Strava, KOMs

[iateyoubutler]

Why is it so bloody difficult?

I`m a competent enough rider who puts in good average speeds, but barely makes the top 10 and can never get a KOM no matter how "balls out" I go. I always seem to ride at full gas and have been doing for 20 years

I know people who put in sod all effort in comparison and have pages of them.

I know it`s only fun, but just one would be a huge morale boost.........................................

 

[Jimidh]

Make your own segment and bag the KoM before anyone else finds it!!

 

[S-Express]

Go faster. Wait for a monster tail wind. Use the Strava iPhone app. Or all three.

 

[iateyoubutler]

It`s bloody annoying, to ride to the point of throwing up, just to find I`m no 2537 on the fecking leader board

 

[pjd57]

Stick Strava on in the car and drive up the hills

 

[si_c]

It`s bloody annoying, to ride to the point of throwing up, just to find I`m no 2537 on the fecking leader board

I know I have little chance of getting any KOMs, I'm 90+kg and although I can put out a significant amount of effort, as soon as it goes up I slow to a crawl compared with the skinny whippets who ride around here.

 

[si_c]

Stick Strava on in the car and drive up the hills

Or get a tow from a bin truck. I tried that once just don't try breathing.

 

[Racing roadkill]

A lot are done in vehicles, or blagged using the developer mode on Strava.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I'm happy not to use strava.

 

[Kajjal]

Road koms tend to be set by lightweight riders with a huge tail wind riding in packs. It is unlikely you will get one, getting in the top 10 on less popular segments is a great achievement.

I have two off road koms and a couple of second places which unlike road koms are a mixture of skill, fitness, strength and a lot of practice.

 

[Disabledcyclist40]

I used my friend as a lead out to grab a kom once, he buried himself and finished the segment about 5 seconds after me, I got the kom.


I was using a garmin, he an iPhone app.


His time was given as the same as mine dispute him being a mile behind

The point is , GPS and thus strava is not exactly accurate, I'll never see a kom again, just enjoy yourself

Something else I did was set a segment for my ride, it would be rare someone would have the same start point, at least you can see your own efforts moving

 

[S-Express]

Road koms tend to be set by lightweight riders with a huge tail wind riding in packs.

Not necessarily. Some riders are simply faster, fitter and better trained than others. Just because someone can't get near a kom, doesn't mean it was set in an unorthodox or illicit way.

 

[Will Spin]

Some of my best Strava times have been achieved when I've stopped for a rest half way through a segment!

 

[rivers]

Go out into the middle of nowhere and find a segment no one has done. I have about 3 QOMs that way.

 

[helston90]

Scope out the segment, go ride it a few times, to get the feel of it.
Turn the KOM map on Strava into satellite mode so you can see exactly where the segment starts and finishes - lots of downhills around here are called 'xyz downhill' but actually include the last 50 metres of going up before hand. This means you need to pace your climb but then accelerate up the last part of the climb into the downhill before you can even see it.
Go premium and use live segments to tell you when to start and when to stop and if you're likely to get anywhere near it. If mine tells me I'm 30 secs back on a short segment part way through I know to stop putting in the effort and save myself.

Above all of that though is to check the weather - you don't get any additional points for picking up a KOM into a head wind.

At time of writing: 101kg rider weight on an alu bike owner of 83 KOM.