# Strava Fan or Strava Hater?



## Jason303 (Mar 13, 2013)

We had a lively back-and-forth about the merits of Strava on RoadBikeReview.com this week. Check out the Pro and Con opinions here and here. 

What’s consensus here? Love Strava? Hate it? Somewhere in between?

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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

Don't use it. I only download my data to Garminconnect for my use only.


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

My friend has been trying to get me to use it for a while, but I don't see the point. I see plenty of mal-adjusted males comparing the sizes of their e-peens when I play online multiplayer games. This would just seem to accomplish the same task but with bicycles.


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## Jason303 (Mar 13, 2013)

So you'd agree with our columnist Kurt, who is clearly not a fan of Strava


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## Rokh On (Oct 30, 2011)

Love the T Shirt. I saw another one that said something like "EPO - Strava made me do it"


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

I find it useful for keeping track of approximate mileage. However, whether due to its inherent inaccuracy, or my obsolescent android phone, the ride data is very inaccurate. I get a fraction of my actual climbing, and my speed is off. But for comparing one of my rides to my past rides to measure for improvement, it's useful. Not so much for comparing myself to others, which I really don't care about in the first place.

It's erratic in recording known segments on my rides, too. Sometimes it picks up all of them, sometimes it picks up some, sometimes none.

My understanding is that when used with a Garmin, it's much more accurate.


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## CActuskid (Sep 3, 2008)

I have never recorded a ride with Strava... I upload to Strava from my Garmin 500, not going to rely on a cellphone app to be accurate


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## Special Eyes (Feb 2, 2011)

Jason303 said:


> We had a lively back-and-forth about the merits of Strava on RoadBikeReview.com this week.
> 
> 
> > Uh, this IS RoadBikeReview.com.
> ...


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## Bill2 (Oct 14, 2007)

I have some friends who love it, and I have no reason to hate it. I'm more into light day touring so some other sites like ridewithgps.com provide more information I find useful.


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## RaptorTC (Jul 20, 2012)

I like it, it keeps me motivated. Most of the guys on my team are on Strava so its cool to be able to see what everyone is doing. Also, everyone knows when you're slacking so it motivates me to get out there and ride more. That and it lets me see who is riding what back home. I suppose I like it more for the social aspect rather than going balls out for segments and whatnot.


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## marhot (Jan 24, 2013)

Love it. </SPAN>

Having several friends, living in various states , it is a useful tool. I love being able to follow their rides daily. </SPAN>

The only person I use it to ‘compete’ with is myself. It’s a very useful training tool.</SPAN>
Uploading the data from my Garmin 500 is a breeze too.</SPAN>


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## CActuskid (Sep 3, 2008)

ridegps, has cooler info/interface, but my club we use strava so I switched 6 months ago. I think the Strava emails informing you someone is now following you are funny..."yo the man, Tony is following you" oh wow I am a star LOL


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## JoePAz (Jul 20, 2012)

I use it all the time and I love it. Nice to track my overall rides and performance on each one. Gives me a nice "where I stand" feeling as well. It is nice fun little toy, and I can see not everyone may want to use it, but why do some seem to hate it so much?


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

I luv it - great to see friends weekend rides (even when we can't ride together).

I luv seeing my own improvements on certain segments but I hate seeing them not improve when I'm giving 100%.

I hate comparing my Garmin Edge 500 data with Android/iPhone users - the phones always seem to have wacked a$$ readings or top speeds of 90mph. If they included a filter for devices that would be awesome.


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## mikejd (Jul 18, 2012)

I actually just signed up for Strava this week. It seems cool so far. I don't run Strava during my commute rides, so my Strava profile is hundreds of miles, and will the thousands, lighter than what I really do. Oh well. One of the best things is using it to find good cycling routes or climbs in my area that I didn't know about. It seems accurate too although I've never used anything else to measure feet climbed so it's a pretty neat thing to use for free.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

It was cool during the first year of using strava.
Now I just don't care for it much because the novelty has kinda worn out on me.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Mapping, tracking data, phone app, all good. Comparing to others? Meh. I compare myself to others by riding with them.


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## AZ.MTNS (Jun 29, 2009)

While I am not a user I do see how it could be useful.


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## kunfuzion (Sep 18, 2012)

I use my Garmin to upload my data to Strava to track personal progress. I have a friends on it and it's pretty nifty to see how you compare to others in popular segments, but I won't go out of my way to try to outperform others. In addition to Strava I also use ridewithgps and mapmyride to discover new routes.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Love the T-shirt. Strava...not so much. But no reason to hate it, that's way to strong of a word. I have an account and use the app on maybe 20% of my rides. I don't own a fancy Garmin. 

I don't love it and I certainly don't hate it - it's fine and sometimes fun to look at even though it's not very accurate - or hasn't been for me, but I like looking at squiggly lines on axis. I sometimes use it to look at where other people in my area ride too.


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## onespeed (Mar 21, 2002)

*I am obsessed with it.*

Love it. 

Uploaded all my years of riding to it to see how slack I have become. 

It is helping me regain some past form.


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

I don't use it. In fact, I've been riding without any type of computer for several years. I don't need Strava to know that I'm not the fastest rider in my neck of the woods. I can live with it.

My only problem with it it that it seems to entice people to turn every group ride into a race, especially on the hills. So you scored a KOM on the local hill that has only been ridden 10 times? Congrats. You da man. Now get a life.


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## N184PM (Sep 11, 2011)

Love it. Find lots of new routes that others do. Motivates me to get out and ride. Met a few friends there.


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## serious (May 2, 2006)

I don't use Strava. About 1 year ago I signed up and had a look to see what it is all about and quickly realized that it is useless for me. I am not going to ride out of my way to hit local segments and I certainly would not waste a workout to preserve myself for a particular segment. 

To see how I compare with others, I enter a races.


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## Kevin29r (Apr 14, 2009)

I use Strava as a fitness indicator, mapping tool, and social tool. Yes, I love it.


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## Rekless1 (Aug 23, 2012)

Don't hate it.

Don't use it.

Don't have any "need" for it. I guess.....indifferent.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

I have a simple computer on one of my bikes. Sometimes I look at it to see how fast I went on a descent. Sometimes I look at the mileage at the end of the ride. I don't record or tally it in any way. The other bikes have no computers. I'd guess between commuting and other rides I ride somewhere between 2500 and 3000 miles most years, but the only stat I care to track any more is another day that I woke up alive.

But I don't hate Strava, or hate other people using it. Whatever works for you.


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

serious said:


> To see how I compare with others, I enter a races.


You mean you actually enter real races against real people in real life? As opposed to pretending to race against virtual people in cyberspace? I guess that makes Strava the racing equivalent of masturbation.


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

i challenge myself with real friends, not the cyber kind. I have trouble with Garmins and anything that tracks you. But I'm old school, and to me simplicity is beauty.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

strava is great to find new rides in areas you don't know.


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## alegerlotz (Feb 8, 2013)

I like it. Its a convenient way to keep track of my mileage and even if it is inaccurate in terms of how many feet climbed, calories, etc... I can still see improvement over time when comparing ride to ride.

I admit that for a few segments I do go extra hard trying to achieve personal records.

Last fall, right as the season ended, I got a Polar RCX5 so I'm not sure whether or not I'll use Strava as much. Over the off season I've been using the RCX5 for heart rate while using the trainer and doing other aerobic exercise.


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## TimV (Mar 20, 2007)

I like Strava. 

I like how it allows me to track my mileage, vertical feet, etc. It also helps motivate me to push myself on my harder rides. I can compare my times to previous times over a segment to see how I am improving. 

I started using Strava in December of 2011. It helped me improve my fitness to a point where I wanted to start racing. Last year (2012) was my first year of racing. I entered ten races and was on the podium eight times including scoring four wins. This probably wouldn't have happened without Strava. 

With two young boys and a family business, I don't really have time for group rides on the weekends. All my training happens in the early morning before most rides begin. Strava allows me to better gauge my fitness as a solo rider.


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## Dunbar (Aug 8, 2010)

To be honest, Strava seemed pretty mythical until I started using it. As a basic tool to track your ride map, total mileage, elevation, average speed/power it's fine. I really like that it's totally free and it automatically uploads the info the the website which you can access via a web browser from your laptop and "drill" into the detail of the ride. No more having to manually enter a ride into mapmyride.com just to give somebody a visual illustration of a route. The novelty factor of trying to beat a segment (or become KOM) wears off pretty fast IMO. You start to realize it isn't even worth it to try to set a PR until there's a strong tail wind (i.e, it encourages you to game the system.) Around here there are probably ten .3-.7 mile segments for every one segment over 1 mile. How it's possibly to draw a meaningful conclusion from such short segments?


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

I use it and like it. I like to track my rides, mileage and such. I also like the social aspect. I can see my friends rides who live in other parts of he country and comment on them. I have also used it to find some new routes. I'll admit the segments do also give me soem motivation to push a little harder when I'm in the mood.


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## PTJ (Mar 7, 2011)

I use it and so does my son. He's 14 and making gains quicker than a froggy Frenchman on EPO. It's fun to watch him climb the boards on segments as he grows and gains experience. As for me it's nice to keep track and throw down an effort on every now and then.


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

I don't use it but a buddy was showing me some of the data from guys he follows and all i have to say is, Dear lord. Some of these dudes ride a ton! 450 mile weeks, KOM's and wattages that will make you cry...no wonder I get crushed at races.


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## Hoffsta (Jan 28, 2008)

I just started using Strava about one month ago. Previously, over 20+ years of riding, I had not owned a cycling computer. Here's what I like about it:

First, it's free. I'm not interested in spending a few hundred bucks on a fancy GPS cycling computer but I do always have my iPhone on me.

Second, I discovered I like knowing exactly how far I just went, how far I went this week, and how far I've gone all year. I like that this works on any bike I chose to grab from the garage without having to fiddle with anything. I also like seeing the map of where I went and showing my girlfriend.

Third, I like that I don't need to have the iPhone in front of my face, distracting me and removing enjoyment, to track my rides. I can casually check things out afterward.

Fourth, I think it's making me faster and causing me to ride more often. I can analyze my average speed, and challenge myself to go harder next time. I can see that last week I rode more miles so I should probably get off my butt and do one more big one before Sunday.

Fifth, all the above is easy and convenient. Could I achieve all the above benefits from another product or app? Certainly, but I would never have paid for it or likely even found it without Strava's ubiquity.

In fact, I'm now considering actually purchasing a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor because I'm enjoying the data so much- that never would have happened without Strava.

All the social stuff is of little interest to me, but you never know maybe that will eventually grow on me too!


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## redcard (Feb 20, 2013)

AlanE said:


> I don't use it. In fact, I've been riding without any type of computer for several years. I don't need Strava to know that I'm not the fastest rider in my neck of the woods. I can live with it.
> 
> My only problem with it it that it seems to entice people to turn every group ride into a race, especially on the hills. So you scored a KOM on the local hill that has only been ridden 10 times? Congrats. You da man. Now get a life.



So you hate it because you're too slow to achieve anything?


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## bwbishop (Sep 17, 2011)

Who cares about KOM? The only term that means a damn thing on Strava is "PR." As long as I keep PRing on my hard rides, I know I'm improving.

Like someone else said, if you wanna compare yourself to others, join a race.


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## Pitts Pilot (Dec 5, 2011)

*May Depend on Your Area and # of Riders*

If you use a Garmin and Strava, it's very accurate. If you use a phone or have Strava look up the elevation data, it's WAY off - sometimes by more than 80%.

I like Strava. It lets me know who is riding in my area and when. This has lead to some connections and riding partners. I have also discovered many new routes by looking at where others are riding in the area. One could do this without even posting one's own rides or worrying about comparisons. I happen to like the friendly competition that it creates in my area. We snag KOMs from each other all the time and that's healthy.

BUT - I'm in different situation. We are just big fish in a small pond in my area (Northern Taiwan.) If you are hanging out it Boulder or some large area, I could see the segment overload being an annoying thing. It's almost annoying here and there are only maybe 50 riders or so posting in my area.


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## 67caddy (Nov 4, 2009)

I just got a Garmin 800 set up a week ago. Put my ride from Saturday up on Strava. Seems like a pretty neat service. I'm not going to be out hunting KOMs. I would imagine that from time to time I will upload different rides to Strava just to see what's out there. I plan on uploading the vast majority if not all of my rides to Garmin Connect, but Strava will be an occasional use. I was impressed that getting my data from my Garmin to Strava was pretty quick and painless.


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## thegock (May 16, 2006)

Fan.


I like Strava quite a bit. I started to use it last year in the 2012 Tour of Battenkill to track my riding and have used it ever since.

First, it’s free. Right in my wheelhouse price point. Second, it is objective and consistent. You can see how you performance compares to your history. This helps me train. Third, you can find more new hills to climb in your area and I live to climb, though I am not very good at it. Finally, and most importantly, it engenders friendly competition in the groups that I ride with.

I noticed that the pretenders don’t like it or adopt it very quickly. You can spin you performance blogging on bikejournal, but numbers are numbers and you can’t fool the GPS. Sometimes on a group ride someone will say “Oh, is that a Strava segment?” after they get to the top of a hill. It is never the first guy up who says that.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I have a Garmin and a Quarq. Not much cyclist traffic on my favorite routes. Probably little value comparing. Even on my TT route, I don't think any of my competition uses Strava, either.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

bwbishop said:


> Who cares about KOM? The only term that means a damn thing on Strava is "PR." As long as I keep PRing on my hard rides, I know I'm improving.
> 
> Like someone else said, if you wanna compare yourself to others, join a race.


So what happens when your PR becomes a KOM?


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## onespeed (Mar 21, 2002)

Then you know you are doing something right.


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## jnbrown (Dec 9, 2009)

I would say neither.
I don't use it or intend to use it.
At age 55 my competitive days are over and I ride for fun.
The speed at which I ride is irrelevant and comparing it other people is even more so.
I can always gauge my fitness against random people who pass me on the road or on my group rides.


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## sebo2000 (Aug 12, 2009)

Love it!!!
I’m competitive by nature, I do not cry or feel bad when I’m loosing, but trying harder next time. I’m mostly comparing my rides with myself, and when I have appetite for more competition I’m checking segments and hammering my guts out next time when I want to beat someone. Bottom line: I treat it is a cool toy, not life or death measurement.

Where I found super useful:

Recently someone was asking for steepest 5-6km loop climbs close to area where I live, we were going for 3 months and searching, searching searching, then one day on Strava I found all the loops with CAT 4 climbs in 10 minutes. You can’t beat that.

Great weekly/monthly/yearly stat presentation and motivator.

PS. I work in IT so I love all the electronic/data gadgets

Plus this cool footer from veloviewer is priceless:


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## dougclaysmith (Oct 17, 2009)

I really like it. 

I use a Garmin 800 and upload the rides. 

There has been more than once that I have completed a ride and thought, man I rode like sh!t today, felt like hell the whole ride. Upload the data to Strava and had a personal record. (Felt like hell because I was kicking a$$, not because I had too many beers the night before) 

I also like the feature of following other cyclists. Cool to upload the ride and seeing other people on the ride. I have gotten to know a lot of other guys that way.


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## Duane Gran (Feb 3, 2004)

I love it. It makes riding more social and I enjoy seeing what some friends are doing on the bike who I don't see often because we live far apart. When I travel to a new area I scope out the Strava segments to get an idea where the good riding areas are.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

I'm a fan, use it every time I ride and even on my trainer indoor riding. keeping track of progress annd socializing with people from all over the world is pretty neat. I dont think I will ever hold a KOM or if I do it won't be for long, but I am I. top 10 for a few. I've found some people to ride with using it too.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Interesting. I'm on record as saying it's stupid because my only exposure to it is some clown who told me he just won a strava segment (or whatever the terminology is) after sitting on my wheel through it.

But after reading this thread though I can definitely see there's much more to it and some of it would be pretty cool. 

I like free. But I'm probably to stupid to actually use it. I have trouble figuring out most anything invented after 1986 so I doubt strava is in my future.


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## johnlh (Sep 12, 2008)

I just got a secondhand iphone, and have started using Strava to track my rides. I find it quite handy for keeping track of my personal bests, because I don't own a gps.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

notafan.com 

On my mountain bike jaunts, I'm top 20 on the climbs that I frequent. Then I try it on the road and I have to paginate so many darn times just to find my dumb time. Man, I killed that climb and who is Mr. Strava to tell me that I'm 1317 place???

Strava Segment | Old La Honda (Bridge to Mailboxes)

Actually, it's cool by me on the road. There's really no issues as long as folks flying down the road don't kill others or themselves while trying to get a downhill KOM.

On trails, it's a tougher issue. Many trails are illegal or have speed limits in the SF Bay Area and Strava is documenting twice the speed limit on the leaderboards and it's mapping out all the illegal routes.

Incidentally, there is a very important risk of privacy as you configure your inventory of bikes that you ride, there is map to your garage if you start rides from your house. You need to go to privacy settings and hide your home address:
https://app.strava.com/settings/privacy

This will blank out any data within a certain radius.

fc


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

I certainly like Strava. With that being said, it's just a tool. No need to get any panties bunched over it one way or the other.


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## CActuskid (Sep 3, 2008)

ph0enix said:


> I certainly like Strava. With that being said, it's just a tool. No need to get any panties bunched over it one way or the other.


thanks for sharing you wear panties


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## oct3 (Oct 2, 2012)

I'm sort of a stats addict, so I like to know how many kilometers I have under my belt, what average, etc and I like segments because they make easy to check performance on specific stretches of road or loops, without having to check manually every time (e.g. in SportTracks).

Usually I record my data using the Endomondo Android app because that's the one that works best for me (Google Tracks used to be pretty decent too), and upload the files manually on Strava. Since my phone has no barometric sensor, the elevation data isn't accurate, but position and speed are usually good enough.

The things I like the most about Strava is being able to set the privacy zone, and to check what roads other, more experienced riders are doing and that usually gives me new ideas for my own rides.


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## serious (May 2, 2006)

AlanE said:


> You mean you actually enter real races against real people in real life? As opposed to pretending to race against virtual people in cyberspace? I guess that makes Strava the racing equivalent of masturbation.


Not that there is wrong with masturbation.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

redcard said:


> So you hate it because you're too slow to achieve anything?


Huh, I am in the "bike without a computer" crowd. I dont understand Strava but whatever. I also dont understand how you can say that to someone. Too slow to achieve anything? Come on! I am in the slow crowd myself but can still get on and ride. All day, any day, however far. I have been passed by alot of guys who think they are fast. They blow by just hauling to get whatever they condider an achievement. I pass them later, loading the bike onto the car where they drove to start heir ride. I have to laugh. These guys go out simply for being the fastest and they think they are bad ass. I love finding out later they rode 40 miles all out. Our group ride was slow. We rode 120 miles. 
Maybe its not the mental masterbation achievement you get by being fast but its still 120 miles and we will do it again tomorrow. 

People like Strava, thats cool. But if you consider being KOM on some internet tracker an achievement i feel bad for you. There are things so much better than that. 

Have a nice day.


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

tihsepa said:


> I dont understand Strava but whatever.


People who dont understand it or use it only know it for the segment competition part. That is not all of what Strava is for. The social part is cool. You can see your friends rides and comment on them. I have friends in other parts of the state/country that I rarely get to ride with but can see what they are doing for rides and they can see my rides. I have found new routes to ride by looking at where others are riding. I leep track of my stats, miles ridden per week/month/year, etc. I do find the segment part useful. Not to compete with others, but myself.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

scottma said:


> People who dont understand it or use it only know it for the segment competition part. That is not all of what Strava is for. The social part is cool. You can see your friends rides and comment on them. I have friends in other parts of the state/country that I rarely get to ride with but can see what they are doing for rides and they can see my rides. I have found new routes to ride by looking at where others are riding. I leep track of my stats, miles ridden per week/month/year, etc. I do find the segment part useful. Not to compete with others, but myself.


Right on. That sounds cool.

I still dont get these guys competing there. As said above. You want to compete? Enter a race.


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## burobaaje (Aug 1, 2010)

I use Strava to keep up with my rides (in Taiwan) and follow my niece in Arizona. I have never created a segment and could care less about riding through one. I have noticed that on one segment I ride (did not create) the KOM must have been in a car. I don't think Lance on dope could ride it that fast! Maybe a scooter, there are plenty of those here. Logging is my main use as a backup to the Garmin Training Center on my computer. Don't use cell phone, only Garmin devices.

And, I do love the full screen maps on my 27" monitor. I look for ways to change a ride that I have done many times and are getting a bit boring.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

A few have mentioned the whole "enter a race" if you want to compete but in my area a lot of the people in my local segments also race, and they post their races on Strava. Yet another cool thing about Strava is that not only Joe's participate, Pro's do to and you can follow them and see their stats, performance and talk/ask questions. Ted King is one example:

Athlete Detail | Ted King

He was in the Southern California area recently and rode a lot of the local roads. It's great seeing how a Pro performs and the same roads one rides. Heck he even joined a local hammer fest based on a users comments on Strava.


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

Here is a list of all the Pros on Strava
Pro Cyclists | Strava

Kind of cool to see guys like Taylor Phinney
Athlete Detail | Taylor Phinney

Joe Dombrowski is a local rider turned Pro
Athlete Detail | Joe Dombrowski


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

arai_speed said:


> A few have mentioned the whole "enter a race" if you want to compete but in my area a lot of the people in my local segments also race, and they post their races on Strava. Yet another cool thing about Strava is that not only Joe's participate, Pro's do to and you can follow them and see their stats, performance and talk/ask questions. Ted King is one example:
> 
> Athlete Detail | Ted King
> 
> He was in the Southern California area recently and rode a lot of the local roads. It's great seeing how a Pro performs and the same roads one rides. Heck he even joined a local hammer fest based on a users comments on Strava.





scottma said:


> Here is a list of all the Pros on Strava
> Pro Cyclists | Strava
> 
> Kind of cool to see guys like Taylor Phinney
> ...


+1...rode with a national mountain champ today who posts all his rides. He races more than all of us combined and I for one think it's cool a dork like me can see what he is up to and try and emulate to some degree....


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

serious said:


> Not that there is wrong with masturbation.












I'm OUT!!!


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

CActuskid said:


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## superflylondon (Aug 24, 2008)

Strava was fun until I realized I was losing all my segments to people riding in pacelines and not individuals. Makes it hard to compare yourself outside your own team sometimes when you have people targeting taking records as a group against an individual.

Although I have to admit some of the segments I'm 2nd or less on and I know the top person was riding in a group makes me feel good.

I use Strava mostly to find new routes and to push myself against known best times even if it was a group effort with one person uploading or being a strava user.


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## Sargechris (Mar 10, 2013)

Dunbar said:


> To be honest, Strava seemed pretty mythical until I started using it. As a basic tool to track your ride map, total mileage, elevation, average speed/power it's fine. I really like that it's totally free and it automatically uploads the info the the website which you can access via a web browser from your laptop and "drill" into the detail of the ride. No more having to manually enter a ride into mapmyride.com just to give somebody a visual illustration of a route. The novelty factor of trying to beat a segment (or become KOM) wears off pretty fast IMO. You start to realize it isn't even worth it to try to set a PR until there's a strong tail wind (i.e, it encourages you to game the system.) Around here there are probably ten .3-.7 mile segments for every one segment over 1 mile. How it's possibly to draw a meaningful conclusion from such short segments?


My thoughts exactly ! (thanks for saving me the typing time!) :wink5:


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## mann2 (Oct 16, 2012)

I use strava as a concurrent alternative to garmin connect which just simply sucks these past few months. i suggest that garmin seriously upgrade their servers to cope with the amount of people buying their products. 

Strava. i dont mind the KOM stuff that much, but the challenges do just that, they challenge you.


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## Stantone (Sep 16, 2012)

I use Strava for a record of my rides. For planning or finding rides in a new area, I use MapMyRide, but found Strava to be more reliable for recording data. I pretty much ignore the competitive and social stuff, to each his own.


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

I use strava mainly as a logging tool. In the past when I raced I had a PM that recorded data too and downloaded in to Golden Cheeta, I still used strava as well. 

I enjoy seeing the routs I have ridden and its interesting to go back and look at data for me. I do sometime stry for segments (and have made a few) mostly I am going for PRs.


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## pkmffl (Feb 20, 2013)

Newly adopted fan. 

I love the fact that I can compare personal times on different segments of the ride. I have a ton of fun with it. It seems like I'll never get close to the KOM most of the time but I still have fun going for it sometimes. 

More than that I like comparing myself ride to ride and the fact that it does this for you automatically is amazing. I've used quite a few different apps but this one is by far the easiest. 

It's also great to see where/when friends are riding. That's very motivating.


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## mann2 (Oct 16, 2012)

revising my answer: Fan, but not enough to be a paying one


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## bwbishop (Sep 17, 2011)

mann2 said:


> revising my answer: Fan, but not enough to be a paying one


Haha, yep.


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## CyclingVirtual (Apr 10, 2008)

Just started using it.
Find the segments motivate me to try a bit harder


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## rbelleza (Sep 8, 2012)

As someone still learning about riding and "my riding" abilities, I do find it helpful to have data beyond what my simple computer provides. I also like to use it to log my rides and check my times against myself (particularly with miles per week/month). It's nice to see improvements (hopefully). I don't use any of the other free features and I'm not that interested in statistics about others.


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## bob.satan (Jun 2, 2011)

I like strava.

I use it to gauge how I am going fitness wise, trying to hit PR's rather than breaking my neck for KOM's etc.

It is also a good tool to find out where the good places to ride are in an area. I recently moved to HK, so riding around my local area, I can find segments and then cyber stalk fellow riders of the area to see where they are going and get the skinny on new/better rides.

And being overseas, it allows me to keep in contact with riders i have met along the way and see where they are riding etc..

I also got my wife onto it, but she is now the QOM for basically everything that she does, but takes it with the true grain of salt when she loses her "coveted" QOM (the fact that she is basically the only female doing these rides/runs is a minor issue)


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## DocRogers (Feb 16, 2006)

Haven't tried Strava, but I've been using MapMyRide for a couple of years now. Occasional inaccuracies, but generally I'm pretty happy with it and use it on most of my rides, and also runs, etc.


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## r.shoemaker78 (Feb 23, 2012)

Love it for three reason's.

1) Tracking my personal progress: Last year was my first year riding and I didn't discover Strava till the end of June. I set some good PR's in september before riding outside became rather difficult. I did a lot of segment riding on the indoor training and strength training this winter, on my first ride of the season I did my favorite 32 mile loop that has 3,000 ft of elevation gain. During the ride I felt like I wasn't putting out a good time but I did focus more on keeping my HR in check. Got home and found out I set all new PR's and I wasn't even pushing it as hard as I did the end of last year.

2) Tracking my milage and the rides I do: It's fun to go back and look at rides and see where I suffered and try to improve.

3) Tracking my family and friends: I now have my father, cousin and several good friends that ride, all in different states and its fun to see their rides and discuss hard intervals with them.


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## JasperL (Aug 21, 2011)

I'm a beginner so it's nice to look back a year ago and see that over the same route I'm getting a bit faster. So it's a useful motivating tool and the best way I know to track progress over time. Can't justify a power meter, and so average speed over a regular route is the only simple method that can reliably tell me if I'm getting fitter, or not. 

I also started using Strava to track running mileage and speeds - it automatically calculates splits by mile. The downside of that is I set a slew of PRs for 1 mile, 5k and 10k while visiting family in S. Alabama, where it's pancake flat, and during perfect running weather in December. It's VERY hilly where I live, so in effect I have no chance of EVER breaking those personal records till I get back to favorable terrain.


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## jjcools (Jun 28, 2011)

I actually use it and like it. It is fun to compare times with some of my riding buddies even if I am not with them on the ride. I also like being able to easily see if I am beating my own times on segments. I don't really track any downhill segments and actually don't even really follow segments at all. Just ride then review progress after my rides.


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## jnbrown (Dec 9, 2009)

I am not officially on Stava but today I timed myself on a popular local climb.
I have gotten in better shape than I have been and consider myself a descent climber. Also had a good tail wind. Did it in 9:15 which put at 697 out of 1425 and the fastest time was 5:43 which is quite a bit faster than second place at 6:06.
I am 55 so I don't know how I compare to others in my age group. It is an interesting data point but I don't see myself signing up or even doing this again ever. My competitive days are long gone and I am not going beat myself up chasing some unattainable goal.


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## 41ants (Jul 24, 2007)

It's all about the segments! If I can't get a top 10 or KOM then the ride is a failure and I just want to put a gun in my mouth. Seriously, thought it is a decent tool to log miles and its fun to track your own and your buddy's' progress on rides. The one problem around where I live is that it seems like every inch of the roads and dirt trails are segmented on Strava, which can be annoying. I also use ridewighgps.com, as the data layout is much better.


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## CActuskid (Sep 3, 2008)

you take it way to serious, if I get a medal for a set, big woop, there is always someone faster


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## B05 (Jul 31, 2011)

RaptorTC said:


> *I like it, it keeps me motivated.* Most of the guys on my team are on Strava so its cool to be able to see what everyone is doing.


This.

But I don't go out trying to kill myself riding balls out just because I want to be KOM on a certain segment.


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## bikeman (Feb 12, 2005)

I enjoy keeping track of my rides, so I use it as just another form of information to compare my efforts. I take it for what it's worth. Wouldn't pay for it though.


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## mkasner (Sep 23, 2012)

Just started riding! Fan!


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## 41ants (Jul 24, 2007)

CActuskid said:


> you take it way to serious, if I get a medal for a set, big woop, there is always someone faster


I wasn't totally serious :thumbup: However, those emails you get from Strava notifying you that someone just swiped your KOM, are irritating


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## kenken662 (Mar 30, 2013)

"Use Strava," they said. "It's not dangerous, they said." 
I crashed on a steep descent at 35 while trying to be KOM


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## jacksdad (Aug 7, 2012)

There are two segments created by others on my normal loop. The other day I took 6th place on a 6 mile segment by a whopping 31 seconds. Not intentional but it'll be fun trying to improve on it. 

I prefer strava on my iphone and an inexpensive wireless bike computer to the Garmin alternative. Have never been terribly impressed with Garmin hand held products.


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## Wynnbb (Oct 16, 2012)

Segments are fun.. I use both Garmin Connect and Strava


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

I just discovered Strava. A little annoyed that, in order to copy someone elses route, you have to be a paying member.


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## timeless (Jun 2, 2007)

I started using it more as a good way to just track my miles, and personal numbers. KOM on most of those areas where I ride just is not going to happen as the speed those guys average is above my max speed any how right now. Instead I go for my own goals on it.

That and I use it to track some of my friends as we all do it to see how much we ride.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

jlandry said:


> I just discovered Strava. A little annoyed that, in order to copy someone elses route, you have to be a paying member.


Isn't it something like $6/month to upgrade to Premium? I think it's even cheaper on a per month basis if you join for a year.


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## JoePAz (Jul 20, 2012)

jlandry said:


> I just discovered Strava. A little annoyed that, in order to copy someone elses route, you have to be a paying member.


Yes, but that is only if you want the .gpx file. If you just look at the route and map it yourself you are fine. I use Strava to find new routes all the time.


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## turbofish (Apr 29, 2013)

Here is one of the reasons that although I usually use strava or some other program like it, I always take it with a grain of salt. Even though this was all within an LTE area, all of them shave corners rendering a very inaccurate speed and distance


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## bellzisu (May 1, 2013)

I got hooked on Endomondo and now that most of my bike team is on it, I don't see a reason to change. 

Maybe I'll try Strava on a ride or two and compare since everyone is so positive on it.


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## inthesticks (Oct 27, 2010)

Great for seeing how you progress throughout the year. We ride the same route every Tue so it keeps track of that. It has in a few ways forced me to push harder on the rides to improve which in a way is a good motivator. I have a 4 mi section near my house an individual has done at 29+mph which has a nice little hill on it, I cannot for the life of me even get that minus the hill. I have no doubt he did it, but that is incredible. 
We also have a (Stava a hole) that seems to ride our same courses and each week just hammers one segment so he has the KOM, the rest of his ride is like 14mph avg. I confronted him on it, his response is oh my knees hurt so I cant push it all the time...


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## CActuskid (Sep 3, 2008)

so drive to the segment then blow him away if it makes you happy...who cares!


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## fuzzy (Jul 19, 2011)

Strava rocks! :23:


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## IndyFabCJ (Apr 1, 2006)

Oopsie.


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## IndyFabCJ (Apr 1, 2006)

turbofish said:


> Here is one of the reasons that although I usually use strava or some other program like it, I always take it with a grain of salt. Even though this was all within an LTE area, all of them shave corners rendering a very inaccurate speed and distance


Here is something that I wonder about and this is a great example. On a road or trail does it matter if corners are cut in the middle? The measurement is from point a to point b. Anything in between should not matter...no? You still have to get to the end faster. If you are on a trail or road with no other way to cut corners or cheat it should be pretty accurate.


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## Ovary Puncher (Mar 23, 2013)

I hate it....

I don't personally use it, but I have a buddy who is obsessed with Strava and we had a debate about the usefulness of it as a training tool. He told me that Strava only counts "riding time", which means if you're stopped taking a break, it pauses.

My argument is that it is not good indicator of your performance because lets just say two people both do the same 20 mile route, but person (A) takes two 10 minute breaks while person (B) rides the whole 20 miles without a break. Obviously the person who took the two breaks will have fresher legs during the "ride time" portion and thus log a better average speed. IMO the best method to find out average time is calculating the distance ridden by the time you completed it in. 

Another issue I see with Strava is that there are certain "segments" where people can just go for a full on sprint or just ride as hard as they can when they see a segment coming up just so they can be higher up on the rankings. For all you know they could have been riding 8mph on the parts that aren't "segments". 

IMO Strava makes you think you're doing better than you really are. It's more of an ego-booster than a training tool.


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## fuzzy (Jul 19, 2011)

Strava shows time and elapsed (total) time. They can wait to go after a segment when there is a tail wind too, but, so can everyone else. :thumbsup:


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Ovary Puncher said:


> I hate it....
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


Segment rankings are based on "elapsed time" NOT "moving time". Your buddy is wrong.



Ovary Puncher said:


> Another issue I see with Strava is that there are certain "segments" where people can just go for a full on sprint or just ride as hard as they can when they see a segment coming up just so they can be higher up on the rankings. For all you know they could have been riding 8mph on the parts that aren't "segments".


How is that an "issue"? Is there a requirement that one has to ride as hard as possible for the entire duration of the ride?


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## IndyFabCJ (Apr 1, 2006)

I also like the gear feature. I like knowing just how many miles I have on my chain, my front shock, etc. With my mountain bike this is important for service intervals. I also like to know just how many miles are on my tires. I have always over estimated that.


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## BikesOfALesserGod (Jul 22, 2012)

Strava allows me to compare weekly numbers with my friends and pushes me to ride/run/swim more.


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## JoePAz (Jul 20, 2012)

Ovary Puncher said:


> I hate it....
> 
> ...
> 
> My argument is that it is not good indicator of your performance because lets just say two people both do the same 20 mile route, but person (A) takes two 10 minute breaks while person (B) rides the whole 20 miles without a break. Obviously the person who took the two breaks will have fresher legs during the "ride time" portion and thus log a better average speed. IMO the best method to find out average time is calculating the distance ridden by the time you completed it in.


Strava records time when stopped too. So if you stop on a segment counts that against the segment time. Also the average speed decreases. 

Even so Strava does provide a nice sense of where you are speed wise. Not perfect by any means, but pretty good. I did a mtn bike race and never had time to pre-ride the course. So I used Strava combined with looking at rider of similar speed on other segments where both ran then to get a baseline of what times to expect. I worked out really well and was reasonable approximation of my final time. My estimated time was 3hrs 55min and finished in 3hr 42min (official race time). Just about right considering was estimating some conservative times in few spots. 

As for training it is very nice to compare your own times on certain segments to see if you are improving. Should you run climb one or two gears higher at slower cadence or spin all the way. Lots of nice things you can do, but realize the limitations. 

Personally I have KOM on few segments and I am not close in many other places. Fact is you never know the wind conditions or effort level of the others. Just because you are KOM on any segment does not mean you are superfast every where all the time. It is but a tool you can use. Often it can be fun to say I am faster than my friend on such an such segment. Or if I push harder I can make up those 5 to 10 seconds on your friend. That competitive spirit can be fun, but never let it dominate a ride. Personally for me it gives me something to shoot for when I push hard. If I do my normal training ride and push harder maybe I can set a new personal best on the entire loop or just a few segments. Nice to have a target when get into that suffering mode and start wondering why you are beating yourself into the ground. Now with Strava you may have something to show for it afterward. Even if it just a 3rd fastest personal ride and 500 out of 800 overall. At least you know.


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## am_dial (Aug 20, 2012)

I started doing it last year (had never heard of it until I saw it advertised on the TDF, then heard about the lawsuit, etc.), for one reason: I only ride singlespeeds, and only ride solo, and was a new road rider after some years of mt biking. I was curious how my rides would compare to those of geared riders, since I had no idea of typical bike speeds on the local roads. Surprisingly (to me), I found that I could hang with riders on most segments, and on average time and distance. I am now pretty hooked, and have a number of KOMs, though in my area they're fairly competitive and change hands a good bit.

I agree that it does make me want to ride more often, and further, and has as a result made me a better rider.

I'm *not* a fan of Strava on trails, since around here it's resulted in a lot of trail damage through overuse and corner-cutting / braiding. It's probably made me more of a road rider than a mt biker these days, to be honest, which I never thought would happen. I spent so much time repairing trail damage last summer I ended up just getting on the road singlespeed instead.


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## Up and Atom (Sep 1, 2006)

I like Strava as a tool, but I don't worry about it too much. The biggest advantage I've gotten most Strava are different routes that I can ride. I ride solo, so it was interesting to see how I compared with others. Also an easy way to keep track of mileage. I wish it had a feature where you could look at all of your times for a particular segment at once instead of just your current time and your best time.


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## trussdude (Jul 8, 2011)

Up and Atom said:


> I wish it had a feature where you could look at all of your times for a particular segment at once instead of just your current time and your best time.


It does. 

On the left, where it says "Full Leaderboard", underneath it is "My Results".

Click on that.


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## Up and Atom (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks for the info. Never even saw the 'My Results' block.


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## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

I think I'm Stravambivalent.
I joined and I intended to upload stuff there, but I've just been using Garmin Connect.
Having moved away from all my friends and teammates kinda killed off what little competitive spirit I had.


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## scottma (May 18, 2012)

RRRoubaix said:


> Having moved away from all my friends and teammates kinda killed off what little competitive spirit I had.


What is nice about Strava is the social aspect. You will be able to see and comment on all their rides and they will see yours. Its a good way to keep in touch.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

So long as you understand that segments decided by seconds are worthless (due to GPS inaccuracy - smartphone being especially pointless as it has such a huge error margin).

Use it as a tool to be social with the riders you don't see every day, and have fun.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

Shouldn't get too hung up with the rankings or how the times are calculated or whether corners were cut or whether one was slower in between the segments.

Go into 'My Results' and try to better your previous times. 

It is good for comparing the times that YOU have done on previous runs at the same segment. I have a few segments that I have created on my favourite loop and as I get to those segments, I get into the 'interval' mode as I try to improve on my time and in between, I try to recover as much as possible. I do try to ensure that I finish the loop in a reasonable, if not better time too.


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## Old Duffer Biker (Jun 3, 2013)

mpre53 said:


> I find it useful for keeping track of approximate mileage. However, whether due to its inherent inaccuracy, or my obsolescent android phone, the ride data is very inaccurate. I get a fraction of my actual climbing, and my speed is off. But for comparing one of my rides to my past rides to measure for improvement, it's useful. Not so much for comparing myself to others, which I really don't care about in the first place.
> 
> It's erratic in recording known segments on my rides, too. Sometimes it picks up all of them, sometimes it picks up some, sometimes none.
> 
> My understanding is that when used with a Garmin, it's much more accurate.



I use a Garmin Edge 500 from which I upload my rides to both the Garmin website and the Strava website. I like many of the Strava website features, but I always get robbed of about 30% or more of my elevation. I don't use the phone app because it isn't as accurate as my Garmin, and it uses battery power too quickly.


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## TheBaron (Jun 5, 2013)

I have no idea why anyone would want to pay for this site. I love the free element though. The way it computes power and speed is inaccurate, its goals are not great, people do not set up their profiles correctly so some of the leaderboard filters are pointess, I can't actually think of one of the premium features that is decent.

Having said the above, I am able to get KOMs and I am competitive. I therefore love the site.

I have a Garmin 800 so I use Connect store the proper stats on my rides and set/track goals and monitor performance over time. I think people without Garmins will get a lot from Strava as it is a means for them to finally get some stats on their rides from their phones - even though they are hugely inaccurate.

I think they need to work out some extra features for their leaderboards as where I'm from a large percentage of KOMs and people's PBs have all been set with huge tailwinds. It is getting to a point where there is no point trying a segment if the wind is not favorable. If overtime it turns out very hard for people to get top 10 times due to weather then this will put people off.

As others have said it is also very good for showing you new rides. I'm now riding on roads I never knew existed. I might have learnt from trial and error but this would have taken time and with Strava I'm riding good quality routes.

For me though the average speed over the entire ride is important. If you push really hard on a number of segments this can cause you to ride slowly afterwards whilst your recover. You'll notice when viewing some riders stats that they are merely rolling along on rides and then going hard on segments. This may be fun but they're not getting the best possible workout.

I'll continue to upload to both Connect and Strava but after 8 months of KOM hunting I want to ride longer distances and improve my ride speeds so I am starting to get bored of Strava. I doubt I'll stop using it though as it take no time to upload to it.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

Strava be D.E.A.D!

DigitalEPO.com


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## TmB123 (Feb 8, 2013)

MattSoutherden said:


> So long as you understand that segments decided by seconds are worthless (due to GPS inaccuracy - smartphone being especially pointless as it has such a huge error margin).
> 
> Use it as a tool to be social with the riders you don't see every day, and have fun.


Yup, short segment KOM's are often dubious at best due to inaccuracies and recording rates. Pity every device didnt do 1 second recording of data, or, Strava rounded the segment time UP to the next data point rather than DOWN as it seem to. It's annoying when someone takes a KOM only to see that they have done 70m or 110m of a 160m uphill sprint.


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## Poncharelli (May 7, 2006)

I like it mostly for recording ride time and keeping a ride calendar, so i record every ride. I have my own training plan and don't let segments alter my plan. 

I'm a pretty decent rider holding a Cat 3 road and Cat 1 MTB licenses, but I love that I rank nearly last on all the super popular segments (out of hundreds of people). Sorry, but Zone 2 is where it's at!! (I zone 2 all the segments)

For segment challenges I like MTB downhills, since I'm pretty good at them and there's really no wind aid advantage or group ride cheating. All solo skills and power baby!!


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## ChilyChily (Jun 11, 2013)

This is my 1st post here. Hello Everyone. I'm a fan of Strava. I don't take it seriously, I just think it's good fun. I'm not all that competitive and not bothered about the leaderboard, it reminds me of a pinball machine 
I just like that it gives me courses to ride, which I can tick of the list for my own achievements.
I used the Strava data to create an infographic a few months back for work, but that's another story.


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## brad.stark (Jun 17, 2013)

I like Strava. I am a very new cyclist, but I like the idea of it. I like seeing how I progress against my previous times. Comparing myself to others doesn't mean as much to me... I am 47 and far past my prime, but I do like to see I am improving in my fitness and that is cool. Like TheBaron mentioned though... I when riding 50+ miles segment times don't mean much of anything to me. I had a rain shortened ride last week and OTW home I flew through a few segments I knew and did very good... but who cares... it was a 15 mile ride.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

It is excellant for logging your own times on segments that you have created yourself and checking to see if you have improved from your last run.

The challenges are also something that you can use to motivate yourself. Other than joining a local club or doing a sportive. It is just another avenue to get you out and push yourself or just for another stroll.

_I am speaking on behalf of non-racers or individuals who sometimes feels a bit sluggish to go out and cycle._


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## Sargechris (Mar 10, 2013)

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> It is excellant for logging your own times on segments that you have created yourself and checking to see if you have improved from your last run.
> 
> The challenges are also something that you can use to motivate yourself. Other than joining a local club or doing a sportive. It is just another avenue to get you out and push yourself or just for another stroll.
> 
> _I am speaking on behalf of non-racers or individuals who sometimes feels a bit sluggish to go out and cycle._


Agreed !


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## austincrx (Oct 22, 2008)

I like it, it makes riding by myself fun. I usually end up riding solo because the group rides around here all leave shortly after I get home from work, so I can't make them without taking a lot of time to prep to drive to the ride (not worth it to me in most cases, unless mountain biking in which case I'd have to drive anyway). I just use my phone though, so I don't know when a segment is coming or not. I know of a few segments, and sometimes I'll hit those hard, sometimes not. I use it to keep track of ride time just as much as anything else. It's fun to do a hard ride, then look at the times afterwards, or hit a hill that is a segment (most hills around me are segments) and then look at the time after the ride. All of our group rides around here have sprint zones (this was done WAY before Strava came along), and they are all Strava segments now. It makes it a little better to tell how fast you were going in the sprint zones too. One time you could win the sprint and still be 3 mph off the fastest time, and the next time you could be 5th and be 0.3 mph off the fastest time, so it really helps gage things like that.

I also really like it becasue it gives me a way to connect with my friends that don't live close by. I can follow them on Strava and see what they are doing. For example: I saw that one of my friends rode from his current town to his hometown to visit family, some 60 miles or so, which is kinda cool. I plan to do something like that one day, but make it from my house to my parents house, but it's more like 150 miles.


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

TheBaron said:


> I have no idea why anyone would want to pay for this site. I love the free element though. The way it computes power and speed is inaccurate, its goals are not great, people do not set up their profiles correctly so some of the leaderboard filters are pointess, I can't actually think of one of the premium features that is decent.


Seriously? The Power Curve and Fitness and Freshness tools are pretty damn good and at $59/yr is half the price of Trainingpeaks.com.


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## jimbach (Jul 5, 2006)

Reading through this thread, it seems like most people who have a problem with Strava dislike it because of how they perceive _other_ people use it; I think it's a useful tool and it gives me information I might not otherwise have. Having a record of my rides is a nice thing to have, especially for free.


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## 41ants (Jul 24, 2007)

Found another neat feature of the Strava App... I stopped by my mother's place on my way home from the mountains and used the segement explore feature. That feature helped me find some nice dirt trails that I would have otherwise would not have found. Well, I probably would have found those trails sooner or later by Google, but the app was much faster! I was able to get out to the trails much sooner and thus turn a few laps at this local park. My third lap was a PR and I wound up with a Trophy to add to my very small collection.


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## greatestalltime (Aug 20, 2012)

jimbach said:


> Reading through this thread, it seems like most people who have a problem with Strava dislike it because of how they perceive _other_ people use it; I think it's a useful tool and it gives me information I might not otherwise have. Having a record of my rides is a nice thing to have, especially for free.


Yes. That is correct. Strava is good


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## IndyFabCJ (Apr 1, 2006)

bwbishop said:


> Who cares about KOM? The only term that means a damn thing on Strava is "PR." As long as I keep PRing on my hard rides, I know I'm improving.
> 
> Like someone else said, if you wanna compare yourself to others, join a race.


I feel the same way. If it means a kom, great. But someone else is always faster. I don't fool myself thinking I am the fastest. All that matters is constant improvement.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

bwbishop said:


> Who cares about KOM? The only term that means a damn thing on Strava is "PR." As long as I keep PRing on my hard rides, I know I'm improving.
> 
> Like someone else said, if you wanna compare yourself to others, join a race.


I just cannot get my head round PR? Personal Record that is ... I am more of a PB type of person. You know, you see it on the olympics etcetera. 

Everytime I see that little medal showing PR, I have to stop my train of thought for a split second and think of the abbreviation ... then ... ah!  maybe age is catching up ...


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## cnapmak (Jun 13, 2013)

Definitely a fan. When I'm hitting PRs on the ride i know I'm biking hard. Its nice to see my rankings go up as well. The app lets me know that I'm faster than an X percentage of strava users and as long as its going up I'm happy. 
But I mostly ride my own ride and never try to go all out to KOM a segment. Some of the segments are ridiculuos like way too short to mean anything and the leaders must have gps errors. I see speeds of 46 mph going up hill, 149 mph average on a 4 mile loop and etc. It makes you wonder if you can take any KOM time seriously.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

I just downloaded the app as I was considering a GPS. I really like it as a motivation. Also feel zero need for a Garmin now. 

It provides a lot of motivation knowing how crappy of a cyclist I am now.


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## DBT (Oct 31, 2008)

I just downloaded it last week. Used it for a couple of rides over the long weekend. I like the idea of logging rides (though I have never had a computer on my bikes). 

The mileage seems to be fairly accurate, but the speed is way off. On my 4th of July ride, it had my top speed as 64.4 mph. I would guess I hit the low 40's. There is a 1.1 mile MUP segment that the top 2 riders are listed at 76 mph (53 seconds). If I had to guess, they are riding around France right now.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

DBT said:


> I just downloaded it last week. Used it for a couple of rides over the long weekend. I like the idea of logging rides (though I have never had a computer on my bikes).
> 
> The mileage seems to be fairly accurate, but the speed is way off. On my 4th of July ride, it had my top speed as 64.4 mph. I would guess I hit the low 40's. There is a 1.1 mile MUP segment that the top 2 riders are listed at 76 mph (53 seconds). If I had to guess, they are riding around France right now.


Unfortunately that could be due to the accuracy of the mobile device carrier. I have seen crazy speeds and always w/out fail, it's a mobile device of sorts (as in a phone).

Computer like the Garmin Edge are 100X more accurate.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

Don't know if this has been mentioned before and I don't feel like digging through all the pages but we have a RBR club on Strava. Feel free to join: RoadBikeReview

I see that a bunch of us are doing the Rapha Rising: La Centième challenge. 
Good luck everyone!


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## TattooedMtBiker (Jul 9, 2012)

Never tried it. I use MapMyRide on my phone. I like it well enough. Gives me what I want...average speed, distance, shows the map of my ride (hence the name...lol), plus shows an elevation graph thingy...and I can post it up on Fb easily if I want. It keeps track of all my rides and shoots me an email weekly showing my activity for the week. That's all I really need. I'm slow, don't race, and really can't compete with anyone so there's no point knowing where I stand amongst others nor do I care.


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

ph0enix said:


> Don't know if this has been mentioned before and I don't feel like digging through all the pages but we have a RBR club on Strava. Feel free to join: RoadBikeReview
> 
> I see that a bunch of us are doing the Rapha Rising: La Centième challenge.
> Good luck everyone!


Sweet. Joined.


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

Use to be a fan - checked it all the time to see who rode what and when, evaluating everyone's rides, anxiously waiting for kudos/comments, etc. Then I realized it became Facebook. So now I Facebook. I still upload my rides because I do like some of the features, but I'm more a Strava lurker than a participant. Riding is a bit more fun now.


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## Brad the Bold (Jun 8, 2010)

I just joined because all the "cool kids" in my club are doing it. I mainly use Mapmyfitness to log all my workouts but Strava has some fun features.

I uploaded all my workouts since 2011 from my garmin and was happy to see I had a few minor KOMs. But on one from 2011 I realized that I was averaging 46mph! WTF? so I check the route and could tell that I had left the garmin in the car on the ride home!

I thought I would have to delete the ride, but the solution was easy and elegant. 

Strava lets you "crop" workouts. So I simply cropped off the errant car ride end section and it was fixed. The KOM reverted to the next guy up not the moron with a new Garmin!


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## PTSTORK53 (Jul 2, 2012)

I use mapmyride because I'm using a cycleops joule and it's not compatible with strava. Too bad, strava looks pretty cool.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

Just completed a starva challenge. I think without it I would not have climbed so much in such a short period of time. I am only a recreational rider so it was quite a motivator.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> Just completed a starva challenge. I think without it I would not have climbed so much in such a short period of time. I am only a recreational rider so it was quite a motivator.


Did you join the RBR club?
RoadBikeReview


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

I joined the group - get ready for a bunch of boring lunch rides that will show up in that feed


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

arai_speed said:


> I joined the group - get ready for a bunch of boring lunch rides that will show up in that feed


Nice! We got 7 new members since last week.


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## 41ants (Jul 24, 2007)

ph0enix said:


> Nice! We got 7 new members since last week.


Joined as well... The only elevation changes you're going to see are from 20' overpasses in FL.


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## mtor (Mar 1, 2007)

Jason303 said:


> We had a lively back-and-forth about the merits of Strava on RoadBikeReview.com this week. Check out the Pro and Con opinions here and here.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Never used it


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## AdamAlter (Nov 13, 2012)

ph0enix said:


> Don't know if this has been mentioned before and I don't feel like digging through all the pages but we have a RBR club on Strava. Feel free to join: RoadBikeReview


Thanks! I just joined the Strava club, but realized out of all the reading I've done, I've never posted here lol.

On the thread topic, I'm a big fan of Strava. Being a data junkie with a power meter, HRM, and cadence, it gives me a lot to look at when studying myself, my fitness, and performance.

Started riding less than a year ago and was on Strava at the start. Never paid any attention to KOMs initially, just my personal improvement, which was very encouraging to see. Now that I'm in much better shape, the KOMs are another fun thing to play with, occasionally. Some suck that have stop signs, car drafting, or other issues like speeding, but many others are fun.

I'm trying to use Strava to encourage my almost 12 yr old son also. I've laid out a safe course for him to ride and giving him $.50 a mile if he does laps and tracks it on Strava. My hopes are he will notice his segment times getting faster and push himself to get even better and be hooked on cycling. Once he realizes he likes it, I can drop him down to $.20/mi and then nothing, before I go broke


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

Signed up. Might not get to log in too many rides the next two weeks with work and a vacation coming. Maybe just a couple of quick morning loops, but got in a good one on Saturday if any NJ people are doing the Fondo, it was a good way to hit most of the climbs to prep.


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

go home barry, you're drunk.


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## biggunnz (May 27, 2013)

What's not to like? Use the parts you like, ignore the parts you don't. It's free people. Funny people always find reasons to complain about things.


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

I love the top comment on this vid: "hate to try and beat that Strava segment."


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## Indetrucks (Oct 8, 2012)

timeless said:


> I started using it more as a good way to just track my miles, and personal numbers. KOM on most of those areas where I ride just is not going to happen as the speed those guys average is above my max speed any how right now. Instead I go for my own goals on it.
> 
> That and I use it to track some of my friends as we all do it to see how much we ride.


Exactly this....


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## mtnroadie (Jul 6, 2010)

Strava Fan, great training tool! Though I have noticed my rides are no longer about just riding but getting a PR or KOM. It has actually sapped a bit of the fun out of it, so I am trying to cut back and take it easy.

Plus I cant say it’s truly a level playing field. On road segments it’s a pretty even playing field, everyone has a road bike, some a lot better than others but still a road bike is a road bike. My issue is with mtb segments.

Mtbs are vastly different from one another, some perform far better than others in certain areas. I pedal my butt off on my 6 inch travel 30lb AM bike only to have some guy on a cyclocross 16lbs speed machine or hard tail 29 come and snag it away from me. We have one guy around here, I swear he is a semi-pro of some sort. Every time I set a KOM he steals it from me and put my time to shame or just barely out of my grasp.
It would be great if segments could be subdivided into bike catagories. Yet I guess that would be impossible to enforce. 

Another thing that irks me are times that are just too good too believe. I really do think Stava has led some to doping. I did some cycling in very hilly Mediterranean terrain last year set a bunch of KOMs all over the place over the course of a month, then one day some guy comes along and destroys everything in ONE 100 or so mile ride with an over 10,000 feet elevation gain during the ride. I thought he did it on a scooter, but it was legit, he used a Garmin and had average cadence.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Sounds like a case of "easy kom easy go"


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

arai_speed said:


> Sounds like a case of "easy kom easy go"


Good attempt but your pun was KOMme ci, KOMme ca ... LOL


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## 7StringJazz (Jul 7, 2013)

Strava is best for PERSONAL use. It's social functions are a bit gimmicky IMO precisely because people are never equal. Roads, wind, bikes, traffic, where in their ride was the segment timed, and people cheating are all reasons why it's best to use it for self measure and treat the relative rankings as amusing penis contests. If you were not there it's not really relevant how fast someone else did a segment. Too many variables to take it very seriously. For personal measure it's pretty good and has motivated me to do more. I like it.


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## mtnroadie (Jul 6, 2010)

arai_speed said:


> Sounds like a case of "easy kom easy go"


Perhaps for some of the segments. Though I am usually able to get to top 5 -10 on highly contested segments on the mtb. I looked up both guys and they are both racers. One lives in Switzerland and eats 2000ft climbs for breakfast.

Still I think a 22lb hard tail 29er or 17lb cyclocross bike is going to be a significant advantage over a 30lb AM rig on 80% of the mtb segments around here.


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## Indetrucks (Oct 8, 2012)

Yeah, Strava and dirt trails is hard to measure. Trails change, get rutted up, etc... 

It's def. more of a personal training tool (as others have mentioned).
But yeah... as far as your KOM getting stolen and smashed, just remember... there are guys out there who would smash the guy's KOM who just stole yours.

Some freak athletes out there... just lean to be happy with 2nd place 
To be honest, the only reason I like getting KOM's is so people are forced to look at  my Strava profile pic. haha

Was riding mountain bike in PV and saw this dude walking down a path to the ocean. Snapped a pic and it's history since


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

mtnroadie said:


> Perhaps for some of the segments. Though I am usually able to get to top 5 -10 on highly contested segments on the mtb. I looked up both guys and they are both racers. One lives in Switzerland and eats 2000ft climbs for breakfast.
> 
> Still I think a 22lb hard tail 29er or 17lb cyclocross bike is going to be a significant advantage over a 30lb AM rig on 80% of the mtb segments around here.


For sure!! I lost a KOM recently and noticed the guy that took it from me was both way younger and weighed like 40lbs less then me.

Hard to "compete" against that so I just said "f it" and left it at that.

Regardless, Strava is still fun for me. It's still fun to go for PRs, it's still fun to give/recieve kudos/comments and smack talk with friends both near and far


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

I just have fun riding. I usually get KOM/CRs when I'm relaxed on the bike and not specifically going for them (trying too hard).


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## f3rg (May 11, 2008)

Brad the Bold said:


> I had left the garmin in the car on the ride home!
> 
> ......
> 
> Strava lets you "crop" workouts. So I simply cropped off the errant car ride end section and it was fixed.


Yeah, I see this happen all the time. Thanks for taking responsibility for cropping your own ride, since most people conveniently ignore this. Typically, I give them a couple days to fix it, and when they don't, I just flag the ride.


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## 7StringJazz (Jul 7, 2013)

I use it with driving all the time to ' map my ride'  for time and elevation. I just make it private. I use it the way I want to use it.


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## nc68 (May 31, 2013)

I used to use it when I had Android Phone. I bought Windows Phone8 and Strave seems like negative attitude on WP8. The Strave CS advised me to use 'Sports Tracker' instead. It is almost similar to strava. It comes with save as .gpx file to load in Strave too.
Rest of my group uses Strava and Pro version except few Garmin users.


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## Kelvin kimp (Jun 2, 2013)

I have used strava since I started riding this spring. It has been a great tool to track my progress and to see and deal with the setbacks. I know I will never be KOM and do not care. It is nice to be able to see the personal gains accomplished!


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## rideorglide (Dec 3, 2005)

I guess I started with Garmin connect, and also Map my Ride as a backup when my garmin edge 500 is u.s. (unserviceable, i.e. fecked up) 

so ... I'm not used to Strava yet ... a *third* system might make my head explode (?).

Plus I like all the semi bogus "achievements" a crap climber like myself can rack up in MMR. It's nice to get a fastest here, a guru there or a KOM top three there. Must be because I ride odd, out of the way places.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n (Mar 3, 2012)

I think the challenges really help to motivate me. I have never cycled or climbed more than in the 8 days in July when I had to complete a challenge ...

This rapha rising roundel just arrived in the post ...


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## crossracer (Jun 21, 2004)

Initially thought it was stupid. Now i enjoy it when i want it. Best thing is that certain days i dont turn it on, so i can just ride and enjoy the pure joy of riding a road bike. 

Yes people cheat, i dont. Cant understand the need to cheat for no other gain then your ego. I would rather earn my rewards. 

Totally enjoy it. Not sure if upgrading is worth it, but it is lots of fun. 

BIll


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

crossracer said:


> Now i enjoy it when i want it. Best thing is that certain days i dont turn it on, so i can just ride and enjoy the pure joy of riding a road bike.


One thing I've tried is to not upload my rides on the day of the ride. So I might load everything once a week or longer. I KNOW! HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO GET KUDOS!? 

BTW, I upgraded to the premium account, found it fairly useful at first, then quickly realized I didn't really need it. Of course it was after my trial period so not much I could have done about it.


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## crowaan (Aug 13, 2013)

I don't know how using Strava stops people from going out and enjoying their ride. Maybe if you have your phone strapped to the bar and are checking speed every 12 seconds... wait, that still makes no difference. Maybe people enjoy their rides when they can know their speed and push themselves.

I like Strava because I can keep track of my ride distances. Currently I have no chance of any KOMs but I still like setting PRs. They let me know I am getting better and give me motivation to go hard, kind of like intervals. To me, Strava is a nice training partner, just turn it on on my phone and slip it into my pocket. But I might pick up something to mount it to my bars.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

octobahn said:


> One thing I've tried is to not upload my rides on the day of the ride. So I might load everything once a week or longer. I KNOW! HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO GET KUDOS!?


Uhhhh...you can make all your rides private. No kudos, no comments, no pressure


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

arai_speed said:


> Uhhhh...you can make all your rides private. No kudos, no comments, no pressure


True...I still want to challenge myself and go after top-10 placements, which won't register if the ride is private. Plus, I do agree with most here that the PRs are nice in that you can track your progress as you move up the placement list. Still a Strava fan, just not of the entire product.


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

arai_speed said:


> No kudos, no comments, no pressure


BTW, arai_speed, pressure was never an issue with using Strava


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## bjoshuanoah (Aug 8, 2013)

I'm loving it.

I noticed that my times on segments are getting better over time. That's What I like best about it.

I'm getting back into riding(again) and Seeing others go 20mph faster than me to get a KOM just boggles my mind. Maybe some day I'll have nothing to do but ride 5 hours a day...


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

It's a fun toy. I turned it on for a couple mile ride with my kids and they got a kick out of seeing where they rode and everything.


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## DanM (Apr 17, 2004)

I like it a lot. I just joined the RBR group. I'm using it to track my progress getting back into shape after a long break from the bike and to prepare for next years STP. The only KOM I'll ever get is one for down hill...


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## rideorglide (Dec 3, 2005)

DanM said:


> I like it a lot. I just joined the RBR group. I'm using it to track my progress getting back into shape after a long break from the bike and to prepare for next years STP. The only KOM I'll ever get is one for down hill...


It's still a mountain. 

Going downhill ... gets scary sometimes!

(Back on topic -- I did try Strava and liked it, now I guess I should get a phone with enough room for _another_ app. Mine chokes out "low on space warnings, on just a dozen or so apps. )


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

I've been using strava for a couple of years and I think its an awesome site, especially since they offer the free site. only complaint is that you cant up load manual rides which I completely understand, got to stay honest. I recommend strava to anyone.


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

I bought a smart phone to be able to use strava and other similar apps; I'm old school so this phone was confusing for me at first but my kids and grand kids helped me out. other than that you have to buy a gizmo just to use these types of apps.


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## ddave12000 (Aug 16, 2013)

I think Strava is great. I like tracking how I do on each ride as well as the cumulative rides. Seeing how I stack up against my friends keeps me motivated as well.


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

I also like to be able to follow other people, only thing is that if I don't have my smart phone I cant track my rides and you cant upload manual rides but this helps to keep you honest. sort of like a lock, keeps honest people honest. LOL


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> I think the challenges really help to motivate me. I have never cycled or climbed more than in the 8 days in July when I had to complete a challenge ...
> 
> This rapha rising roundel just arrived in the post ...
> http://flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/t43685


Still waiting for mine. I had to contact Rapha last year because they didn't send me one. Finally got it in October.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

rideorglide said:


> It's still a mountain.
> 
> Going downhill ... gets scary sometimes!
> 
> (Back on topic -- I did try Strava and liked it, now I guess I should get a phone with enough room for _another_ app. Mine chokes out "low on space warnings, on just a dozen or so apps. )


Apps alone are most likely not the issue. It's photos, videos and music that take up a lot of space.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

desertbiker92211 said:


> I also like to be able to follow other people, only thing is that if I don't have my smart phone I cant track my rides and you cant upload manual rides but this helps to keep you honest. *sort of like a lock, keeps honest people honest.* LOL


You can upload GPX files to strava. The problem is that GPX files can be edited so there is room for cheating unfortunately.


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## Scrapster (Aug 19, 2013)

Any of you non-fans KOM on anything?

No, I thought not.

Use it or don't use it but don't knock people for wanting to push themselves and compare themselves against others.

And to all those who say it's inaccurate; I have ridden using my SGS4, a mates iPhone 5 and another mates Garmin Edge 810. Once uploaded, all routes were virtually identical. Fair enough we probably get good coverage in central London but it does make me think that these perceived wild inaccuracies may be wishful thinking.

Look at the amount of happy Strava users. I personally have used it for over a year, it has helped me become the fittest I have been in 15 years, and has helped me shed nearly 2 stone.

So come join us. Or don't. If not then no loss really.

Nice second post! Happy Strava'ing.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Scrapster said:


> ...
> And to all those who say it's inaccurate; I have ridden using my SGS4, a mates iPhone 5 and another mates Garmin Edge 810. Once uploaded, all routes were virtually identical. Fair enough we probably get good coverage in central London but it does make me think that these *perceived wild inaccuracies may be wishful thinking*.
> 
> ...


I wish it were wishful thinking - see below image comparing two "almost" identical rides:


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## specv1113 (Jul 21, 2013)

I enjoy Strava. It is fun to keep up with a lot of my friends who live across the state and even out of state. It is a little competative for me to see these guys going through their transformations and seeing what they are doing.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

arai_speed said:


> I wish it were wishful thinking - see below image comparing two "almost" identical rides:


I'm not sure about the Android app but I've compared two almost identical rides between the iPhone app and a Garmin. The iPhone ride was slightly longer with slightly more elevation. The app showed roughly 25% less elevation than the Garmin did though. Unfortunately GPS devices aren't accurate so there will be discrepancies.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

ph0enix said:


> I'm not sure about the Android app but I've compared two almost identical rides between the iPhone app and a Garmin. The iPhone ride was slightly longer with slightly more elevation. The app showed roughly 25% less elevation than the Garmin did though. Unfortunately GPS devices aren't accurate so there will be discrepancies.


I don't use a Garmin but the android app maps out nearly identically to ridewithgps which I use to plan rides as do the local clubs I ride with.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

My point is that discprepancies DO exist, and I've seen them, both in elevation gain (as shown above) and speed (not shown). I have also seen rides that are very very close to each other between different devices.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

arai_speed said:


> My point is that discprepancies DO exist, and I've seen them, both in elevation gain (as shown above) and speed (not shown). I have also seen rides that are very very close to each other between different devices.


Are you using the battery saver function on the android? Did you wait before uploading it. Or start it early? Almost looks like there is a little hill repeat at the beginning/end point on that one.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

NJBiker72 said:


> Are you using the battery saver function on the android? Did you wait before uploading it. Or start it early? Almost looks like there is a little hill repeat at the beginning/end point on that one.


The Garmin ride is mine, the Android is a guy in my area who happens to lives up the street from me. That "hill repeat" you are seeing is his ride back home. You will notice in my OP I said both rides where "almost" identical, now if you think that 2833ft could be gained in 1.6miles let me know where to find it!

Here is another example of 2 rides (both mine) where you can see more of the same. On the Garmin ride I actually climbed more as I was exploring a new section yet the Android reported more elevation gain. Also look at the "Elevation" graph and notice all the Spikes on the phone vs. the Garmin.

My beef is not that GPS devices behave/record things differently. My beef is that Strava normalizes the data and does a poor job at it.


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## gte (Jun 7, 2013)

I've been using Strava for a whole DAY now and I really like the ability to track my progress on the segments I do regularly. I will however wait another day or so before declaring myself a fan.


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## ph0enix (Aug 12, 2009)

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> I think the challenges really help to motivate me. I have never cycled or climbed more than in the 8 days in July when I had to complete a challenge ...
> 
> This rapha rising roundel just arrived in the post ...
> https://flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/t43685


My roundel came yesterday. Here it is next to last year's:


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## modernworld (Jul 1, 2013)

I like Strava, but more than anything it just makes me wish that I could combine the best of Strava with the best of Garmin Connect and not have to jump back and forth between the two.


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

modernworld said:


> I like Strava, but more than anything it just makes me wish that I could combine the best of Strava with the best of Garmin Connect and not have to jump back and forth between the two.


Although I load all my rides to Connect, I don't really know of these "best" parts you speak of. What am I missing?


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## modernworld (Jul 1, 2013)

nhluhr said:


> Although I load all my rides to Connect, I don't really know of these "best" parts you speak of. What am I missing?


LOL fair point. I like the integration and direct talk with my Garmin devices. Other than that, yes, it's a bit of a nightmare. I tried to create a course last night using the editor and it wouldn't let me add a street that's one of the most common climbs in Palos Verdes, forcing me onto some single-lane side street. Annoying.


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## pcrouch (Aug 22, 2013)

On the whole I'm a fan. It's a great tool for collecting and tracking your progress. The other thing we've found in our club is that it's increased competition between riders. Many want KOM honors. Good for the stronger riders but many club rides break-up now.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Scrapster said:


> Any of you non-fans KOM on anything?
> 
> No, I thought not.
> 
> ...


We call that "pinning on a number and racing." HTH


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

robdamanii said:


> We call that "pinning on a number and racing." HTH


Who is "we"?


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## DonDenver (May 30, 2007)

robdamanii said:


> We call that "pinning on a number and racing." HTH


^ that was a great catch 

Simply, for me, Strava works with close cycling friends and in particular, viewing a clear history of my progress on segments. Seeing improvements along with notes associated with variables certainly, over time, provides a significant predictor when riding year round.

If I need to compete, and much like robdamii puts it, its not via Strava, its about grinding and swapping bar tape


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## DonDenver (May 30, 2007)

arai_speed said:


> Who is "we"?


[stepping forward crossing the line] ME!


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Who is "we"?


Those of us who know that competition means having the brass ones to line up NEXT TO the guy we're about to compete with instead of hiding behind a computer screen.. Strava isn't competition. It's a facebook-esque cycling circle jerk.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

DonDenver said:


> ^ that was a great catch
> 
> Simply, for me, Strava works with close cycling friends and in particular, viewing a clear history of my progress on segments. Seeing improvements along with notes associated with variables certainly, over time, provides a significant predictor when riding year round.
> 
> If I need to compete, and much like robdamii puts it, its not via Strava, its about *grinding and swapping bar tape*


Rubbin' be racin'. *chest thump and points*


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

Strava isn't meant to be a competition, it's a gimmick.


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## Dexter. (Aug 22, 2013)

Love it. Of course, we all have those strata ***** friends that talk nonstop about how they are sooo close to making top ten, or when you're on a ride they ask for a pull in a certain area...anyway, KOM hunters are lame but its fun to see my friends from around the country upload their rides, compare my own personal bests, etc. Great program, just some people go too extreme with it.


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## Kelvin kimp (Jun 2, 2013)

The KOM's give me something to strive for...I will most likely never set any records but it gives me a point to work towards. It is a good way to gage my improvement as well as seeing if I am slacking or if something is not working.


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## bwbishop (Sep 17, 2011)

I think shooting for small segments is ridiculous, but I Love the challenge of some of the longer 10-20 mile segments, makes me push myself to try to best my PR.


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## Dexter. (Aug 22, 2013)

bwbishop said:


> I think shooting for small segments is ridiculous, but I Love the challenge of some of the longer 10-20 mile segments, makes me push myself to try to best my PR.


Mountain climbs, long TT straightaways/paths, etc are great for challenging others in the area. The segments that are from one stoplight to the next are ridiculous.


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## rideorglide (Dec 3, 2005)

onespeed said:


> Love it.
> 
> Uploaded all my years of riding to it to see how slack I have become.
> 
> It is helping me regain some past form.


Glad that worked for you -- it choked after about 6 months of uploads (from my Garmin Edge 300) on me. Not sure why the other year and a half (about maxxes out the Edge 300). Will try again.

Still like the presentation on Strava though.


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

bwbishop said:


> I think shooting for small segments is ridiculous, but I Love the challenge of some of the longer 10-20 mile segments, makes me push myself to try to best my PR.


Agreed


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

robdamanii said:


> Those of us who know that competition means having the brass ones to line up NEXT TO the guy we're about to compete with instead of hiding behind a computer screen.. Strava isn't competition. It's a facebook-esque cycling circle jerk.


Ahh yes - the ones with the "brass ones". Are those the same ones that video tape their arguments and quote things like "this is going on youtube!" Very manly. Thanks for the clarification.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Ahh yes - the ones with the "brass ones". Are those the same ones that video tape their arguments and quote things like "this is going on youtube!" Very manly. Thanks for the clarification.


Did I say there weren't a**holes out there? 

There are more a**holes hunting strava segments than in the local peloton. The racing crowd is, by and large, very pleasant to hang around with, as opposed to the guys who do nothing but talk trash about "killing this segment, cause I need that KOM, dude." 

Strava is for "wannabe competitors." If that's you, that's fine. But don't confuse it with actual competition.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

robdamanii said:


> ...
> 
> There are more a**holes hunting strava segments than in the local peloton. The racing crowd is, by and large, very pleasant to hang around with, as opposed to the guys who do nothing but talk trash about "killing this segment, cause I need that KOM, dude."


If you say so....




robdamanii said:


> ...
> Strava is for "wannabe competitors."...


Looks like these guys didn't get the memo:
Ted King
Laurens ten Dam
Tim Johnson


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## bjoshuanoah (Aug 8, 2013)

How is competition a bad thing?

What's wrong with someone wanting to "kill it", or "have to get that KOM".

I can almost guarantee that person, is just a regular person that wants to be recognized for a great accomplishment.

Obviously, a PR is more important than a KOM because it implies personal improvement. But I see absolutely nothing wrong with people trying to JUST attack the segment. There's nothing stopping you from trying to attack that segment too. In fact it might make you feel good to know you can beat the other person.

How is this any different from racing? Do you think racers are A**holes because they want to kill it or win?

BTW, I'm regularly in the bottom 5 places. And by bottom five, I'm not talking about place 1-5, I'm talking about 951 out of 956 people who went through that segment.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

bjoshuanoah said:


> How is competition a bad thing?
> 
> What's wrong with someone wanting to "kill it", or "have to get that KOM".
> 
> ...


There's nothing even remotely "great" about a strava KOM. You went out and rode, alone, on your best day. That's not competition. 



> 1: the act or process of competing : rivalry: as
> a : the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms
> b : active demand by two or more organisms or kinds of organisms for some environmental resource in short supply
> 2
> : a contest between rivals; also : one's competitors <faced tough competition>


Racers are very different. They wish to see how they ACTUALLY stack up to each other. They wish to defeat each other on the same field, the same day, the same race. 

If you're thinking a Strava segment is a "great accomplishment" you need to readjust your definition of "great accomplishment."


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> If you say so....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So Ted King and Laurens ten Dam didn't race the Tour?

Tim Johnson doesn't race cross races?

They use Strava for what it is: social media. They don't sit there and say "dude, I HAVE to have that KOM." More like this: "dude, I got some stupid KOM on some stupid website while I was winning a Tour de France stage."

So yeah, they're a whole lot more than the average strava segment fodder in this thread.


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## crowaan (Aug 13, 2013)

robdamanii said:


> So yeah, they're a whole lot more than the average strava segment fodder in this thread.


So you are saying that everyone who uses Strava is some a**hole out to get KOMs on their locale segments? Seems like the average guy in this thread finds it to be a handy training tool for recording ride stats, most of us aren't anywhere near KOMs (except when we make our own private segments).


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## bjoshuanoah (Aug 8, 2013)

robdamanii said:


> There's nothing even remotely "great" about a strava KOM. You went out and rode, alone, on your best day. That's not competition.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Haha! and I thought I was the king of semantics. 

I would definitely see a KOM as a great accomplishment. Most in my neighborhood are 4 times faster than me.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

bjoshuanoah said:


> Haha! and I thought I was the king of semantics.
> 
> I would definitely see a KOM as a great accomplishment. Most in my neighborhood are 4 times faster than me.


Then you need to reach higher. It's sad that an e-crown is the height of your glory.



crowaan said:


> So you are saying that everyone who uses Strava is some a**hole out to get KOMs on their locale segments? Seems like the average guy in this thread finds it to be a handy training tool for recording ride stats, most of us aren't anywhere near KOMs (except when we make our own private segments).


Did I say that? 

No.

However, there is a certain portion of Strava users who are completely and utterly obsessed with Strava segments. That population has a knack for ruining every ride with their stupid KOM hunting, and their (in general) a**hole behavior towards other riders, pedestrians, vehicles, etc. 

If you're simply using Strava to track your progress on timed loops or something of that nature, good for you. If you're one of the idiots who actually sends an email that says "Dude, we're going to hit 8 strava segments today!!!!11!1!" then you're a waste of my time.


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## bwbishop (Sep 17, 2011)

bjoshuanoah said:


> But I see absolutely nothing wrong with people trying to JUST attack the segment. There's nothing stopping you from trying to attack that segment too. In fact it might make you feel good to know you can beat the other person.
> 
> How is this any different from racing?


I just just a 35 mile ride yesterday that had about 90 segments on them, and the vast majority are less than 2 miles long, with many under 1 mile. "Just attacking a segment" proves nothing if the rest of your ride was *&^%. That means you have 3 minutes of fitness.

The races by me are at least an hour long. that's a lot more fitness than attacking a segment for 3 minutes.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Last time I checked, we are ALL just riding bikes. Some like to pin a number, thump their chest and ride their bike. Others like to take a shuttle to the to of a mountain and bomb down a trail and ride their bikes while others like to attack an 8 mile or .8 mile segment and...you guessed it...ride their bike. ALL bike riding is good with me...I don't hate on others for how or where they choose to ride.


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

bwbishop said:


> "Just attacking a segment" proves nothing if the rest of your ride was *&^%. That means you have 3 minutes of fitness.


+1

And when you look at their total ride, it's something like 13MPH average (and I'm not talking about an all-ascent ride). However, I do know a couple of guys that go KOM-hunting but I have NO DOUBT that they're working their ass off (e.g. Z4 HR, 20+ MPH average, and yes, 1500-2000+ft ascent in a 30+ mi ride). Maybe I'm impressed easily but that's the guy I look up to.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

bwbishop said:


> I just just a 35 mile ride yesterday that had about 90 segments on them, and the vast majority are less than 2 miles long, with many under 1 mile. "Just attacking a segment" proves nothing if the rest of your ride was *&^%. That means you have 3 minutes of fitness.
> 
> The races by me are at least an hour long. that's a lot more fitness than attacking a segment for 3 minutes.


Well put. 3 minutes of fitness is fine if it's the move you make to win a race. But soft pedaling for 2 hours before it doesn't make you even a gym class hero.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Last time I checked, we are ALL just riding bikes. Some like to pin a number, thump their chest and ride their bike. Others like to take a shuttle to the to of a mountain and bomb down a trail and ride their bikes while others like to attack an 8 mile or .8 mile segment and...you guessed it...ride their bike. ALL bike riding is good with me...I don't hate on others for how or where they choose to ride.


Neither do I. But I do hate them when they interfere with my world. And the Strava dopes have done that on MANY an occasion.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

robdamanii said:


> Neither do I. But I do hate them when they interfere with my world. And the Strava dopes have done that on MANY an occasion.


How does someone keeping track of their performance bother your ride? Is it that upsettting to have someone go by you and then have to pass them later?


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

NJBiker72 said:


> How does someone keeping track of their performance bother your ride? Is it that upsettting to have someone go by you and then have to pass them later?


No. The guys who will ONLY ride on the hills and just drag ass through the rest of the ride are a burden to everyone else who rides with them. It's to the point that if someone is going to spend the ride "only going for segments" then they can ride alone.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

robdamanii said:


> No. The guys who will ONLY ride on the hills and just drag ass through the rest of the ride are a burden to everyone else who rides with them. It's to the point that if someone is going to spend the ride "only going for segments" then they can ride alone.


Or you can ride alone or find a group that rides like you want to. Right now both groups I ride with are doing fondo training. So yes, we are hitting the hills hard. Still going at a good pace on flats. But yes, the hammer drops on the hills. Went out on my own yesterday, hit 3 of the fondo climbs and did that. Averaged 16.2 over 90 miles, but put the biggest effort on the climbs. Can't think of how that bothered anyone, other than the guy I beat up Rocky Run.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

NJBiker72 said:


> Or you can ride alone or find a group that rides like you want to. Right now both groups I ride with are doing fondo training. So yes, we are hitting the hills hard. Still going at a good pace on flats. But yes, the hammer drops on the hills. Went out on my own yesterday, hit 3 of the fondo climbs and did that. Averaged 16.2 over 90 miles, but put the biggest effort on the climbs. Can't think of how that bothered anyone, other than the guy I beat up Rocky Run.


So you use it as a measuring stick for your climbing times. I see nothing wrong with that.

If you suddenly sprint out of a plain old vanilla group ride saying "I gotta get this KOM on Strava" you should probably be smacked with a hammer.


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

I don't do a whole lot of the registered rides but I did one this past weekend in Lake Arrowhead, CA. Along the ride route the organizers started posting signs to indicate the starts and ends of Strava segments. I guess there aren't too many segments along this route so it wasn't like the whole route was dotted with these signs. I'm not a total Strava fan but thought it was pretty cool to help drive up the motivation a bit as all the signed segments were climbs. Honestly, I found myself pushing a little harder when I knew I was on a Strava segmented climb. Maybe it was the ride profile (59 mi, 7,500ft) that was a factor, plus the ridership demographic was different than other rides I've been on, but I didn't witness any Strava-related, douche-like behavior on this ride.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

robdamanii said:


> So you use it as a measuring stick for your climbing times. I see nothing wrong with that.
> 
> If you suddenly sprint out of a plain old vanilla group ride saying "I gotta get this KOM on Strava" you should probably be smacked with a hammer.


Oh I don't sprint away from the group. I sprint up those hills to not be last. Made it by 1 second last week.

I was very excited to place 7th on one lical hill this weekend. Then I saw only 7 people recorded segments there.


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hey there octo hope u r well. Only time I dont use strava is when I forget my phone- I like to track my progress or lack there of. I don't ride for speed but for duration n for over all health. It really came indio handy was I was doing daily century rides six times a week but now I'm to old n just ride for joy n health. Keep pedling my friend


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## modernworld (Jul 1, 2013)

I don't normally care, but I have to admit when I saw this last night I was kinda stoked. 44 out of almost 2200 is pretty cool for this noob. Am I gonna kill myself over getting a KOM? No way. But fun nonetheless.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Last time I checked, we are ALL just riding bikes. Some like to pin a number, thump their chest and ride their bike. Others like to take a shuttle to the to of a mountain and bomb down a trail and ride their bikes while others like to attack an 8 mile or .8 mile segment and...you guessed it...ride their bike. ALL bike riding is good with me...I don't hate on others for how or where they choose to ride.


Oh yes, the cumbaya kind of "we're all bicyclists" BS. 

Sounds like one of those "people for bikes" reps. I don't want to associate with the pot smoking downhillers, or the ironic douchebag fixie hipsters or the randonneurs with their triples and panniers. Just riding a bike doesn't make me anything like any of them, so why should I suddenly be all cuddly to everyone on a walgoose bike?


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## f3rg (May 11, 2008)

robdamanii said:


> No. The guys who will ONLY ride on the hills and just drag ass through the rest of the ride are a burden to everyone else who rides with them. It's to the point that if someone is going to spend the ride "only going for segments" then they can ride alone.


My usual riding buddy only rides a TT bike, so he's a slow poke on hill climbs (I think the thing weighs 21lbs, but I haven't had a chance to weight it, yet). So, on the flat segments, I just say go have fun, and let my legs recover somewhat from the last climb. On the climbs, I pass him like he's a kid on a tricycle. Going back and forth amuses both of us, and lets us have fun doing what we do best.

Having said that, we also have rides where we push each other to go faster where we're normally slow (I'm a lightweight climber, so long flats aren't my thing). Over time, we can both see where we're getting faster, and give each other tips on what to do. Overall, we probably spend 50% of our rides at a moderate pace so we can talk, and the rest of the time we're chasing each other like children.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

robdamanii said:


> Neither do I. But I do hate them when they interfere with my world. And the Strava dopes have done that on MANY an occasion.





robdamanii said:


> Oh yes, the cumbaya kind of "we're all bicyclists" BS.
> 
> Sounds like one of those "people for bikes" reps. I don't want to associate with the pot smoking downhillers, or the ironic douchebag fixie hipsters or the randonneurs with their triples and panniers. Just riding a bike doesn't make me anything like any of them, so why should I suddenly be all cuddly to everyone on a walgoose bike?


Your replies to my last statement. First you were in agreement with not hating other cyclist, now it's "BS" and the name calling continues.




robdamanii said:


> ...Strava isn't competition. It's a facebook-esque cycling circle jerk.





robdamanii said:


> ...
> 
> Strava is for "wannabe competitors."...


Says the very active Strava user who also happens to be a Cat-5 racer, yet talks as if he is an ex-pro.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Your replies to my last statement. First you were in agreement with not hating other cyclist, now it's "BS" and the name calling continues.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yet again, what part of "strava idiots interfere with my world" do you not understand? 

Any putz can go out on any given day and beat an imaginary time up a climb, under favorable conditions. Hike up your big boy pants, let your balls drop and pin on a number and see if you've got enough balls to try doing the same thing with a dozen competitors next to you. 99% of those on your precious strava can't, and won't. And it remains that segments =/= racing, nor do KOMs = achievements.

As for hating other cyclists: yup. I've no use for the stoner downhillers, fixie hipsters, aimless randonneurs, rail trail cruisers, fondo junkies or tri weenies. Why should I? There's nothing that says I need to be all sentimental about your ability to ride on two wheels, and I sure as hell don't need to sit here and say "you know, I just give them credit for being on a bike. That just makes us brothers in two wheeled wonder."

Yuck. Gag me.


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

To use strava or any other device is a personal choice, I use mine only when I want to see my progress other than that I use a cateye or bell, both work fine.


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## eschmunk (Jun 10, 2012)

I like to use it in order to compare my results of specific segments throughout the season. One in particular. 2 mile hill, I've taken almost 2.5 min off my time this season. I credit getting stronger and losing about 15 lbs over the last few months. It's nice to see results.


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## desertbiker92211 (Aug 18, 2013)

I like that u can track the degrees indio inclines. As for losing any more lbs I'm almost at 0 fat content, family complains that I'm to thin, sons in-laws r all weight lifters so they offer to train me no matter how many times I tell them that cyclists don't need body mass but to be toned n slim. My wife n girls r always trying to feed me more. Got to love them. Lol


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

eschmunk said:


> I like to use it in order to compare my results of specific segments throughout the season. One in particular. 2 mile hill, I've taken almost 2.5 min off my time this season. I credit getting stronger and losing about 15 lbs over the last few months. It's nice to see results.


Congrats. Very impressive. I agree that this is what I use it for to.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

desertbiker92211 said:


> I like that u can track the degrees indio inclines. As for losing any more lbs I'm almost at 0 fat content, family complains that I'm to thin, sons in-laws r all weight lifters so they offer to train me no matter how many times I tell them that cyclists don't need body mass but to be toned n slim. My wife n girls r always trying to feed me more. Got to love them. Lol


I get this too but I could still use to shed a few pounds. 5'11" 170. 31 inch waist.


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## PTSTORK53 (Jul 2, 2012)

I'm not sure where to jump in with this question, hope this is okay right here. I use Mapmyride because my CycleOps Joule is not compatible with Strava. I know there is a way to import from mapmyride to strava, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I have a basic strava account and I have a friend who has an upgraded account. I'm thinking he could help me out if I can't import with a basic account. I've found mapmyride climb data to be way off the mark. You guys should appreciate Strava. It may not be perfect, but it's a lot more accurate than mapmyride.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

PTSTORK53 said:


> I'm not sure where to jump in with this question, hope this is okay right here. I use Mapmyride because my CycleOps Joule is not compatible with Strava. I know there is a way to import from mapmyride to strava, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I have a basic strava account and I have a friend who has an upgraded account. I'm thinking he could help me out if I can't import with a basic account. I've found mapmyride climb data to be way off the mark. You guys should appreciate Strava. It may not be perfect, but it's a lot more accurate than mapmyride.


Use RideWithGPS instead of MMR.


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## cnapmak (Jun 13, 2013)

"Yet again, what part of "strava idiots interfere with my world" do you not understand? 

Any putz can go out on any given day and beat an imaginary time up a climb, under favorable conditions. Hike up your big boy pants, let your balls drop and pin on a number and see if you've got enough balls to try doing the same thing with a dozen competitors next to you. 99% of those on your precious strava can't, and won't. And it remains that segments =/= racing, nor do KOMs = achievements.

As for hating other cyclists: yup. I've no use for the stoner downhillers, fixie hipsters, aimless randonneurs, rail trail cruisers, fondo junkies or tri weenies. Why should I? There's nothing that says I need to be all sentimental about your ability to ride on two wheels, and I sure as hell don't need to sit here and say "you know, I just give them credit for being on a bike. That just makes us brothers in two wheeled wonder."

Yuck. Gag me."

robdamanii you just come off as an attention seeking troll. Well you got me. Whats up with all the hate towards all the other bikers. Are you just pissed because you cant get any KOMs?


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## PTSTORK53 (Jul 2, 2012)

Ok I'll give it a try, thanks!!


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

cnapmak said:


> "Yet again, what part of "strava idiots interfere with my world" do you not understand?
> 
> Any putz can go out on any given day and beat an imaginary time up a climb, under favorable conditions. Hike up your big boy pants, let your balls drop and pin on a number and see if you've got enough balls to try doing the same thing with a dozen competitors next to you. 99% of those on your precious strava can't, and won't. And it remains that segments =/= racing, nor do KOMs = achievements.
> 
> ...


Yeah, that must be it. I can't get imaginary achievements in an online dick measuring contest. 

It has nothing to do with recreational riders like you who get obsessed with chasing one of those imaginary achievements and end up either completely destroying the cohesiveness of a ride or at worst, causing an injury in your pursuit of such garbage.


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## crowaan (Aug 13, 2013)

I think to summarize what robdamanii is saying:

Go ahead and get your PRs/KOMs but do it on your own time and stfu about it. Don't sprint away from a group ride just to get one when you've been riding the groups wheel the whole time, and don't go around bragging about it believing it makes you (1) a bigger man or (2) an amazing cyclist. Those are measured in races.

But I probably will hear that I didn't get that summary right...


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

crowaan said:


> I think to summarize what robdamanii is saying:
> 
> Go ahead and get your PRs/KOMs but do it on your own time and stfu about it. Don't sprint away from a group ride just to get one when you've been riding the groups wheel the whole time, and don't go around bragging about it believing it makes you (1) a bigger man or (2) an amazing cyclist. Those are measured in races.
> 
> But I probably will hear that I didn't get that summary right...


I don't think you could have said it better, actually.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

crowaan said:


> ... (1) a bigger man or (2) an amazing cyclist. Those are measured in races.
> 
> ...


Well, for starters, a race is just another "d*ck measuring contest", one that people pay $30 to ride their bikes around in.

Second, racing CAT5 does NOT make you a bigger man OR an amazing cyclist.

If Coach Rob here, whose little world appears to be affected by all Strava users, hates them soo much, why not ride alone or find a group of like minded invividuals? Further more, if he hates this app sooo much, why does HE continue to use it?


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Well, for starters, a race is just another "d*ck measuring contest", one that people pay $30 to ride their bikes around in.
> 
> Second, racing CAT5 does NOT make you a bigger man OR an amazing cyclist.
> 
> If Coach Rob here, whose little world appears to be affected by all Strava users, hates them soo much, why not ride alone or find a group of like minded invividuals? Further more, if he hates this app sooo much, why does HE continue to use it?


It takes a bigger man to whip it out next to someone else than to do so online, no matter the capacity.

A) I do find like minded individuals and eschew the idiots who find KOMs to be "achievements". Most of them still upload to Strava even though they could give a sh*t about what segments are on there.
B) Because it's yet another repository of data, just like WKO, TP, GC etc etc. And it's a way to keep in touch with friends I can no longer ride with regularly. (Oh yeah, there's that social connection part of it too; I'm sure you forgot about that in your haste to claim your KOMs.) I don't hate the _concept_ of Strava as a cycling social connection/networking tool, I hate it for what it has done to formerly normal riders by turning them into drooling, segment hunting neanderthals and for encouraging said neanderthals to "go for it!" at every chance they get.

I went through the Strava phase. I did some of the challenges. I used to enjoy challenging myself to take a segment. I used to enjoy seeing that crown pop up on Strava.

Then I realized what a stupid concept it was and what a waste of time it was. It's similar to the way I've realized how stupid a gran fondo is, even though I've done those as well. 

Apparently you're offended by someone calling you out on how you "value" of KOM hunting and how it makes you lame. Suck it up princess, and stop crying about it.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

robdamanii said:


> It takes a bigger man to whip it out next to someone else than to do so online, no matter the capacity.
> 
> A) I do find like minded individuals and eschew the idiots who find KOMs to be "achievements". Most of them still upload to Strava even though they could give a sh*t about what segments are on there.
> B) Because it's yet another repository of data, just like WKO, TP, GC etc etc. And it's a way to keep in touch with friends I can no longer ride with regularly. (Oh yeah, there's that social connection part of it too; I'm sure you forgot about that in your haste to claim your KOMs.) I don't hate the _concept_ of Strava as a cycling social connection/networking tool, I hate it for what it has done to formerly normal riders by turning them into drooling, segment hunting neanderthals and for encouraging said neanderthals to "go for it!" at every chance they get.
> ...


Rob, if you need to define your manhood by paying $30 to ride your bike, you go on right ahead!

I'm glad you finally provided a coherent response to why you use Strava, I use it for some of those same reasons plus many more.

Lastly, I'm not offended, pleazzze! The opinion of some Cat5/Rec rider out on the interwebs is insignificant to me.


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## stinkydub (Aug 5, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> I don't think you could have said it better, actually.


That's the problem -over 200 posts and you can't seem to deliver a coherent message - however, you do excel at delivering Cat 6 insults. Carry on...


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

arai_speed said:


> Rob, if you need to define your manhood by paying $30 to ride your bike, you go on right ahead!
> 
> I'm glad you finally provided a coherent response to why you use Strava, I use it for some of those same reasons plus many more.
> 
> Lastly, I'm not offended, pleazzze! The opinion of some Cat5/Rec rider out on the interwebs is insignificant to me.


And the opinion of some guy who thinks owning a bike means you have to act like a bunch of cuddling Ducati owners means nothing to me. So what's the point of going back and forth? 

You have your opinion, and I still have mine. Enjoy it.



stinkydub said:


> That's the problem -over 200 posts and you can't seem to deliver a coherent message - however, you do excel at delivering Cat 6 insults. Carry on...


Cat 6 insults. That's rich, from the guy who can't even read a post count. Carry on, little flower. Don't wilt under my awesome intellect.


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## crowaan (Aug 13, 2013)

Sulli99van said:


> This would just seem to accomplish the same task but with bicycles.


What are you talking about? And stop with the butt ton of emoticons after all 9 of your posts...


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## Don4 (Jul 29, 2010)

robdamanii said:


> And the opinion of some guy who thinks owning a bike means you have to act like a bunch of *cuddling Ducati owners*


lolz! :thumbsup:


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## gte (Jun 7, 2013)

Let me attempt to sum up the last few pages of the thread - internet name calling and patronizing riders that have different styles/reasons/preferences in riding. Am I getting the gist of it? May we return to the topic of the thread if we're quite done?


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## octobahn (May 30, 2012)

gte said:


> Let me attempt to sum up the last few pages of the thread - internet name calling and patronizing riders that have different styles/reasons/preferences in riding. Am I getting the gist of it? May we return to the topic of the thread if we're quite done?


I thought they were on topic. Quite entertaining too! I wake up daily wondering what delightful comments I will read on this thread.


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