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So my Garmin account is linked to my Strava but until lockdown I never really paid much attention to it. Now that I have been looking I noticed a couple of things. Now I'm not super fast but I'm def not slow so I started wondering how some people were posting such times.
One segment up round Mugdock in Glasgow the KOM is sub 15 seconds. I'm doing it in over a minute. It appears as though the start and finish are on the double track and all you have to do is hit these two points as fast as possible in order to get the KOM i.e. by blasting straight down the track despite the segment clearly running off into the forest. Plenty of other riders have hammered it down here as fast as possible in order to try to claim the KOM. I even tried myself one night and came pretty close but just to prove to myself that's what they had been doing.
On another segment my time is 23 seconds. Somebody else did it in 5 seconds to get the KOM and there average speed was 42mph! That's crazy and impossible!
Now round another segment the guy with the KOM rode to the area and then repeated the segment end over end 10 times during one ride, purely to capture said KOM. Am I wrong to think this is strange/sad/boring/strange behaviour?
The problem with any short Strava segment is the recording device, many only take a data point every 4 seconds, so it’s easy to lose or gain 8 seconds before adding on how accurately it triggers the start and finish location.
Somebody else did it in 5 seconds to get the KOM and there average speed was 42mph! That’s crazy and impossible!
Downhill? Seems possible. I regularly break 40mph. I was once overtaken by another competitor in the same time trial while I was doing 43mph. The fastest I have ever been was 55mph (descent to Auchmuirbridge in Fife with the wind behind)
My friend in his late sixties was telling us about taking his road bike to the Pyrenees and ended with "...doing 74mph. I could have gone faster but I got scared"
It just isn't that accurate. Even if the other riders didn't take a Strava line you can get an impossible time. I held a Kom at BPW for a bit, no way I was that fast. Just the way the GPS cookie crumbles sometimes.
Shorter segments are especially pointless.
GPS errors, e bikes, nut jobs and people firing Garmins down trails from trebuchets. Not worth comparing times unless it's your own previous attempt using the same recording device, or someone you're riding with in real life.
I sometimes doubt whether some of the years-older KOMs on my local trails are still comparable, for example having been set before the trail was eroded or awkward chicane fences put across fire road crossings. But most often there is someone within the past year or so close to the leading time.
I'd very much like to see some helmet camera videos of what a KOM run looks like on some of my local trails.
I can understand GPS errors but if you could see the 5 second KOM you would realise there's no way anyone is getting down there in that time. Just had a look at the guys route on that day in question and he's stuck to the double track again somehow hitting the start and finish point, but in order to achieve this time, you have to be honking it specifically knowing what your trying to achieve.
The repeated attempts in one session just to gain the KOM has no explanation aside from behavioural.
I agree with putting me against me and that's what I've been doing, just wondered on what others thought of what seems like strange behaviour.
repeated the segment end over end 10 times during one ride
There may be another explanation. I’ve done this repeating the same section again and again while trying to tune a fork/shock with a ShockWiz. (Although I’m in no danger of getting a KOM)
Anyone that takes Strava seriously is an idiot, basically. It's good fun and I like it but it just doesn't have the capability to really be the "race strangers" app it tries to be- doesn't properly track which exact route you're on and doesn't have the timing or dimensional accuracy to really know which trail you're on or to stop shortcuts and that. Just enjoy it for what it is.
(except for Local Legend, that's serious)
Am I wrong to think this is strange/sad/boring/strange behaviour?
You are correct. Just ignore it for your own sanity.
The repeated attempts in one session just to gain the KOM has no explanation aside from behavioural.
Is it any stranger than running round a 400m track 10 times? Going up the same climbing wall 10 times in a session? Doing 10 press ups?
Some people are fast. They get faster by practicing specific turns, features and trails. This allows them to replicate their practiced technique on similar features during races.
Some people are fast. They get faster by practicing specific turns, features and trails. This allows them to replicate their practiced technique on similar features during races.
Yes, and some are obsessed to an unhealthy degree.
https://road.cc/content/news/270803-strava-encourages-obsessive-tendencies
I can understand GPS errors but if you could see the 5 second KOM you would realise there’s no way anyone is getting down there in that time
Er, so therefore it's a GPS error?
It's not just about recording intervals, GPS errors can be caused by loss of signal then how Strava interprets that erroneous data.
except for Local Legend, that’s serious
That's a "sorry you're not good enough to get a kom but thanks for turning up lots of times trying " 😉
I do like when I'm comparing times strava tells me "take 54s off your time to take the crown" aye right I was breathing out my arse as it was thanks
Don't forget microlights!
At my local DH bit, the Kom is 10 seconds, everyone else is 30. The Kom was set by some on in a microlight! Clearly a mtb'er from their Strava profile!
I had my phone and my wife's phone both running Strava one ride. Her phone was 2s faster down several DH segments despite being in the same pocket.
I sometimes doubt whether some of the years-older KOMs on my local trails are still comparable,
A 2 minute tricky all out blast that I was swapping KOMs with another person on a few years back certainly isn't as a massive tree fell across the path and it is now very long winded to get around it plus there are now blind corners. The fact that people walk on it and it is one of the no ride areas means nobody is going to be beating the KOM.
The repeated attempts in one session just to gain the KOM has no explanation aside from behavioural.
If I'm going out for a training ride I will confess to using segments as my intervals IF they are the right length etc. Why not? It gives me a bit of extra motivation/interest, and I don't cry myself to sleep when I inevitably lose a KOM later.
+1 on a combination of lack of accuracy, on riders actively seeking out days to ride as straight a line as possible, and for every way possible to cheat from eBikes to Strava lines.
I've come off Strava, happy to just compare my own times.
I used to live near an airport, the cycle route segment KOM nearby was clearly set in an aeroplane! You also get the set in a car etc.
Strava is a bit of fun but do find it weird that when people do get KOM's by accident that they don't take it down. "Oops I forgot to turn my GPS off when I drove home, oh well, just look at all these KOM's I got, what a winner".
Although I guess you can flag them up but that also seems petty, it's not exactly Christophe Bassons levels of standing up to cheating.
I sometimes doubt whether some of the years-older KOMs on my local trails are still comparable
Yeah, same as Kerley really a gully near me had some "improvements" made to it by weather gods and there's no way anyone is getting near the KOM now. It's arguable that the segment needs to be retired and a new one out in its place. There are some folk l know that can throw a bike down stuff that you'd not able to get near, but for sure some KOMs are hugely questionable. This issue says more about Strava itself, it's unashamedly skewed to roadies really
There's a short, hairpin road descent near me I ride most weeks. My KOM is currently 5 seconds at an estimated 78 mph. Take that, losers! 🙂
Basically, if you ride a short segment often enough, eventually your GPS will cough up a ridiculously inaccurate time.
If you really want to see sad Strava behaviour have a look at the monthly distance challenge tables. People knocking out 200km a month suddenly doing 10 300km in a week!
I don't see anything wrong with sessioning Strava segments multiple times or basing your training on getting a KOM or whatever, I assume these people haven't given up their day jobs to do it.
I think we all know at this point that anything that happens on Strava needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. I might be wrong about this but I was given to understand that anything that takes less than minute is basically pointless due to the margin of error. So many road segments are pointless stretches of anonymous high streets that are 60 seconds or less I tend to think Strava should just allow only segments that are going to take over a minute (or whatever is deeemed enough) to complete.
A longer road hill-climb segment though, with data gathered over several months definitely reflects the overall trends in my personal fitness so it I find it accurate enough in that sense.
My walk to work is 2.9 miles. On Saturday it was 3.9 miles.
I doubt strava is accurate to a second!
Anyone that takes my kom is clearly cheating on an ebike so I don’t let it worry me.
I guess you can flag them up but that also seems petty
hell no, its how I fill my day. martin let me know where that is please. 😉
I sometimes doubt whether some of the years-older KOMs on my local trails are still comparable,
I've got one that I'm proud of that was set a few years ago now and there's pretty much no way it could be beaten now. It's from the top of the track that runs from Y Das to the bottom of Grwyne Fawr reservoir in the Brecon Beacons. The whole thing was resurfaced back in 2013 and had bedded in lovely when I took the original KOM only for another local to go out and beat it a few days later. Didn't think anything of it until I was up there again and a thunderstorm broke tight above me so I absolutely hammered it down just to get away from the lightning! A combination of near-perfect conditions and motivation meant I smashed the KOM and it's never been beaten, I can't even get close myself. The track is now a lot tougher than it was and the stream crossings are now a lot slower than they were. The segment is straight and a few miles long too so GPS accuracy would only count for a few seconds at most. Until they resurface the track again that KOM is safe, especially as everyone stops to look at the view at halfway. The average speed is above the e bike limit too.
My walk to work is 2.9 miles. On Saturday it was 3.9 miles.
Still drunk and weaving side to side?
martin let me know where that is please.
Near Skipton. That's all you're getting!
“Oops I forgot to turn my GPS off when I drove home, oh well, just look at all these KOM’s I got, what a winner”.
I once briefly had a load of road KOMs from where I was riding to the local hospital 😂
Interestingly Strava noticed and said something along the lines of "did you leave your phone on for the drive home?", and it was easy to trim the car ride out of the record.
The only genuine KOM I have I made the ride private since the fellow I was riding with clearly beat me down it, but didn't get the crown because he was sat at the bottom waiting for me.
This sort of thing, combined with general GPS inaccuracies, mean Strava times for me are of passing interest at best. Its real value is as a tool for exploring and finding new trails, IMO.
I tend to think Strava should just allow only segments that are going to take over a minute (or whatever is deeemed enough) to complete.
They did change it, you can't set up really short segments any more - the GPS errors made them ridiculous. I've got a world record time KOM on a 200m section of the running track I use regularly, while I'm not terrible at running I'm no Usain Bolt 😀
These days I only check out my personal times over sections as I know I'm not cheating.
I had a genuine mtb kom flagged once,pi5sed me off tbf so I went back following day and rode same time.....take that flagger!
Tbh..i'm bored of the app and what it encourages
Which segments Haggis1978?
Never mind obvious artefacts like the 5 sec in the OP, I still jointly hold a KoM that I set 6 or 7 years ago. Number 1 of 20,000+ 😎
I think it's "real" since I've other times close to it but it's clearly one that's optimised in terms of Garmin recording intervals. I was on a new bike so a bit excitable probably and I had a light following wind into the start ... and I was pretty heavy back then too.
It's bollocks though. 33 sec down a s-bend road descent. Too short to mean anything and it's on a route I used to do at least weekly to see how I was going - about a 45 min loop that I did at close to full gas. Most other riders will brake much more down it because it's rough and also "blind" at the bottom bend, which is usually wet & gravelly from field run-off and so it's a bit intimidating. Local knowledge counts, esp when many of the other 20,000 are on wiggle rides or just on holiday.
I also reckon I (anyone) could beat it by 10% if I really went for it - sprint into it and have a spotter at the bottom so I could go faster round the bottom bend on a drier outside line without the risk of a car coming. What'd be the point in that? If someone takes "my" KoM I'm not going to try
Near Skipton
End of the Roman Rd? Otherwise Crookrise to Embsay.
Anyway whilst short koms are silly, I still find leaderboards slightly motivating. Wind's in the right direction, ground's not too soggy, why not have a go? Road koms are totally about starting at the back of the group, finishing near the front and with a favourable wind. Only ever had one of those, which lasted until another of the group got round to uploading from his Garmin. Main thing is they all count...
What does Strava do with flagged rides anyway?
I had a CX race flagged by someone as I somehow beat a pro downhiller's time on the local BMX track which was part of the course
Maybe Strava are still adjudicating on the case, I mean, I was flying on that section, it was the only part of the course I made any overtakes 😎
In 'Fast After 59' Joe Friel encourages the use of Strava segments as a form of interval training, to shake off the Long, Slow, Distance riding that many older riders fall into.
I used to pay a little attention to them but as I'm now a non-paying user I ignore them..
What does Strava do with flagged rides anyway?
I think it just removes your ride from the KOM tables. You still see it but it's Private?
I know plenty of KOM hunters, especially on the road bikes and cross/gravel bikes. Always planning their ride around favourable wind directions for the segments.
One particular local rider will notice what KOMs other riders they follow have recently taken and within a few days he will go out just with the aim to take off their KOMs. He always seems to target the same few riders as well. Very strange.
One particular local rider will notice what KOMs other riders they follow have recently taken and within a few days he will go out just with the aim to take off their KOMs. He always seems to target the same few riders as well. Very strange.
Lol there is a guy like that local to me, but with running segments. He must scour the leaderboards pretty closely or whatever but as soon as anyone grabs a KOM he will almost without exception take it over a week or so later, no matter how obscure.
He's done it to me a couple of times and I only really mind in the sense that I hope he realises it really doesn't bother me.
In any event he is really impressively fast as any KOM he seems able to bag it and I do think he's genuinely doing them. Been doing it for several years now though so the novelty clearly hasn't worn off.
on my old commute the whole top ten on one road was people riding to brighton, then leaving their Garmin's on for the train journey home, and the segment ran parallel to the train line by Balham station. There's no way people were doing 100mph on a bike on a flat bit, in London.
If you want to understand the lack of accuracy then it's worth spending a bit of time looking at the raw data from a gpx (or other) file. It's only a text file with timestamps and location info so it's pretty easy to understand. If you combine an understanding of that with the lack of precision in GPS (which can wildly by device and conditions - tree cover is bad for this) then you'll realise why some people have "impossible" KOM's.
Personally, it's a bit annoying if someone has a clearly impossible KOM but it tends to go away on longer segments. Unless people are in a car/motorbike/etc - which is pretty obvious.
I sometimes doubt whether some of the years-older KOMs on my local trails are still comparable
They definitely aren't round here. I've got a local loop that I've done 51 times according to Strava, I'm trying to get round in under an hour, my PB is 1.00.45 but one of the descents is now so badly chewed up by MXers that you have to carefully pick your way through the ruts, rather than swoop down it.
It's not just MXers - it's also Mother Gaia - she keeps filling the middle section with mud which knocks 15 seconds off one of the climbs :). All my good times on that climb (and my KOM!) were set after long dry spells.
on my old commute the whole top ten on one road was people riding to brighton, then leaving their Garmin’s on for the train journey home, and the segment ran parallel to the train line by Balham station.
I'd been trying a segment on the CX bike over winter, a perfect 4 minute stretch of singletrack with muddy tyre ruts on either side, one momentary loss of concentration and in you'd be in the ditch. Near the end there were some tricky ditch crossings and then a final, frame clogging mud patch.
I was absolutely doing myself in on it and still getting nowhere near the KOM, or even in the top several hundred (3 minutes off KOM on a 5 minute section). Turns out Strava was confusing it with the canal tow path on the other side 🙄
On a happier note, had planned 3 reps up the same 12 minute climb today, which is perfectly aligned with the stiff 26km/h tailwind 😎
Anyone that takes Strava seriously is an idiot, basically. It’s good fun...
People could take it seriously because it's fun?
It seems to be getting even less accurate lately, rarely picking up segment starts correctly.
Nothing to do with me getting older and slower, obvs.
I agree Local Legends are mildly embarrassing 'cos they show what a creature of habit I've become route-wise lately.
I just checked and I have 21 at Rivington at the mo, compared to four KOMs there.
It'd be nice if it showed all your top 10s as well, eh?
roadies steal off-road KOMS all too often the algorythms are tuned for roadies as they're the biggest market share #mtb-truthers
It’d be nice if it showed all your top 10s as well, eh?
You can get all sorts of additional breakdowns using Veloviewer. One option is to show the segments that you are closest to the KOM (in either absolute or percentage times) so you can concentrate on those.
Local Legends are mildly embarrassing
Agreed. If I could turn that feature off I would.
Had a few KOM's that turned out to be new segments that only one other person has ridden. Some what disappointing compared to a PR on a climb I do most weeks.
I have a second place on a segment. Impossible as I'm old and slow. I paused my computer and forget to set it going again afterwards for a few seconds. It turns out I was mid segment so the moving time was ridiculously short.
Also tunnels (or really anywhere the GPS signal is compromised I suppose). There are some very brisk runs through the Manchester Airport tunnels. My first thought was cheating sods in cars. But no, the same happened to me. So it's loss of signal.
Local Legends are mildly embarrassing
They are also massively inaccurate. I'm Local Legend on a few sectors and Strava is giving me far more efforts in the last 90 days than I have actually done.
Mugdock is particularly bad cos everything's so windy and the trees are dense. What segments are they? In general for anything <1 min I'd take it with a fairly huge grain of salt. 15 second segments are just a lottery really.
There are some very brisk runs through the Manchester Airport tunnels. My first thought was cheating sods in cars. But no, the same happened to me. So it’s loss of signal.
I use the cycle paths when going under the Manchester airport tunnels and feel like it would be suicidal to go full gas down there. My GPS always cuts out when halfway under them like you say.
My PR for fire beaters in mugdock was gained when I went along the road beside it .
I could create a gpx file on Memory Map, add a date and speed with track editor and give myself a KOM without leaving the house.
The shine has definitely gone off Strava for me. I say this as someone who happened to start road riding around the time Strava took off (and definitely was one of the "young Strava idiots who are ruining rides" that the older riders complained about).
It's kinda fun for road, but less so now that basically all segments have pro-level KOMs. It's pretty pointless for MTB, unless you just like recording mileage, as GPS accuracy under tree cover is nowhere near good enough. Even on road, GPS accuracy varies hugely with the quality of the recording device, and signal level (affected by buildings, trees, clouds, etc etc), and Strava will do pre-processing on uploaded rides to "fit" them to roads.
As part of a recent mission to decrease my dependence on tech, I got rid of my Garmin, and have old-school bike computers on most of my bikes. Seems to me that it's more fun to pay attention to the people you are riding with.
I mostly use strava for height distance and fitness tracking as a ready reckoner.
It amuses me greatly to see how it makes people so competitive, especially given its obvious limitations.
That said, in lock down V1 I was stuck with one small woods for nearly all of my riding, and chasing friends times added a useful dimension to the same venue to avoid boredom.
I also like ones personal heatmap.
Segments kept me motivated last year during lockdown. I had some right battles with a few locals, it was great fun. It's pretty hilly around here (peak district) and I'm only interested in the uphill stuff which tends to range from 2-3 minutes long to almost 20 minutes. We even had a 43km mostly off road segment set up that took over 2 hours and found there was less than 10 seconds in it between myself and my mate that rode it at a different time!
In fact between a few mates we had a few "races". We picked 3 or 4 climbs / segments and all rode them flat out on the same day at a time to suit ourselves. The winner had the lowest overall time. That was a huge amount of fun in the absence of any proper racing. Pretty sure there used to be a 3rd party app that linked in with Strava called Mates Race a few years back which took care of the timings etc. Doesn't seem to exist anymore which is a shame.
I think segments are what you make of them. I think they're great fun and motivating for a number of reasons.
A guy near me rides to obscure places to create segments and then claim the KOM for his own segment. It could be in a field or on the side of a canal with no path. Met him once and he was like "I have 30 pages of KOM's" Weirdo!
Met him once and he was like “I have 30 pages of KOM’s”
You must be pretty quick then eh? Where do you come on <big local climb>?
It amuses me greatly to see how it makes people so competitive, especially given its obvious limitations.
I have worked very hard for a KOM, but it was a challenge to myself, nothing to do with the others. All they did was set an arbitrary but achievable goal.
they seem to have quietly dropped the feature that gave you the KoM for that year?
I did a ride early on new years day, the day they released it and it surprised me a little...
Met him once and he was like “I have 30 pages of KOM’s” Weirdo!
Anyone else slightly envious of their female riding pals who have similar numbers of legit QOMs?
they seem to have quietly dropped the feature that gave you the KoM for that year?
They dropped it within the year IIRC.
You can still see your ranking for "this year" (if you have Premium, probably). I find that useful for trails that have been substantially changed by weather, trees down etc.
Up at Mugdock there are a few trails that start and finish on main paths and when you look at the route the faster riders have done it is clear they are on the main path but have triggered the segment. Riverside trail and Ken's Mangina both have this. But then again lots of the fast times are held by very good riders and it is highly likely they are pretty accurate.
@sillyoldman
Half egils is the 42mph one, Mangina is the one with 10 attempts. Can remember if it was the first or 2nd part he has the KOM for and Rocky Mud Drop is another where the segment starts and ends on double track.
@meikle_partans
Yes they've triggered the segment but then they intentionally gone as fast as possible to achieve the KOM with full knowledge of what they are doing. I hit one of these going flat out and achieved 15 seconds. Now I know I said I'm not super fast but I am pretty decent and I've been biking 28+ years and ride regularly and came within 3 seconds of the KOM on a single attempt. But this proves that they're doing it intentionally. I just find that sad as they're not really allowing the person who truly has the KOM on that segment to be happy with themselves that they've achieved something.
the feature that gave you the KoM for that year?
AKA "the plastic crown".
i'd lost most of them by the end of the day...
Load of old bores on here!
Me and my mates regularly set segment challenges with each other, similar to @r8jimbob88 above. Keeps things interesting, especially being as we've been confined to pancake-flat South Manchester for months on end when we'd normally be riding the Peaks most weeks (on the MTBs).
Road riding is dull. Strava makes it slightly less dull, Strava coupled with mates makes it almost bearable.
Plus, it's fun to go out on a fully racked commuter and try to burst some blood vessels beating times set by whippets on TT bikes...
Yes they’ve triggered the segment but then they intentionally gone as fast as possible to achieve the KOM with full knowledge of what they are doing.
That's... the point?
Strava is toss. 900ft different in a ride last night same start n end point....
times set by whippets on TT bikes…
riding in a big group slipstreaming a lorry doing 55 mph with a following gale. That's pretty much what you've got to do round here, but we've had the TdF go past twice and Td Yorks raising the bar.
riding in a big group slipstreaming a lorry doing 55 mph with a following gale. That’s pretty much what you’ve got to do round here, but we’ve had the TdF go past twice and Td Yorks raising the bar.
Meanwhile, Sam Hill has the KOM on one of my favourite local descents.
He probably only rode it once, blind. I've ridden it 352 times and I'm still two seconds off his time (and probably only got that close thanks to a favourable GPS trace).
Still, at least I'm the Local Legend, eh?
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bloodsexmagik
Free MemberMugdock is particularly bad cos everything’s so windy and the trees are dense. What segments are they? In general for anything <1 min I’d take it with a fairly huge grain of salt. 15 second segments are just a lottery really
This.
Mugdock = bad
Short segments = very bad
Mugdock + short segments = just forget about it
That’s… the point?
It's fun? It winds up boring sods? Both?
I have a few running KoM's, only 1 I got my targeting it, I'd got close the week before without trying and thought I'd have a crack.
KoM's are fun, they can add a bit of focus to otherwise innocuous training runs/rides.
Plus, what's wrong with being competitive, it's not a proper race but it's still enjoyable.
d. I’ve ridden it 352 times and I’m still two seconds off his time
I'd be telling everyone too.
(I actually would. Quite often. This thread is basically for telling everyone you have or have had KoMs, but they're obviously just for fun and you don't take it seriously, oh no. I've probably a few unpopular off road uphill ones left, and a few downhill leaderboards where the kids don't ride. Forget it where they do.)
@Haggis1978 - Half Eglis is glitchy as hell - as is Rocky Mud Drop. GPS not accurate enough.
I don't mind folk trying segments over and over, though 10 attempts at Mangina may be a bit OTT! Main issue I have is people straight-lining trails, and modifying them to be easier. Ruins it for everyone.
Mangina is a case in point. A group of us built it (inc Ken obviously), and keep going back to block the myriad of new straight lines through the 1st section, only for them to be opened up agin a day or two later. 1st section is supposed to be awkward/janky - that's its "appeal".
Strava is a strange phenomenon. I dont care but I really do.
On Friday I rode a trail i have ridden over a hundred times, didnt feel fast at all/some muddy bits but took 22s of my PB. It was def an error but I still took it happily.
Another trail i was riding with a mate. I started first and he took of just after me, 2 or 3 seconds at most behind me. We finished the trail side by side. Our times? He was 18seconds faster. Should I have cared? No. Did I? Yes! I bitched about it for days.
Strava is toss. 900ft different in a ride last night same start n end point
Not Strava, your GPS is toss. Guessing it doesn't have a barometric altimeter does it?
Must admit, there is a bit of a buzz from getting a kom, mainly from the fact I've probably taken it from one of the local racers who take it seriously.
I don't like the KOM thing because it encourages the competitive people to be even more competitive, yeah they usually end up top on strava, but don't appear top at the races (I'm more on about enduro/dh racers, the top xcers on strava seem to be the fastest at races).
Then the fast sponsored big names are usually at the pointy end of the leaderboards but not usually topping them.
Don't know if this is an observation peculiar to where I ride (Surrey and Hampshire), but a common trend.
Ie if you're taking every ride seriously and trying to "win" all the time, you're probably shooting yourself in the foot.
I Strava every ride, but have zero interest in HR, Power or virtual rides and regarding segments times it’s pretty easy to look through the leaderboard and judge what times are genuine and what aren’t.
I use it more for an digital diary of my riding and name each ride with photos, and enjoy looking back over them, especially this last year, I did 253 rides and when looking back through can remember something about all of them.
I’ve also learnt various new trails and variations of routes by looking other peoples rides from the leaderboards, and even met new riding friends, from Kudos and comments.
[Smurf Matt mode on]
Although on a local loop last week, I saw someone on on the other side of the hill heading for the same run I was, I caught and passed them on the 40 second segment, but Strava had just the 2 of us that day and he was 2 seconds quicker than me. Frikin Apple Watch wearing mincers.
[Smurf Matt mode off]
bruneep
Full MemberThat’s a “sorry you’re not good enough to get a kom but thanks for turning up lots of times trying ” 😉
Exactly! That's why it's serious.
(OK seriously, I'm not trying for KOMs, not since some bastard took my one legit one away... I barely even try for personal best at the moment because my hated enemy Fit Northwind From Five Years Ago got there first. But I do like the local legend thing of just racking up efforts)
I’d be telling everyone too.
It's taken me seven years to chip it down to 2secs, so yes, I rarely shut up about it.