Strava Virgin Advice for Dummies

tim_wand
tim_wand Posts: 2,552
edited December 2012 in Road general
After a long Hiatus I have returned to the bike and finally got back something like my old fitness.
Also within this time I have uploaded Strava to my android enabled phone, but never actually used it to track a ride.
Playing about with it I ve noticed segments near me that appear on my training or commuting rides and fancy seeing if I can get into the top 50 on some of them,

I ve no idea how I actually go about this, I dont really want to ride around with my Smart phone attatched to my stem and the mapping isnt really that great to show the start and end points of segments I ride through obliviously most times.

So I ask the following.

When I m out riding if I strike strava up on my smart phone when I m approaching a segment , will it notify me and time me.
I asked the wife for a kindle fire for christmas but I m now starting to think I d prefer a Garmin 200, will this map and notify me of strava segments, and can I just then just upload the data and migrate it across.

I really (as you can tell) not got a clue on these things. I am I better initially just riding around with the smart phone set on Strava and having a go at segments when it notifies me I m in them, or doesnt it work like that.

And if as I probably will be (lot of Pro teams train in my area) I m embarassingly slow is there anyway to compare my times without making my data public.

Comments

  • phil_smeeth
    phil_smeeth Posts: 37
    I'm new to road riding (had my bike about 8 weeks) and I've been using Strava to log my rides.

    I turn it on, on my iphone and then put it in my pocket. The first time I did a leisurely ride round the segments I wanted to pick up. Sync your ride to strava and then you'll be able to see in more detail on the website where the segment starts and finishes.

    I think there is a privacy setting, but I don't really care who sees my times. It makes me work harder at getting fitter.

    You don't need to have it handlebar mounted unless you want to see the screen. I think you'll only be shown time, average speed and distance on the screen. I don't know if the segments are flagged up when you start/finish as it's always in my pocket.

    Give it a try. I like it, it's good fun looking at your ride when you get home.
  • duckson
    duckson Posts: 961
    Just start Strava running before you set off, pop it in your back pocket and do the full ride as normal, once back home upload it to Strava and it will tell you what you did on any segments you might have ridden. Obviously various phones have different accuracies but all you can do is give it a try.

    Or get a Garmin Edge bike computer, i have the 500 which is a GPS and bike computer (speed, distance etc) all in one and you can upload rides to Strava that way instead.
    Cheers, Stu
  • tim_wand
    tim_wand Posts: 2,552
    Thanks Guys, Think I m just going to give it a go on the phone first, In retrospect not bothered if the data goes public, like you ve said good motivation.

    I got a Nike plus sports band years ago, and the difference it made to my running motivation was great.

    If I get on with this I might consider the Garmin 200, will this not allow me to upload data to Strava as well, or do I need at least a 500.

    I take it , its the GPS function you need , its not just a matter of transfering data from Garmin Connect.
  • butcher of bakersfield
    butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
    All you need, is your route to be recorded via GPS. Once you upload that to Strava, it does all of the work for you. It works out which segments you've ridden, how fast you've ridden them, and it'll show you all of this detail on screen where you'll soon become familiar with what's going in. And it's generally by looking at the detail on screen afterwards that you will see where all the segments are.....then you can remember them next time you're out and give it a bit extra oomph :wink:

    It really is easy. In fact on a smart phone I think it'll upload it for you, but I'm not entirely certain.
  • moscowflyer
    moscowflyer Posts: 540
    Whatever segments you fancy a crack at, just have a look at where they start and finish on the Strava website before you set off and then go hell for leather when you're approaching the start of it.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Just start it running and leave it in your back pocket. You'll get to know where the segments are with time - analysing your routes afterwards.

    As to being anonymous - just make up a name ? You can go private I think - but nobody cares.

    One thing you should do is hide your start/end location otherwise people can follow your tracks to your nice bike. I know there have been a few incidents where bikes have been nicked from people using GPS trackers like this.

    Personally I'd not bother with a garmin for strava.
  • robertsims
    robertsims Posts: 141
    Whilst on Strava topic - been using it for ages with no problems but this morning I turned it on as I set off (on driveway as usual) and stopped it at work. Time showed 1hr 11. Finished ride and uploaded. However the route seems to have only started half way in (at a random point part way through my commute) and the time only shows 40 odd minutes.

    Any ideas or just random thing?
    Triban 3
  • moscowflyer
    moscowflyer Posts: 540
    Did you have a strong signal from the off? The problem with using a phone (if that's what you did) is that you're dependent on a good signal and once it goes in a bag or pocket, it may start losing strength.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Never had a problem. Its the gps you need and that coverage should be pretty good.
  • robertsims
    robertsims Posts: 141
    Yeah, must have been a blip with the GPS - just seems weird I've never had any problems before and the time on Strava on my phone was for full time but downloaded time was 30 odd minutes less???

    Ah well, random blip!
    Triban 3
  • Mr Will
    Mr Will Posts: 216
    It is worth setting up a "Privacy Zone" around your house, work, and anywhere else you regularly park your bike. This will cut off the last few hundred meters of the ride, making precisely where you live hard to work out.

    The other advantage to this though is that it means you don't have to worry about static time at the start and end of the ride. If you spend 5 minutes faffing after you start the timer or before you stop then this won't affect your averages as these parts of the ride are cropped off anyway.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD9 Tiagra
  • robertsims
    robertsims Posts: 141
    Would do....but I've got a segment about 100 yards from my front door that I'm currently 3rd on and if I set up Privacy zone I can't do this segment
    Triban 3
  • Mr Will
    Mr Will Posts: 216
    RobertSims wrote:
    Would do....but I've got a segment about 100 yards from my front door that I'm currently 3rd on and if I set up Privacy zone I can't do this segment

    Set up the privacy zone a few doors down, so that it just covers your house but not the start of the segment. No reason they need to be centred on your house!
    2010 Cannondale CAAD9 Tiagra
  • robertsims
    robertsims Posts: 141
    Mr Will wrote:
    RobertSims wrote:
    Would do....but I've got a segment about 100 yards from my front door that I'm currently 3rd on and if I set up Privacy zone I can't do this segment

    Set up the privacy zone a few doors down, so that it just covers your house but not the start of the segment. No reason they need to be centred on your house!


    Cunning!!!! Thanks - great thinking
    Triban 3

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