Strava 'bagging'

MartinB2444

I'm 53 and got my first road bike at the end of Jan. Discovered Strava shortly after. It was quite a boost to see that I was generally about a third of the way down the leader board, sometimes better, sometimes worse. What really surprised me was to discover I was pretty quick on the descents. I've got a few rivals, although they might not know it! Usually my times depend on the wind so I always record this to check whether any improved performance is genuine.

If any Peak District riders keep pipping Martin Bradley reveal yourselves :evil:

My age category changes next year. Does anyone know how Strava handles this, do your old times stay in your previous age group, do they move with you or are they lost?

Martin

Ands

GiantMike wrote:

I am KOM on one of my local hills with a time of 7:37. During a training ride one of my buddies did the same hill in 5:57. But he doesn't do Strava, he races MTBs instead at Elite level. As a result I'm still KOM, but I feel like a cheat and a fraud. The fat strava kids see my time and think I'm really cool and try to beat me. One day one of them will (probably not a fat one though) and think he's the dude and the KOM. He's not though. My mate is, and maybe somebody is even faster than him.

Strava is good for a bit of fun and useful for tracking your own improvements. The real KOM is the one that gets to the top of the hill first in a real competition. In a recent race I got dropped off the back of a group of 29. At the end of the race I uploaded the data to strava and I am listed as 3rd on the league table for that hill. There were 26 others definitely faster than me in my race, plus all those in the Seniors race would have been quicker too.

Claiming you're KOM is like saying you have the biggest c0ck in the world because you haven't seen anybody else's.

Why don't you make your rides private then if you feel like a cheat and a fraud on the leaderboard?

nweststeyn

Took a new KOM today... But on one of those segments thats not a mountain.

Infact, the only KOM's I have are descents... I'm a slow climber and have to catch my riding buddies up on the downhills. Am I a fraud?

Ands

nweststeyn wrote:

Infact, the only KOM's I have are descents... I'm a slow climber and have to catch my riding buddies up on the downhills. Am I a fraud?

Not if 2nd & 3rd place are Nibali & Cancellara

andy46

Just got back from a ride and found 5 new segments that I didn't know about (only had Strava a couple of weeks

The one I do on my commute, I'm currently 3rd and just can't seem to get any higher. It's eating away at me :evil:

I don't think it helps being only 1 mile from my house :?

ShutUpLegs

Someone 'looking for segments' got within 20 seconds of one of my KOM's yesterday, and I set it on my moped :shock:

nweststeyn

I enjoy the fact that Strava means I have a nemesis I've never met.

Ben Ulyatt... One day, I shall defeat you!

thegreatdivide

nweststeyn wrote:

I enjoy the fact that Strava means I have a nemesis I've never met.

Ben Ulyatt... One day, I shall defeat you!

Or Nick Connolly

I've just eaten half a jar of Nescafe and I'm off out to nail them both. Meet you at the top of Glencarse...

jgsi

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Someone 'looking for segments' got within 20 seconds of one of my KOM's yesterday, and I set it on my moped :shock:

aha, this is you is it?
http://app.strava.com/rides/8675658#159340900

30mph at 4% my ar$E
I havent done this 1 but holding back on flagging ride until I work out if it is possible... :?

nweststeyn

thegreatdivide wrote:

nweststeyn wrote:

I enjoy the fact that Strava means I have a nemesis I've never met.

Ben Ulyatt... One day, I shall defeat you!

Or Nick Connolly

I've just eaten half a jar of Nescafe and I'm off out to nail them both. Meet you at the top of Glencarse...

I always forget the 'finish' point of the Glencarse 'right turn' segment is way further up the road than I think... so dig through the tough bit of the climb and then take it easy afterwards. I might try and move up the board for that one this week... just need to stop being so lazy.

I can't figure out who you are, but I'm guessing you're quicker 8)

Cleat Eastwood

nweststyn have you been the gym - you're avatars changed....a lot.

nweststeyn

Nah I just got fed up of the cats so they had to go.

Luckily there is a big river not far from here.

nweststeyn

(Just to clarify on the above post...

There is a big river not far from here... And on it's banks sits a fish farm. Everyone knows cats love fish. So I sent them there so they can eat all they want and be well looked after.

I definitely didn't do anything like drown them.

In fact, I don't even have any cats... it was just a picture.

There weren't even any cats in the picture. I never even had an avatar.

LEAVE ME ALONE!)

dw300

Strava is great, but it's mainly for your own training. It's great to be able to check, say, 20 times you've done on a segment and see your progress. Sure, some segments lie on the local CCs TT route and you'll never get near the 32mph average needed, but its definitely motivational.

It's also cool if you set up a longish lap to time yourself on if you dont have access to a power meter, as the average power it computes will give you a reasonable measure of your performance. The longer the segment especially if its a loop that cancels out the wind the better. Over a lot of rides you can really get a great idea of progress even if the exact power numbers aren't spot on.

Gazzaputt

OK do admit that one of my KOM I was drafting a bus the whole way :twisted: ? I never created the segment but my speed is 27mph up a hill nearest to me is 18.5mph. Looking at my own personal best up this climb I do have a 23.5mph though.

dw300

Gazzaputt wrote:

OK do admit that one of my KOM I was drafting a bus the whole way :twisted: ? I never created the segment but my speed is 27mph up a hill nearest to me is 18.5mph. Looking at my own personal best up this climb I do have a 23.5mph though.

Lol, in my book as long as you're on a bike under your own power its all good! If you're smart you can draft a bus, with a 20mph tailwind, on your TT bike .. all the others can do the same if they want.

snoopsmydogg

went out to do a short run last night. didnt venture more than 10 miles from the house and managed to do 11 different segments.

2 - 3rd places
1 - 2nd (out of 3 lol)
4 PRs
and 4 2nd best times.

all in just under 17 miles

Ands

Gazzaputt wrote:

OK do admit that one of my KOM I was drafting a bus the whole way .

That is sooooo naughty!! Honestly, some people have no integrity :P

I lost one of my QOMs yesterday to a woman who did the segment 2 seconds behind her husband. The cynic in me says she did it on his wheel. (Not willing to entertain the fact she might just be faster than me!). I do ride 90% of the time on my own so all my QOMs are solo efforts - occasionally assisted by a tail-wind

pdsalmon

JGSI wrote:

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Someone 'looking for segments' got within 20 seconds of one of my KOM's yesterday, and I set it on my moped :shock:

aha, this is you is it?
http://app.strava.com/rides/8675658#159340900

30mph at 4% my ar$E
I havent done this 1 but holding back on flagging ride until I work out if it is possible... :?

I'm on the Stone bank road leaderboard - albeit a lot further down - and I was really pushing!

Worst thing about this (and many other) segments is that it goes through two (I think) setss off traffic lights....it can really ruin a good run.

Really annoys me when segments include junctions or traffic lights.

Welsh_Wizard

Do you guys use your smartphones with this strava? I used it once and found a 20km ride destroyed my battery to the point I don't think I'd be able to go over 30km. Same for everyone???

jgsi

Welsh_Wizard wrote:

Do you guys use your smartphones with this strava? I used it once and found a 20km ride destroyed my battery to the point I don't think I'd be able to go over 30km. Same for everyone???

Android phone Xperia.. uses over 2hours maybe 15-20% from full charge and Strava app logs accurate as well.
Just check what is eating your battery.. do you have wifi still on ? etc etc

jgsi

pdsalmon wrote:

JGSI wrote:

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Someone 'looking for segments' got within 20 seconds of one of my KOM's yesterday, and I set it on my moped :shock:

aha, this is you is it?
http://app.strava.com/rides/8675658#159340900

30mph at 4% my ar$E
I havent done this 1 but holding back on flagging ride until I work out if it is possible... :?

I'm on the Stone bank road leaderboard - albeit a lot further down - and I was really pushing!

Worst thing about this (and many other) segments is that it goes through two (I think) setss off traffic lights....it can really ruin a good run.

Really annoys me when segments include junctions or traffic lights.

It's the same for everyone (not the derny riding nerk) use the lights to ride at even pace... it's a big ring climb so that last third after Stonebank Stores... change up and up and bury yourself.

dw300

JGSI wrote:

Welsh_Wizard wrote:

Do you guys use your smartphones with this strava? I used it once and found a 20km ride destroyed my battery to the point I don't think I'd be able to go over 30km. Same for everyone???

Android phone Xperia.. uses over 2hours maybe 15-20% from full charge and Strava app logs accurate as well.
Just check what is eating your battery.. do you have wifi still on ? etc etc

I have a friend with an Xperia and the tracking is really bad compared to my Samsung Galaxy S2 which lays down a flawless track (so much so that i can differentiate between different sides of the road).

Since they're both Android, it's not the software, it must be the GPS tracking sensor or other hardware, or other apps running. Although I've heard you should turn off your WiFi, as this can affect the location tracking if it picks up a connection and logs an inaccurate location based off that in between GPS updates (ie. you can suddenly spring to a point dozens of meters away then back to where you are).

Also, my SGS2 uses less that half the battery for a 3-4 hour ride where MapMyRide almost emptied it.

Always send your phone to sleep when you start recording rather than just letting the screen power down.

willhub

They should have a feature on Strava to add a minimum ride length req to segments (customizable by the segment adder)

Because you go and do a segment on a 50 mile ride with a 10 mile TT in it and your legs are knackered, and you get someone on a 4 mile ride KOM it at like 29mph average on their 16mph average 4 miles ride.

nickel

I've been finding strava really useful recently for tracking performance in my club's evening 10s. As the course is split into 4 segments I can see how I fast I rode each part which is useful for pacing myself.

DerbyshirePoolie

MartinB2444 wrote:

If any Peak District riders keep pipping Martin Bradley reveal yourselves :evil:
Martin

Just noticed you beat my time on Roe'S Ln, Roe'S Ct Climb by 4 secs on Sun. Time to get the bike out....

MartinB2444

DerbyshirePoolie wrote:

MartinB2444 wrote:

If any Peak District riders keep pipping Martin Bradley reveal yourselves :evil:
Martin

Just noticed you beat my time on Roe'S Ln, Roe'S Ct Climb by 4 secs on Sun. Time to get the bike out....

Hehe! I didn't mean to end up on that road :roll:

Pross

Welsh_Wizard wrote:

Do you guys use your smartphones with this strava? I used it once and found a 20km ride destroyed my battery to the point I don't think I'd be able to go over 30km. Same for everyone???

I use my Samsung Galaxy S2 all the time. I've used it on 4 hour clubruns and come back with about 50% battery. Make sure any other apps are switched off along with wi-fi, Bluetooth and auto rotation and it should be fine (also very accurate with my phone). When I commute to work I have it running for just over an hour in each direction plus the phone on without the GPS all day in work and probably have around 30% battery at the end of the day (albeit without much phone use).

snoopsmydogg

currently using a htc wildfire (soon to be upgraded) but can go out for a couple of hours and use less than 25% battery. Didnt think to switch off wi-fi & bluetooth though so may be a little better next time out.

only issue i have is dropping the gps signal now and again

ShutUpLegs

Another uh-oh emale received, to a 650 mile loop at an average speed of 134 mph.

Need to work on my threshold training.