Why do so many Strava segments suck?

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deadhead1971

Active Member
I thought I might be in "grumpy old man" territory here, but after speaking with a few club mates, and then asking around on twitter, it appeared that I'm not the only one.

Here's 7 reasons why some Strava segments suck. (link to a blog post) http://bit.ly/11zXIbc
 
Yip its just 'grumpy old man' territory, I've treaded into it too :thumbsup:
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
There are some really stupid segments.

We have one near home, where there are two (at least) logged segments. One is the hill itself, from the bottom to the top, a steep little bugger - that's fine. Then there is one from the main road, totally flat, up the hill and to the top. The bad point is the road to the hill isn't much better than a farm track, so attacking on there risks crashing or bike damage.

Oh and don't get me started on segments on shared use paths.
 

Herr-B

Senior Member
Location
Keelby
It's not the segments that suck, it's me, on the bike. Soon the whole country, and beyond, will be full of segments.

And I'll suck at each one. :whistle:
 
There are some really stupid segments.

We have one near home, where there are two (at least) logged segments. One is the hill itself, from the bottom to the top, a steep little bugger - that's fine. Then there is one from the main road, totally flat, up the hill and to the top. The bad point is the road to the hill isn't much better than a farm track, so attacking on there risks crashing or bike damage.

Oh and don't get me started on segments on shared use paths.
There was one similar near Chelmsford (Stamford Mill Climb IIRC) it was flat over a narrow wooden bridge flat along an overgrown (lots of nettles) track back along a short flat section of road then over a shared use hump bridge (about 1m of clibing in 5m); Strava identified it as 18% climb iirc.

On a more local section of shared use path where you have to be up very early to avoid peds even then you still encounterd dog walker in the dark, etc Comming the other way you at least have good visibility to see the path is clear for a good 100m at least. IIRC my mate is KOM but it was ridden at 4am :ohmy:
 

VamP

Banned
Location
Cambs
Most segments are of completely no interest to most people. We all have a few that we cherish, for one reason or another. I rarely look at my segments after a ride, unless it included one of my testpieces.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
one thing that makes me laugh is the segment over Bow flyover marked as dangerous so you can't see where you are in the rankings. its no more dangerous than any of the segments along CS2
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
I am not sure Strabbaranks is helping. I am pretty sure a few people are creating segments merely to improve their rankings. A bit sad really. :dry:
 

paul04

Über Member
The one thing that riles me when it comes to Strava segments are traffic lights.

There are a few like that near me, with one of them, you have to be very lucky with the 5 sets of traffic lights or jump a few red lights to get a good time, just not worth it.
 

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
well a good few of the segments on my commute have been marked as hazardous, can only assume due to the shared paths but there are hardly anyone walking on them and besides you would have to be a complete @rse on a bike buzz a ped on shared path?!
 

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
oh and also there is another segment in my home town which picks you up on the road but can also be picked up on the shared path one route is shorter than the other which is annoying as I lost my KOM :laugh: hmm yes I`m a grumpy bar stewerd ::ohmy:
 

4F

Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Location
Suffolk.
oh and also there is another segment in my home town which picks you up on the road but can also be picked up on the shared path one route is shorter than the other which is annoying as I lost my KOM :laugh: hmm yes I`m a grumpy bar stewerd ::ohmy:

Stop moaning and pedal faster :cycle:
 
oh and also there is another segment in my home town which picks you up on the road but can also be picked up on the shared path one route is shorter
The Bottom to Top Glen gates is like that it picks up riders going through and staying in the Glen but it also picks up DCC riders going to the Main gates, stopping at the meet point, then going up Bridge St, through the lights, Pittencrieff St and passed the Top gates.
 

the_mikey

Legendary Member
I use strava to monitor my rides, but I'm blissfully unaware of where the segments are, it's a pleasant surprise to learn I've gained a good position on a segment. Just remember to not put the strava segment before safety.
 
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