Open Letter To Strava

[Jewbacca]

The algorithm also fed me this today. 

I think the problem with digital media and the need to constantly create content to stay relevant and earn money from the industry leads to pieces like this.

I only read the first couple of paragraphs before the worlds smallest violin started playing and my mind started asking me 'why do they care?' and 'Why does any of that affect you?'.

I am not active on STRAVA for many reasons, one of them is how good friends portray themselves on the platform. Many people I like in person give me the absolute creeps on social media, so I prefer not to see it.

I also find the Garmin platform has a far more comprehensive overall idea of what I'm up to without being on a social media platform.

I'd imagine the weirdo's creeping on people in the new DM add on would be a bigger deterrent for women. 

Men unfortunately DO have a predatory nature and can turn anything into a dating/pick up platform. 

[Frosty]

Suddenly I have Strava-related posts in IG.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1YNhNgs5I2/?igsh=MzY1NDJmNzMyNQ==

There is one at the local mall, that we used to have fun with (when running on Sunday mornings).

[Kom]

35 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I also find the Garmin platform has a far more comprehensive overall idea of what I'm up to without being on a social media platform.

Agree with this - i actually prefer the detail on Garmin connect in terms of its data aggregation/reporting.

(BTW - it does have Strava features like segments, social connections etc but hardly the core of why i (many) use it.)

[corrie.kuilder]

Just another 2c regarding social media( to which strava is leaning heavily towards). Most people just want to be liked and admired, where previous years a person would only wanted to be liked/admired by his/her immidiate audience,now that same person wants to be liked by 16xmillion people, and would go to extremes to achieve the goal. On FB reels you find girls exposing themselves, only to be liked. Strava-holes motor-pace segments, ride them with E-bikes ect to achieve that glorious KOM badge to receive kudo's galore,post them on IG and FB to get further recognition and praise. Then if another person "steals" the KOM, sometimes legitimately, the ride is being " flagged", or the rider is Doping,being lambasted. 

[Newbie321]

34 minutes ago, Kom said:

Agree with this - i actually prefer the detail on Garmin connect in terms of its data aggregation/reporting.

(BTW - it does have Strava features like segments, social connections etc but hardly the core of why i (many) use it.)

And all the best features are also not locked behind a subscription

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, Kom said:

Agree with this - i actually prefer the detail on Garmin connect in terms of its data aggregation/reporting.

(BTW - it does have Strava features like segments, social connections etc but hardly the core of why i (many) use it.)

I didn't know this. I am not a data person, so it was easy to disconnect from STRAVA as I was already private ergo not on any leaderboards and didn't really farm my own data.

I wear my Garmin watch 99% of the time so it autonomously gives me an idea of when I'm tired, over training etc which I find more insightful metric than weight of KM or Meters Climbed etc

Being fit and functional and healthy trumps weight of numbers. 

For me there are better reasons to quit STRAVA than most of what the writer mentioned. I believe many athletes who track their metrics have an unhealthy relationship with exercise

[Mamil]

I like the Strava route creation tools which I find better than the Garmin connect equivalent.

I think I'm also a target for cat fishing on Strava because fairly often a young woman with "I'll be your mid life crisis" looks and Lycra that hugs her curves tighter than mine does my man boobs "slides into" my followers list.

Also, on of my favourite things is sifting through my ride on Strava with my "anti cramp all the micronutrients, used by all the best pros" at my elbow and seeing how many times I've ridden over chappies and where today's fell in relation to that one time when there was that stinking tailwind in July 2019 ....

Also, I do like the kudos and if you want to make me happy, make a nice comment on my ride ....

And if I'm really struggling on the bike I might spend the last 20km thinking up titles to give my ride.

I'm not sure if any of that is healthy but @Jewbacca I think we might need to footnote your observation that many people have an unhealthy relationship with exercise with a nod to the fact that you will be lining up at munga on a BMX. #justsaying

[Robbie Stewart]

I only use Strava for one purpose and that is to keep track of my rides for service intervals. I like to know stats on hours ridden between services so that I can keep the bike in top shape for those parts you can't visually inspect such as suspension etc. Then I get a personal kick on seeing how much elevation gain I managed in a year. The rest is not really important enough for me to want to have the paid version.

[Mongoose!]

I believe Strava's next move will be to only allow paying members to upload an activity publicly...

With basically all the functions moved behind the paywall, this might be their last card to play to force you to pay...

They appear quite desperate to increase their revenue ... 

🙃

 

[Frosty]

Some interesting info, from Strava, with a trend to more off-road riding and trail running:

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/strava-analyzed-all-our-activities-and-found-that-boomers-bike-gen-z-likes-the-party-pace-and-were-all-held-back-by-work

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Du8cX1RzGHeX-x8iIWMBlNPs00DYgfdO/view

[bleedToWin]

21 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

the overall attitude came over as projecting a bit 

[...]

In general though there's an irony in how people seem to read for reaction rather than comprehension. 

Like how you accuse the author of projecting when their first words were introjection?
"It's not you, it's me."

😏

[bleedToWin]

18 hours ago, New world disorder said:

Strava is just a dick measuring competition. 

As is all of life... 🤷‍♂️

[michaelbiker]

I ride in many different places throughout the year and I really like "collecting" rides and runs with a cool pic to accompany them. I couldn't give a rats-ass about where I come in relation to everyone else on a segment but it is a nice feeling to have done a PR on a segment that might have ridden quite often.

I also like using other people's rides in new places to create routes for myself. I don't use the Strava route builder - which I think is a pile of poo - but I do export the GPX and then modify it to suit me in something like Komoot. But without the initial route inspiration from a real person that has ridden there, it would otherwise be very, very difficult. We are quite spoilt in SA with our perfectly signed routes with a neat coffee shop at the start and parking. This is something I have not seen anywhere in Europe nor the US. 

At the end of the day, if you don't like it or you have issues with it, then don't use it. I get good value out of it and even use it to keep up with friends that I have made all over the world and their rides and runs.

[bleedToWin]

23 hours ago, corrie.kuilder said:

It sucks though to join a group ride, and that one person makes a race out of it,just to beat a strava segment

It's actually the second person that makes a race out of it when following the wheel of the first person. It's as easy as letting the wheel go. 🤷‍♂️

I often train in groups where I'm the strongest. Invariably if the group is big enough it will have folks that surge on climbs to keep the speed high. It has nothing to do with Strava or avg speed chasing, it's just ignorance to proper training methods. The whole group follows and I am the only one allowing myself to get dropped. If the climb is long enough they will slow down and I catch them doing my same z2 Watts, but even if it's a roller they'll sit up at the top and I'll catch up doing the same Watts. Later in the ride I'll hear complaints about the surging, and sometimes even directed at me because I don't allow the group to rest on the flats by sticking to my z2 Watts.

Every once in a blue moon someone will ask me about why I keep dropping and what power I'm doing etc, but mostly sheep just keep on sheeping.

[Frosty]

1 minute ago, bleedToWin said:

I often train in groups where I'm the strongest. Invariably if the group is big enough it will have folks that surge on climbs to keep the speed high. It has nothing to do with Strava or avg speed chasing, it's just ignorance to proper training methods. The whole group follows and I am the only one allowing myself to get dropped. If the climb is long enough they will slow down and I catch them doing my same z2 Watts, but even if it's a roller they'll sit up at the top and I'll catch up doing the same Watts.

In the same boat; I’ll just tell the group to wait at the top. Usually the stop-start nature of riding is enough to deter surging and they ride together again, until the next person tries to get a PB on a 4% grade used in a race.

[Kom]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

In the same boat; I’ll just tell the group to wait at the top. Usually the stop-start nature of riding is enough to deter surging and they ride together again, until the next person tries to get a PB on a 4% grade used in a race.

There is another great piece floating on Cycling Weekly about "Why I ride alone"

I think the surge scenario is one of the mentioned contributing factors ... 😝

Others include -> fixing other riders mechanical issues (Read poor serviced bike), extended coffee breaks, too much free (unsolicited) advise including "Your saddle looks to high, you should consider aero bottles, why arent you on 30mm tires, i hate Di2 etc etc" 🤣