Barry2 

I haven't been a member for ten years... so $12



Barry

tomato coupe

No, again. If they had been increasing the price $2/yr for the past ten years, you would have paid $78 last year alone, which is an additional $18. Anyone that's had a subscription for more than a year would have been better off with a $20/yr one-time increase now, instead of a $2/yr increase every year for the past 10 years.

Turnin_Wrenches

Pretty typical, yes. It's a move that says "we have no idea how to price our product"... which is unfortunate. Now people are either unsubscribing and/or just moving to a different platform. At its current pace Strava may soon become the "MySpace" of the cycling app world.

Barry2 

$0

I wouldn't have joined at $78

Let's just call this a draw after you get in a response.

Barry

tomato coupe

First you were unhappy at the recent increase from $60/yr to $80/yr. Then you stated you would have preferred that they had increased the price $2 per year over the previous 10 years. But, now you're saying you wouldn't have joined if they had increased the price $2 per year over the past 10 years, because the price would have been too high last year. Is there any price increase structure that would have been acceptable to you?

prj71

Yes.

Need? No. Much better than a department store Mongoose or Schwinn? Hell yes!!

No. Phone battery doesn't last as long as a dedicated cycling computer battery unless your rides are less than 2 hours.

prj71

My cost so far since 2014 has been $0/year.

Winning!!!

downtube42

The business model of having unpaid users provide data that drives the business has proven to be a cash cow across many industries. It's also failed in many cases, where they couldn't turn the corner into profitability. Seems to me that's the game Strava is in.

I'm sure their business model involves converting unpaid to paid; they'll do that by either reducing unpaid content, increasing paid content, or both. They may also benefit by selling raw data, presumably anonymized. They will also analyze the massive amounts of collected raw data and sell those assessments.

For me, data breaches are so common that I consider any and all data I put out there to be in the public domain. I'm giving Strava where I go, when I go, how my health is, who I ride with, and what kind of equipment I own, I'm effectively putting that data out in the public domain combined with my name and whatever else Strava has gleaned from my online presence. For that, I get some pittance of functionality that's already available from Garmin and RWGPS.

If that whole story angers you to the point of unsubscribing, so be it. My thoughts are more about whether we'll eventually regret giving away so much about ourselves. Time will tell.

Barry2 

I'm well aware that if you're not paying for the product, you are the product.
I don't have any issue with that.
Even as a prior subscriber, I remained part of the product to be sold.
Still no issue.

I just reached a point where (in my opinion) an excessive jump in cost caused me rethink the value of the product.
I found the value to be lacking for MY intended usage.
YMMV.

I strongly believe the only way to influence a company decision is to vote with your wallet.
I've placed my vote and yet still hope Strava's new CEO is able to guide the company to a successful future.
I just wont be part of that success at the current price/value.

All the best

Barry

mstateglfr 

...and then there are the countless products and services that we pay for AND are required to give a ton of information/permissions to use the product.
So I guess that's a double kick in the pants.

Koyote

What is the info used for? Mostly for targeted marketing to individuals. Which individuals often seem most upset about this? The same rugged individualists who think themselves immune to marketing.

My head spins.

mstateglfr 

true.

Privacy and all that surrounds it as a topic has been a consistent point of discussion with our kids for the last 5 years and I am sure it will continue. They are 17 and 13 now and both got phones at 11. Total waste of money at that age, but I digress.
No social media for either until 13, it was/is limited in what they could both use and post, and the conversations never end about potential negatives like scrolling too frequently, projecting ideals vs reality, tracking by companies, and much more.

My wife(lawyer who deals with a lot of child privacy laws and rights for k12 education) actually made my 17yo read a significant portion of the Apple TOS on Christmas when we got her an iPad. It was hilarious in a sickeninly entertaining way.

Anyways, we talk a lot about tracking, targeted advertising, and both the real and perceived negatives for those sort of things.
I showed them how ads on sites vary depending on user and they were like 'well that makes sense' and we likened it to how commercials on TV or radio are also selected to match a targeted audience. It's different, but still similar.



The biggest takeaway I have been making sure they understand is that the well worn claim that 'if you don't pay for the product then you are the product' is often true, but it isn't inherently bad. A lot of tech that costs $0 is still valuable to the user and therefore can still be seen as being the product. It is possible for multiple parties to find value in that free product and it is then a net benefit for all.

Google maps-
- Google gets to track what I search, where I go, and where I shop so they can turn aggregate that with everyone else's data and monetize it while also refining the program for users to use it more.
- Businesses get visibility for customers to see what is in an area.
- Users can better plan routes, see how long trips will take for planning, quickly find business in an area that have what they need, etc.

That's a win for all, as long as all are aware of how the system works and find value in participating.

downtube42

There's nothing new under the sun. Sales people and con men have always sized people up and customized their pitch. The only difference is, rather than looking at the cut of our clothes and shine of our shoes as we walk by, they can look at everything we do online in the pseudo privacy of our homes. Here I am espousing that view in public - providing another piece of data for my public profile.

boomer58 

Has anyone used the app called Komoot ? I was using Strava but it was stopping in the middle of my rides and not recording the full ride. It was probably something I was doing wrong as I am not very tech savvy (and I really don't care). I really only like to record my rides and nothing else. I just enjoy riding and do not have the ability to keep up with others. I also ride alone and like to set my own pace which is probably much slower than all of you. I'm not even sure of all of the features that Komoot has. I start it when I leave and end it when I get back and it saves my activity. Let me know what you all think of it. By the way, I've been known to bring "Stupid Enough" to a whole new level, boomer.

The6_6biker

I find it funny how often we pay for subscriptions and then forget, one time I had a car wash subscription for 6 months and never went there more than twice!

redtires

This...right here. This is a position I think many others really don't get. One cannot assign to another the value of something for which the value can only be found intrinsically (although the interwebs are desperate to do so). I'm also not a paid Strava user because it has no value to me. The position needs no nor has any defense.

Thigh Master

Excellent topic. Thank you OP. I have been a Strava member since they began, even a beta tester in Portola Valley back in the old days (unfortunately I lost a lot of great tandem ride data when they transitioned from beta). But the recent price increase for whatever reason no longer felt like a value. I have also been using Garmin Connect simultaneously for years. Yep, one of those guys that has always looked at every activity on both platforms - I realized that I don’t use most of Strava’s paid stuff - but I enjoy following friends. So I will go on the cheap and see if I miss much.

prj71

Trust me...You won't miss much using the free version. I also use Garmin Connect (FREE) which uploads all the data to Strava. Whatever metrics Strava gives you, that you have to pay for, can be found in Garmin Connect for FREE. Especially if you have heart rate sensors etc. running during your rides.

spelger

unless things have changed the strava app does not connect to sensor anymore. a reason why i no longer use it during rides.

Chuck M 

I got another email this morning offering two free months with a subscription. Running as of late has been on the treadmill and I haven’t been able to ride, but I’m not thinking I’m missing anything. But I do remember now that I first started using Strava back when I used a Fitbit Surge for running. It seems like the Strava interface was better than Fitbit’s and after I went through a couple of Garmin watches and started logging rides with a Garmin Edge I never used Garmin Connect as much as I should.

Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions but I’ll be able to waste what I was spending on Strava for a few growler fills instead of finding another platform.

winston63 

I use Komoot, but it’s targeting a different audience than Strava. It’s a great app for bike touring or route planning, that sort of thing but it doesn’t provide ‘performance’ metrics like Strava. It’s not about leaderboards, comparing with other riders or setting personal records, it’s much more oriented to the adventure or touring crowd. You can see routes others have ridden, but the pace at which they are ridden is very much a secondary concern. Komoot is excellent for route planning, and I use it for that quite a bit. It will work just fine for recording your rides, but if you have a Garmin device you could just use Garmin Connect and not bother with any additional software.

As to the topic in question, I’m someone who quit Strava and didn’t go back. But, I’m not very interested in what Strava provides, I joined only because an annual charity ride I participate in couldn’t hold a mass start during the pandemic and it was how we logged our solo rides instead. Once we went back to in-person I quit Strava as it doesn’t interest me at all.

pdlamb

Well at least you're not buying coffee with your savings!