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6 reasons to use Strava October 20187 reasons to try Strava — boost your rides by bagging segments
Strava has become hugely popular since it was first launched in 2008 and is now a familiar term in the cycling language, passing one billion activities in 2018. For many cyclists, the social-media app is an integral part of cycling. If you’ve not yet embraced Strava, here are six reasons why you should. A warning, though, Strava can be very addictive.
- 19 of the best smartphone cycling apps for iPhone and Android
1. Your friends are using it
Chances are your friends are already using Strava. You don’t want to miss out, do you? There are also many top-level professional cyclists using it as well if you want some inspiration and see how fast it is possible to ride a bicycle.
2. It’s free
The app is available to download on most smartphones. You don’t need any special dedicated hardware, simply download the app, press start and off you go; it uses the GPS data from your phone to track your ride. Strava is also compatible with a host of GPS cycling computers if you don't have a smartphone. There's a paid version too which offers extra stuff for a yearly fee.
3. It’s a friendly community
You can follow others and offer encouragement with kudos and comments, adding a social element to your training, useful if you mainly ride on your own. You can also join clubs and be part of a local, or wider, cycling community. This social aspect of Strava is, for many users, its most appealing benefit. road.cc even has a club. Join us. Go on.
4. It'll motivate you
Strava challenges, held every month, are a unique feature and provide virtual motivation that helps many cyclists get outside on their bike when the weather or motivation might be against you. There are challenges to suit all different types of cyclists, from climbing challenges to the most distance covered.
5. Measure your progress and improvements
Strava provides a wealth of tools for tracking your improvements, with features including a training calendar for totting up your mileage every month to heart rate and power data analysis if you want to go into a lot more detail. If you like it simple, the suffer score, if using heart rate, gives a rough indication of how hard a ride was. You can also plan cycling routes using the Route Builder and take advantage of local cycling knowledge by highlighting popular roads and segments.
- Six reasons to cycle outdoors, and why it beats indoor cycling even in winter
6. King of the Mountains
Yes, the reason many people become addicted to Strava is the challenge of being at the top of a leaderboard on a segment with a KOM (King of the Mountains) or QOM (Queen of the Mountains). A segment is user defined and can be a local hill of a stretch of road between two traffic lights, and a leaderboard compares your time with that of everyone who has ridden it. Intoxicatingly addictive for many, a turn off for others.
7. Become a Local Legend
Bagging King of the Mountains segment crowns has become a game somewhat restricted to only the fittest riders, so Strava has recently announced a new feature called Local Legends. The Local Legend title goes to the rider who has completed a segment the most times in the last 90 days, so even if you've no chance of actually taking a KOM title you can get some recognition for, as DC Rainmaker puts it, failing the most times. Or being dedicated to your favourite local routes if you want to put a less snarky angle on it.
Do you use Strava? Let's hear your reasons for using, or avoiding, Strava in the comments below. You're not a Strava wanker are you?
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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48 comments
Fabulous! If that's true, then I'd like to suggest a few new content ideas in that realm:
VS
Hopefully they got more than last time they posted it, this site needs money for a copy editor. More investigative & proactive journalism please road.cc you raised you own bar recently
1. Yes but you can't set it to default to only your activities so all you see is the people without their own businesses, children etc clocking up 250k a week and 32kmh averages day in day out.
2. After you've spent £250 on a Garmin...then you need to get a Forerunner to for running... and subscribe to Zwift, Go Premium
3. I once had some guy get so pissed he flagged nearly every single ride of mine...I can only assume it was because I had a ride where I got several KOMs a number of which taken from one guy.
4. See, one it actually makes me feel worse about the pitiful amount of hours I'm riding.
5. Or a downward spiral!
6. Once upon a time I had 6 pages now I'm probably down to 3 and these are probably down to Trail changes or from a particular race course I tend not to get hung up on them apart from two or three which I can use as bench marks for fitness.
Certainly round Dartmoor there needs to be some moderation in local segments, looking at some stretches there are 200m segments. Stuff like a 30m long 'Haytor - tree to signpost' whats the point?
Point 2: Fenix
I'd thought about getting one of those or the new watch that as I am 'Wetsuit Curious'.
Rule 42 please!
He must really have a chip on his shoulder. You can fluke a KOM with bad GPS, but not all in one day, and you need to be quite close most of the time. In my area I see the same names coming up all the time. There are about half a dozen guys in Manchester that have over 2000 segments between them. You can't get angry or defensive if you aren't much cope yourself.
You have a pet fox?
I believe the way the "hide segment" feature works in Strava is that you can hide segments you don't want to see, but in addition if enough people hide a segment it will default to hidden for all users. When I can be bothered I'll go through and hide all the pointless segments for a ride, especially if it's on roads I ride regularly. I consider it a service to the Strava community
That said, I do wish they'd introduce a "hide all segments under ***m" feature so I didn't have to bother, or have my activity filled up with junk segments.
I use Strava a lot, have been for years. There are good points, listed above, however the competitive side does tire sometimes. Even between friends, perhaps subconsciously comparing ride averages and segment times can remove some of the joy of just riding.
People who complain about KOMs are often very anti-social. I've stopped riding with certain types because of it.
Fun for them; boring and tiresome for their riding buddies.
It's definately a way to break a chain up, there are some people who suddenly smash it off the front because of a segment it is indeed annoying
haha. Over 2000 posts and that's the best you can do?
Diddums
haha. Over 2000 posts and that's the best you can do?
Diddums
[/quowte]
Well if "likes" are anything to by he did 300% better than you!
Trump is popular too.
Strava wankers!
Well done.
In any case the guys I know who actually have KOMs tend to go for them maybe once a month, if that.
Then again I had someone flag me for a GPS glitch that gave me a KOM (my only one
on their dumb-as-nails 200m slightly downhill segment which had six attempts. Pro-tip: if you're that thirsty for a KOM don't make your idiotic segment 300m away from the start of the towns most popular hill climb. I'd actually out-sprinted a much better rider on that ride and didn't get to hold it over his head on Strava. The horror.
Well done who? You do realise you've attributed the wrong quote to Plasterer's Radio don't you?
Ha. Guess I did. My bad. I'd like to apologize to anyone who I may have offended.
KOM chasers are often very anti-social. I've stopped riding with certain types because of it.
Fun for them; boring and tiresome for their riding buddies.
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