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[itboffin]

Throw the computers in the bin and race your mates like you used to... or just ride and take in the country side. Or in my case the smell of the trent and mersey canal...

not sure about the Mersey but the Trent canal 20 years ago wasn’t great

 

[Mike_P]

Not at all strange there is a local rider on an ebike, obviously unrestricted talking loads of KOM's, I don't think he is the only one.

Current problems in that respect arise from Strava uploading rides from ebike devices such as the ebike manufacturers own app as a Ride activity not an E-bike activity and that there are hardly any E-bike segments. There is a way that has been devised by a user of how Ride segments can be copied as an E-bike segment but ideally Strava should copy the lot.

 

[Mugshot]

I love looking at the times of people up the top of leaderboards and marvelling at how they can be, say, twice as quick as me up a Cat 4 climb. Then I discover some are pro's or club racers and I admire their ability all the more knowing what it takes me to do the same roads as them.

I've said it here before, I've looked at leaderboards and thought no way, they're on a moped, then had the pleasure of riding with the people at the top and seen them first-hand disappear over the crest while i'm still crunching down the gears at the bottom, some people are just awesome.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've said it here before, I've looked at leaderboards and thought no way, they're on a moped, then had the pleasure of riding with the people at the top and seen them first-hand disappear over the crest while i'm still crunching down the gears at the bottom, some people are just awesome.

 

[Johnno260]

I like Strava for my own reference, I can see I went faster on a segment.

I’m overall 3rd on one, no idea how I did that gravity must’ve reverted to pulling me forward not down haha.

I look at my avg speed through most for me it’s a good indicator of my effort.

 

[tommaguzzi]

Almost all Stava KOMs and PBs will be wind and or done in a chain gang. I have PBs which I cant get anywhere near because I had a 20 mph tail wind pushing me and being towed by stronger riders. Pointless.
When I was in a road club I knew riders (myself included) who would go out when the wind was right just to try and bag a PB. Finally I saw the light. If you want to compete, which don't, then go racing with others who want to race on the same day in the same conditions.
These days I use Strava to record my rides and see where I've been since I live in a new area and don't always know anymore.

 

[PaulSB]

Almost all Stava KOMs and PBs will be wind and or done in a chain gang. I have PBs which I cant get anywhere near because I had a 20 mph tail wind pushing me and being towed by stronger riders. Pointless.
When I was in a road club I knew riders (myself included) who would go out when the wind was right just to try and bag a PB. Finally I saw the light. If you want to compete, which don't, then go racing with others who want to race on the same day in the same conditions.
These days I use Strava to record my rides and see where I've been since I live in a new area and don't always know anymore.

In my experience your first paragraph is both untrue and a sweeping generalisation which is unfair on the majority of users.

I like to compare my previous efforts on segments as a gauge to my improvement or otherwise. There are people in my club who are well respected for their abilities and it's nice to see how one compares to their effort. For example I recently PBd by 61 seconds on one of the UK's top 100 climbs - it's simply nice to know, a good feeling.

However I am generally unaware of where 99% of segments are located until I look at the Strava ride report. Most of the segments mean nothing and I wonder why they were created. If I spot something genuinely challenging I'll keep an eye on it.

As for weather related times? I don't know anyone who does this. From time to time folk will mutter "no PBs today" as we battle in to a blistering headwind.

Do I chase segments? Yes, a few. If I spot a hill climb and note I'm in the top ten for my age group I'll use the leader time as my target, my motivation. Not unlike seeing another rider in the distance and trying to catch him/her.

Is it fun? Yes. Do I care? No.

 

[Mike_P]

A fair number of KOMs around me are pretty genuine, blame last year's UCIs for that, I just keep on aiming to do the segment in less than twice the KOM time!

 

[Venod]

In my experience your first paragraph is both untrue and a sweeping generalisation

I thought it was a slight exaggeration, on all the segments on the local chain gang routes the KOMs are owned by someone riding in that group.

As for weather related times? I don't know anyone who does this.

It happens all the time.

I bagged a KOM in 2014 up a significant hill, I was surprised when I saw some of the people I was in front of and slightly embarresed as I had a terrific tailwind, there is no way I could have taken this without, earlier this year it was flagged by a rider ( I figured out who flagged it) but as it was a genuine time (although wind assisted) I let it stay there, during the strong winds the other week the rider who I had guessed flagged it took the KOM.

 

[mjr]

As for weather related times? I don't know anyone who does this.

I suspect you do but they just haven't admitted it to you. It seems pretty widespread.

 

[straas]

Never really understood the segment hate.

People have been testing themselves on hills and against town signs pretty much since the bicycle was invented. It's human nature to be competitive.

Yes, some people get a bit obsessed, but that happens in every faucet of life, just move on.

I find some really good for seeing how my fitness is doing compared to other times of the year or previous years, and some are just a good incentive to keep a decent paced effort up.

 

[rivers]

I'm happy with the free version. All of the data (power, heart rate, cadence, etc), with the exception of segments, that come with the paid version are free on both my wahoo app and my coros (watch) app. I've always used ridewithgps to plan routes. I use strava to see what my brother, sister-in-law, and friends are up to.

 

[GetFatty]

So apart from setting a KOM 8 years which I've held ever since (no it wasn't in a motor vehicle but it is about 180 miles long ) I've not really used Strava. However as I've just purchased a Fenix watch I've started to use it a bit more. I don't think as yet I've come across anything behind the paywall that I need but if I do, I don't think £4 a month is that much

 

[gmw492]

I paid for summit last year annually so still got perks on Strava , regarding segments I’m never gonna get even close to a KOM but I do like seeing my PR pop up as I have put segments in where I can do a bit of blast as an interval on a ride, I have just got a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and when I had segments on my Garmin I could see my times against my friends/followers on it but on the Wahoo can only see my PR or KOM anyone got one or know how to see friends times on it

 

[vickster]

I paid for summit last year annually so still got perks on Strava , regarding segments I’m never gonna get even close to a KOM but I do like seeing my PR pop up as I have put segments in where I can do a bit of blast as an interval on a ride, I have just got a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt and when I had segments on my Garmin I could see my times against my friends/followers on it but on the Wahoo can only see my PR or KOM anyone got one or know how to see friends times on it

On the Wahoo or once you've uploaded to Strava?