calories, cadence on a daily basis since I do morning and evening rides. But, aside from that, I really enjoy having the information because that is why I ride. Those metrics are my motivation.
And there is no way Strava can know your cadence based on speed, distance, and elevation gain. I have never paid for Strava, so I don't know if the more expensive versions allow the rider to input that data or sync a power meter, cadence meter, bike and body weight .... I am sure there are programs out there which do, but maybe no the free versions.
Strava does, I believe estimate calories if you get the better versions ....
A lot fo that stuff you might be able to calculate yourself if you have the cadence counter, power meter, and know your weight.
I am sure that the bike electronics forum has more info (https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...hting-gadgets/, Pretty sure you can get a bike computer which will give handle all that data if you have the sensors.
The OP mentioned that not being familiar with segments, but I find those to be the most useful in determining improvement. There are options to create your own if you ride where none exist. Then you can pick parts of a route you ride, and mark it off as a segment. This allows you to have some great control over the metrics you get back each time you move through that segment. Now I'm saying that, presuming you monitor GPS, power, HRM, cadence, and speed as I don't know how useful it would be without those.
I agree segments can be great. I sometimes like tracking my performance over certain segments (mostly hills) but I don't have a power meter or use my HRM. If I am not pushing hard, why bother entering that segment into Strava? And Strava estimate wattage, so why pay big bucks for a power meter? For me it is enough to see how long it took me to climb the hill .... and if I want to get granular, I can open up Ride with GPS and look at a foot-by-foot record.
The segment can be a personal growth tool without it being competitive. I don't think it's totally relevant to measure yourself against others since that is just measuring genetics and environmental training, though it is interesting in a statistical sense within age groups. What is very relevant is using goals on segments and measuring against self. I'm starting to realize when I do that, that I can be focusing on technique improvements and not attempting to always do my all-out best on a PR, but rather establish a baseline and play with the variables. Wind factor was mentioned. It makes the same segment a different segment on a different day and destroys any consistency. I found that in winter, may as well have been on a different road and segment on a windy day. Comparisons weren't useful.
On the other hand, after climbing the same gentle inclines month after month, I can tell how I feel, whether it is a good or less good day, I know how the weather is, and I can tell if I feel like going hard or just getting up and over to get on with the ride .... since I don't ride specifically to maximize performance, I really don't need (or much use) segments any more. I know I cannot attack even short hills right now .... but that after playing with cadence , gearing standing and sitting, I can some days get up a given incline a little more quickly .... but with so many variables, most of them relating to personal health and energy levels on any given day .... meh.
I generally only use Ride With GPS lately, and only load rides into Strava if I am pretty sure I did a notable time on a favorite segment ... Maybe if I get some fitness back this year i will start using Strava more ... but lately all it tells me is that I am still slower than I used to be.
#46
Senior Member
Yes, the calories are there but they come from the collection source, my Roam does it based on Power or Heartrate (for those who don't have a Power Meter) and Rouvy does it for my trainer rides, Strava just incorporates it in reports. I thought I recalled that it would show calories based on HRM data even for free accounts. Paying is most valuable when you have a Power Meter because it does provide the Fitness and Freshness report which seems fairly accurate.
Yes on losing interest in segments, I find myself smacking the buttons on the computer quite often to skip over the segment data when I'm in the middle of a ride, watching my metrics and the Segment screen overlays my ride data. It is fun to see if I can beat my best on a segment but sometimes irritating after you done it enough. I'm referring to starred segments and how the Wahoo computers present them in the middle of a ride.
I never attempt KOMs as I would have no chance whatsoever of competing with other athletes. Leaderboards in general are only interesting within age group because that is a metric of fitness in aging. Our age group on Strava are the best, because they wouldn't be on Strava if they weren't serious (unlike younger groups) so I'm not going to top the 65ers by any means, ever. By the time I got to high school, I realized there are those who are athletes and those who are not, no matter how much they practice, I'm one of the 'nots'. I totally ride for my own fitness, and the metrics and segments are interesting in my personal competition with self... all done in the shallow end of the pool. They are somewhat useful in determining recovery from serious health setbacks too, as I think you are suggesting. You go in for an operation and then can monitor how much you've bounced back. That's pretty valuable when you consider that the rank and file, as they age, just think they'll recover magically and do little to actively recover what they can of their fitness. At least with metrics and Strava-type apps, you have some awareness of if what you are doing is really bringing recovery.
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#47
Senior Member
Yeah, KOMs eh. I've had a handful of them and subsequently lost them as there will always be someone sometime faster. I find it rather amusing to see a couple of posters on this site with their Strava achievements listed as their signature. Fair enough but will they edit said numbers when(and it's when not if) they lose their KOMs.
#49
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I am having trouble finding training/logging that is less intensive and fitness / rehab like in its nature than facebooky tri sport jock oriented.
Good to know that it correlates with the power meter.
Premium has gotten rather expensive if you are not OCD or a racer and the competitiveness is off putting.
I think the metrics can be useful in general fitness, and am saddened that they are now paywalling so much of them