How accurate is Strava in terms of speed

ricky1980
ricky1980 Posts: 891
edited November 2012 in Training, fitness and health
I got a Samsung Galaxy S2 with 4.0.4 firmware, just wondering how accurate Strava is in term of speed.
Road - Cannondale CAAD 8 - 7.8kg
Road - Chinese Carbon Diablo - 6.4kg

Comments

  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Depends on the strength of the GPS signal, plus how much smoothing both your GPS device and Strava does
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    As above. It's the same as all GPS based measurement: my personal record is 192mph. Which happened while I was waiting at traffic lights.
  • thecrofter
    thecrofter Posts: 734
    bompington wrote:
    As above. It's the same as all GPS based measurement: my personal record is 192mph. Which happened while I was waiting at traffic lights.
    Maybe Strava is more accurate than we think and it is actually picking up distortions in the space/time continuum.
    You've no won the Big Cup since 1902!
  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Strava is god.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Strava is god.

    I think you mean Strava is Sh!t.
    More problems but still living....
  • herb71
    herb71 Posts: 253
    bompington wrote:
    As above. It's the same as all GPS based measurement: my personal record is 192mph. Which happened while I was waiting at traffic lights.

    I have not tried Strava yet, but I hope its more accurate than Map My Ride. My record on that is 21,529 mph. About the same speed as an Apollo mission I think.
  • Herbsman
    Herbsman Posts: 2,029
    amaferanga wrote:
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Strava is god.

    I think you mean Strava is Sh!t.
    If you think about it, they are one and the same.
    CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    Its about the device, not the software.

    Also, why is it shit? Or is that just standard 'I'm a real racer its for choppers' bollocks?
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • ricky1980
    ricky1980 Posts: 891
    ok, i suppose i will have to invest in a computer for accurate speed measurement then? magnets?
    Road - Cannondale CAAD 8 - 7.8kg
    Road - Chinese Carbon Diablo - 6.4kg
  • okgo
    okgo Posts: 4,368
    Strava requires something with a GPS tracking ability, so you'll need a garmin or similar. Garmin 200 is probably the cheapest way, and it will be a lot more reliable than your phone I would think.
    Blog on my first and now second season of proper riding/racing - www.firstseasonracing.com
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    Average speed / distance accuracy tends to tie in well with my computer. Speed at any given point will be a bit of a guess though. The average between any two recorded points should be accuarate to as good a level as anyone needs as it is only dividing the distance between the two points by the time taken and distance should be pretty accurate (the traces from my S2 always seem to follow the mapping very closely).

    As for odd speed reading, I got 180 + mph on my bike computer whilst waiting at lights with my foot on the floor - I think it may have been the magnetic field in the induction loop playing havoc with the computer in some way!
  • chrisannear87
    chrisannear87 Posts: 42
    get a garmin! :D
    Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one. Never take anyone's opinion as fact!
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    Herb71 wrote:
    bompington wrote:
    As above. It's the same as all GPS based measurement: my personal record is 192mph. Which happened while I was waiting at traffic lights.

    I have not tried Strava yet, but I hope its more accurate than Map My Ride. My record on that is 21,529 mph. About the same speed as an Apollo mission I think.
    Reminds me of a week or so ago when I googled the route from Dundee to Lancaster to check the distance. The answer was something like 19,000 miles with route descriptions like "windsurf across the south china sea". Turned out I was on google.com not .co.uk - don't know why as the bookmark is definitely the uk site - and it was taking me to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  • TakeTurns
    TakeTurns Posts: 1,075
    amaferanga wrote:
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Strava is god.

    I think you mean Strava is the Sh!t.

    FTFY.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    TakeTurns wrote:
    amaferanga wrote:
    ShutUpLegs wrote:
    Strava is god.

    I think you mean Strava is the Sh!t.

    FTFY.

    No, you changed it.
    More problems but still living....
  • willhub
    willhub Posts: 821
    Everything is sh!t.
  • Alex_Simmons/RST
    Alex_Simmons/RST Posts: 4,161
    Pross wrote:
    The average between any two recorded points should be accuarate to as good a level as anyone needs as it is only dividing the distance between the two points by the time taken and distance should be pretty accurate
    Which of course assumes that the path taken between those two points was a straight line, let alone the typical GPS error in the measurement of where those two points are.
    RST Sport : Coaching - Training Plans - Powermeters -- My blog -- AeroCoach Australia
  • buckmulligan
    buckmulligan Posts: 1,031
    I think we're all well aware of how GPS-based tracking works and the fact that it's prone to error. My annoyance with Strava and others is, given that they're specifically designed for cycling/running and often run on devices where the GPS function may not be brilliant (e.g. smartphones), why not introduce a filtering process that excludes any GPS data points that result in a calculated speed of say >60 mph or a climb of greater than say >30%.

    Strava already does a fair bit of data analysis on your routes (assigning segments, updating stats etc). This would help eliminate most of these anecdotal criticisms saying 'Strava's a load of sh!t, it says I went 20 000 mph/up a 200% climb'; it would help improve their profile a lot.

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