Discussion
Aerate said:
What's the etiquette on reporting a suspiciously fast time?
Bloke in my village (I don't know him personally - it's on his profile) who is usually a fair bit slower than me has suddenly taken 30 seconds off a 5 minute local segment. In the spirit of full disclosure, he has pushed me lower down the top ten of a well-contested segment...
Post a link to it and I'm sure someone will tell you whether it's real or notBloke in my village (I don't know him personally - it's on his profile) who is usually a fair bit slower than me has suddenly taken 30 seconds off a 5 minute local segment. In the spirit of full disclosure, he has pushed me lower down the top ten of a well-contested segment...
okgo said:
MadDad said:
There is a guy local to me who consistently rides circa 17-18 mph ave on 20-30 mile rides, yet gets 4 or 5 KoM's every time he goes out, he's bagged well over 100. Oddly enough his H/R and speed seem to increase exponentially from the exact start of a segment to the exact end of a segment, strange what a digital sticker will do for some people!!
Whatever gets you through the night I guess!
Riding around steady then giving it some stick on certain sections? Seems perfectly normal to me!Whatever gets you through the night I guess!
I've flagged a number of 80mph "KOM efforts" in the past, but I can no longer be bothered.
The segment in question is barely a few feet from the main line out of London Waterloo to Basingstoke and beyond. The 'bogus' KOMs are always set when some Doofus leaves his Garmin/phone running on the train home. I just don't bother with riding it anymore - there are a couple of more interesting/challenging routes as alternatives to the potholed gravel track that leads to a local nature reserve anyway...
https://www.strava.com/activities/151107805#397856...
https://www.strava.com/segments/7729302?filter=ove...
...having said that, I took a look just now and the leaderboard appears, initially, to be "clean". The KOM 'owner' has posted a speed through the segment that would need a 42 x 11t gear on a 650b bike, turned at his 100rpm average cadence to achieve. It's also recorded on an Edge 500 with HRM and cadence, unlike many 'bogus' KOMs which are often claimed on phone apps or low grade GPS eqpt.
BUT! Then I 'zoomed out' on the map trace, and Lo! and Behold! Young Will hasn't actually ridden the segment in question. He can't have, given that he TWICE crosses the railway line where no crossing exists. Did he really clamber over a barbed wire topped fence, 20ft up an overgrown embankment, across four sets of railway tracks, including their associated 'Third Rail' electricity supplies, then back down another embankment and over the other fence, all on one of the busiest lines on the SWT network? And then repeat this feat down into a cutting further along, just to bag a crappy short segment on an obscure gravel road? Or is it more likely he set the time on a road bike, on a road on the other side of the railway, and that this 'KOM' is just a result of GPS drift?
In the end, I can't be bothered. Mostly because I've got some dodgy segment times (not KOMs, thankfully) but mine are inevitable because a road and an off road segment run too close to one-another and it's possible to set two seperate segment times at the same time. I used to get quite excited at the 'injustice' of this, but now I've chilled a lot. I've picked up a few KOMs lately, some where I wasn't certain there was a segment at all, and definitely not certain of the start/end points, but now I'm far more happy when I set a PR than when I bag a digital 'trophy'. The only measure of your own improvement, after all, is going slightly faster than "old you" or actually climbing the results table at real races...
...and out of interest, I checked the top ten names on that segment leaderboard. All the same, crossing the railway line in impossible places, all at road bike speeds, many on 'declared' road rides. To "flag" them all wouldn't even solve the problem - the segment is simply far too close to the road which runs along the other side of the tracks, and the slightest amount of 'drift' in the GPS trace would soon have more riders inadvertently claiming the KOM.
At least my 'PR' was an honest one, set on one of the early rides on my new Giant Anthem earlier this year.
The segment in question is barely a few feet from the main line out of London Waterloo to Basingstoke and beyond. The 'bogus' KOMs are always set when some Doofus leaves his Garmin/phone running on the train home. I just don't bother with riding it anymore - there are a couple of more interesting/challenging routes as alternatives to the potholed gravel track that leads to a local nature reserve anyway...
https://www.strava.com/activities/151107805#397856...
https://www.strava.com/segments/7729302?filter=ove...
...having said that, I took a look just now and the leaderboard appears, initially, to be "clean". The KOM 'owner' has posted a speed through the segment that would need a 42 x 11t gear on a 650b bike, turned at his 100rpm average cadence to achieve. It's also recorded on an Edge 500 with HRM and cadence, unlike many 'bogus' KOMs which are often claimed on phone apps or low grade GPS eqpt.
BUT! Then I 'zoomed out' on the map trace, and Lo! and Behold! Young Will hasn't actually ridden the segment in question. He can't have, given that he TWICE crosses the railway line where no crossing exists. Did he really clamber over a barbed wire topped fence, 20ft up an overgrown embankment, across four sets of railway tracks, including their associated 'Third Rail' electricity supplies, then back down another embankment and over the other fence, all on one of the busiest lines on the SWT network? And then repeat this feat down into a cutting further along, just to bag a crappy short segment on an obscure gravel road? Or is it more likely he set the time on a road bike, on a road on the other side of the railway, and that this 'KOM' is just a result of GPS drift?
In the end, I can't be bothered. Mostly because I've got some dodgy segment times (not KOMs, thankfully) but mine are inevitable because a road and an off road segment run too close to one-another and it's possible to set two seperate segment times at the same time. I used to get quite excited at the 'injustice' of this, but now I've chilled a lot. I've picked up a few KOMs lately, some where I wasn't certain there was a segment at all, and definitely not certain of the start/end points, but now I'm far more happy when I set a PR than when I bag a digital 'trophy'. The only measure of your own improvement, after all, is going slightly faster than "old you" or actually climbing the results table at real races...
...and out of interest, I checked the top ten names on that segment leaderboard. All the same, crossing the railway line in impossible places, all at road bike speeds, many on 'declared' road rides. To "flag" them all wouldn't even solve the problem - the segment is simply far too close to the road which runs along the other side of the tracks, and the slightest amount of 'drift' in the GPS trace would soon have more riders inadvertently claiming the KOM.
At least my 'PR' was an honest one, set on one of the early rides on my new Giant Anthem earlier this year.
Silver940 said:
okgo said:
MadDad said:
There is a guy local to me who consistently rides circa 17-18 mph ave on 20-30 mile rides, yet gets 4 or 5 KoM's every time he goes out, he's bagged well over 100. Oddly enough his H/R and speed seem to increase exponentially from the exact start of a segment to the exact end of a segment, strange what a digital sticker will do for some people!!
Whatever gets you through the night I guess!
Riding around steady then giving it some stick on certain sections? Seems perfectly normal to me!Whatever gets you through the night I guess!
The odd thing is, with all of his talent he doesn't race, belong to a club, or ride more than 30-odd miles in one sitting.....
This is the chap I'm talking about, actually met him on a couple of rides and seems like a nice chap, ride results are just a bit dubious IMHO.....
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1112002
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1112002
Erm, it's request to follow, so can't access his rides. A bit pointless really. Anyways, I think for all the no-hopers who b
h about losing their KOMs, maybe Strava should re-introduce the hollow KOMs for the year, like they did last year. Make the slower riders feel a bit better about themselves.
h about losing their KOMs, maybe Strava should re-introduce the hollow KOMs for the year, like they did last year. Make the slower riders feel a bit better about themselves.Is anyone else having problems with the Strava iPhone app not logging rides correctly? I've done 4 rides in the last few weeks and only two of them have logged correctly, this is my ride from this morning: https://www.strava.com/activities/633906906
I've been using the app for a couple of years, with only one or two problems, but it seems to be getting worse. Is it now time to get a Garmin?
I've been using the app for a couple of years, with only one or two problems, but it seems to be getting worse. Is it now time to get a Garmin?
Does anyone else think Strava are just sitting on their laurels waiting for someone to acquire them?
It still has it's USP of the leader boards of course, but beyond that, I'm finding it increasingly disappointing...
Still no personal message system as far as I'm aware...
For ages, the Android app didn't support ANT+ sensors. I discovered it now does when the generally excellent ipbike went temporarily haywire after I upgraded to marshmallow, but only provides averages for cadence, heart rate and even speed whilst riding. What fking use is that to anyone?
At least, however, in the couple of days ipbike wasn't working, I figured I could try our real time segments. What a bloody waste of time that was!
I'm sure it might be a nice little gimmick out on mountain bike trails or country lanes, but that's not really where I want it. I figured anything to break up the monotony of my (pretty much only logical) commute into Central London would be good.... Right up until I discovered that there's no way to get to show a new segment until the previous one has finished.
Get to the start of CS7 and the first segment you hit runs all the way to Elephant & Castle, which makes it pretty useless, and there's no way to tell it to skip a segment.
It still has it's USP of the leader boards of course, but beyond that, I'm finding it increasingly disappointing...
Still no personal message system as far as I'm aware...
For ages, the Android app didn't support ANT+ sensors. I discovered it now does when the generally excellent ipbike went temporarily haywire after I upgraded to marshmallow, but only provides averages for cadence, heart rate and even speed whilst riding. What f
king use is that to anyone?At least, however, in the couple of days ipbike wasn't working, I figured I could try our real time segments. What a bloody waste of time that was!
I'm sure it might be a nice little gimmick out on mountain bike trails or country lanes, but that's not really where I want it. I figured anything to break up the monotony of my (pretty much only logical) commute into Central London would be good.... Right up until I discovered that there's no way to get to show a new segment until the previous one has finished.
Get to the start of CS7 and the first segment you hit runs all the way to Elephant & Castle, which makes it pretty useless, and there's no way to tell it to skip a segment.
I actually do, I approached them about my company using their data recently and they were not entertaining it. I cannot see that they're making any money from the memberships really, and I doubt the sponsored challenges pay much, I think they're waiting. Though I also think Garmin or similar should have done it two years ago.
Thing is, strava premium makes no sense for casual riders.
veloviewer is much better, but only if your mates are on it.
If strava acquired the veloviwer bits(that run off strava anyway, I'd buy premium. I'd love to be able to have a battle with my mates over every single segment we've shared, rather than just the 3 or 4 we constantly fight over...
veloviewer is much better, but only if your mates are on it.
If strava acquired the veloviwer bits(that run off strava anyway, I'd buy premium. I'd love to be able to have a battle with my mates over every single segment we've shared, rather than just the 3 or 4 we constantly fight over...
I've used Endomondo for several years as a "casual rider". It was fine for my needs. However, after a 6 month break from cycling, I thought I'd give Strava a go. OMFG, it's addictive as hell. I find myself pushing as hard as I can through every segment and I am starting to follow other riders too for inspiration. I also love the fact I can create a route and load it into the app on my iPhone for directions. Even just bought a waterproof case for my phone 
.
I've got a trial of premium at the moment, but will be joining British Cycling soon - which gives you 2 months free Strava Premium then I'll definitely be signing up!
.I've got a trial of premium at the moment, but will be joining British Cycling soon - which gives you 2 months free Strava Premium then I'll definitely be signing up!
I reckon Garmin missed a trick by not acquiring Strava before it got too massive. As the de facto GPS cycle computer supplier, a lot of Garmin's success is predicated on Strava and vice-versa so there's a bit of risk there for both parties if the other makes a compelling hook-up with a competitor.
My outside bet for a bit of a market shake-up is Adidas who seem to be ramping up their cycling involvement. Buying an established manufacturer (Wahoo?), throwing some money at them to beef up the offering/marketing and acquiring Strava would pretty much wrap up the market and, if the devices are decent, burst Garmin's bubble. This is long overdue considering the atrocious quality of their software.
I also reckon Under Armour, who bought Endomondo & MyFitnessPal, could also try and release their own cycle computer range at some point, but that the userbase of Strava is probably just too big for this to make a huge difference unless they really went for it and bought Strava too. That would be a Big Deal.
As for Strava today, they're probably making money by now as the push with live segments, power and the like on devices like the Edge 520 means you need to pay for Premium or you're not getting the most from the device. There is some evidence that they have at least a few hundred thousand paying users so have at least some measurable revenue. Selling data for urban & traffic planning, as well as for marketing purposes, will bring in a fair bit. The fact that they're seemingly happy to sponsor stuff like the Women's Tour and pay for pretty decent long-form and photo journalism would indicate they're doing OK.
The fact I'm always keen to pay for apps and services I use and value means I'm personally happy to keep paying for Strava for now.
Buying Veloviewer and making most of its features Premium only would seem to make a lot of sense though. They'd need to employ Ben though, the poor man wouldn't know what to do with himself otherwise!
My outside bet for a bit of a market shake-up is Adidas who seem to be ramping up their cycling involvement. Buying an established manufacturer (Wahoo?), throwing some money at them to beef up the offering/marketing and acquiring Strava would pretty much wrap up the market and, if the devices are decent, burst Garmin's bubble. This is long overdue considering the atrocious quality of their software.
I also reckon Under Armour, who bought Endomondo & MyFitnessPal, could also try and release their own cycle computer range at some point, but that the userbase of Strava is probably just too big for this to make a huge difference unless they really went for it and bought Strava too. That would be a Big Deal.
As for Strava today, they're probably making money by now as the push with live segments, power and the like on devices like the Edge 520 means you need to pay for Premium or you're not getting the most from the device. There is some evidence that they have at least a few hundred thousand paying users so have at least some measurable revenue. Selling data for urban & traffic planning, as well as for marketing purposes, will bring in a fair bit. The fact that they're seemingly happy to sponsor stuff like the Women's Tour and pay for pretty decent long-form and photo journalism would indicate they're doing OK.
The fact I'm always keen to pay for apps and services I use and value means I'm personally happy to keep paying for Strava for now.
Buying Veloviewer and making most of its features Premium only would seem to make a lot of sense though. They'd need to employ Ben though, the poor man wouldn't know what to do with himself otherwise!
Anyone come across Relive? https://www.relive.cc/
Makes some quite funky videos, probably a bit boring watching a track of a commute but for long rides the videos a colleague has been getting look pretty good.
I registered for it the other day but only been running since not cycling, so I'm wondering if it only picks up logs that are tagged as cycling.
Makes some quite funky videos, probably a bit boring watching a track of a commute but for long rides the videos a colleague has been getting look pretty good.
I registered for it the other day but only been running since not cycling, so I'm wondering if it only picks up logs that are tagged as cycling.
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