Strava haters rejoice!

I've been paying for a while. I am honestly not sure what value I get from it. I would need to evaluate that and see if it is still worth it. But that is separate from the new paid issue as I have been paying.

I use Strava mostly for the social aspect of it. It is linked to my Garmin devices, as well as Training Peaks (which I don't currently use) and Trailforks (I try to make trail reports). I also like to track mileage on Strava, but could easily do that with Garmin. I don't think Strava does anything that Garmin can't do besides cross platform segments (though not all Garmin users are Strava users, so maybe a wash). But I have been tracking bike/shoe mileage for nearly a decade now.

I like the segments, and I do compete on them on occasion. But there is a time and place, I always yield the trail so sometimes I just lose my effort, oh well. I like being in the top 1% on segments that have meaning to me (too many junk segments). But I don't live by it and my riding wouldn't suffer if I stopped doing it. But I do like the social part, so I stick around. Weird as I am so anti social. Maybe I am just attention seeking?
 
Sidewalk said:
I've been paying for a while. I am honestly not sure what value I get from it. I would need to evaluate that and see if it is still worth it. But that is separate from the new paid issue as I have been paying.

I use Strava mostly for the social aspect of it. It is linked to my Garmin devices, as well as Training Peaks (which I don't currently use) and Trailforks (I try to make trail reports). I also like to track mileage on Strava, but could easily do that with Garmin. I don't think Strava does anything that Garmin can't do besides cross platform segments (though not all Garmin users are Strava users, so maybe a wash). But I have been tracking bike/shoe mileage for nearly a decade now.

I like the segments, and I do compete on them on occasion. But there is a time and place, I always yield the trail so sometimes I just lose my effort, oh well. I like being in the top 1% on segments that have meaning to me (too many junk segments). But I don't live by it and my riding wouldn't suffer if I stopped doing it. But I do like the social part, so I stick around. Weird as I am so anti social. Maybe I am just attention seeking?
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That was a great response Josh...
 
Strava has expanded my riding world. I've been able to see where others are riding especially in areas i haven't been before. Just like the last WW group ride, i was able to copy that route and then ride it solo. This feature is nice since i'm super old and slow and cant keep up with other riders on "social" group rides.

I don't use many features and probably do not know about most of the paid features. I am a paid subscriber for a few years. I figure if i'm using their platform, then why not support them. To me its similar to supporting a LBS for a part i could have easily bought online.

I do smh when seeing people recording their rides on Strava in closed areas.

I'm curious what "other" apps you are using... i've read a few comments saying there are better apps out there... like what?
 
I pay for it. I don't pay attention to leaderboards because, why? I use it to track my stuff, my efforts, and to see what a select few others are doing - mostly for ideas on new places to ride (road, gravel and dirt). Whatever it is I'm paying for meets my needs, so I keep paying. It's a pittance every month.
 
I don't pay for it. Use it to keep track of my rides, stats, social stuff and create routes. Well, no longer create routes. That's the only thing I'll miss. Maybe I'll pony up, maybe not. Can still create routes with free google earth, just not as easy.
 
Grego said:
I don't pay for it. Use it to keep track of my rides, stats, social stuff and create routes. Well, no longer create routes. That's the only thing I'll miss. Maybe I'll pony up, maybe not. Can still create routes with free google earth, just not as easy.
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The free version of Ride with GPS works awesome for creating routes. @Mikie and I have been using it for a while and knock on wood the search and rescue guys haven’t been called out to look for us lately.
 
I've paid for Strava on and off over the years. At first because I supported the innovation, and I love unnecessary amounts of data. I canceled when they broke out all the Summit packs and I could no longer have what I wanted without paying for things I didn't. I came back when I got a GPS and wanted to steal routes. I canceled when I found a chache of .gpx files. Comparing myself v my bros wont bring me back. But I do understand that is all they have that is proprietary.
 
So here is where I notice the difference. I typically use Strava for scouting trails.... To see what's open. If I look on a segment I can see that 20 people rode it yesterday, then it's likely ok.
For example my wife mentioned doing a family ride on Monday. I wanted to check and see if the west fork off hwy39 had been getting any use. Now I can't.

This might be a prime time for something like trail forks to move in...
It already had ride logs... I'm sure they could easily add segments. Maybe not as many micro segments as on Strava, but break a trail up into major large sections
 
Dr. Wellington Yueh said:
As someone who was nearly run off a mountain road by a Strava Monkey, despite giving him the other 4m+ of road to pass, I say "Good riddance!"
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That person will probably pay as he probably can't live without it....AND I suspect that person would be a StravAHole with or without Strava.

I have been nearly knocked off trails by agro XC racer dudes long before Strava ..BUT it definitely seems to have exaggerated / increased and given a name too it

Maybe the frequency will reduce if that temptation is removed from some of the borderline folks.
 
Reminds me of a cute story when my son was a kid. At a swim meet after a particularly good swim, he proudly ran over to his coach and exclaimed "I set a new Alex Peterson world record!"

That's how I feel about biking... or for that matter any time I work out. If I think I can beat my best time, I go for it. If not, I enjoy the ride for what it is. There are some rides when I feel it is a major accomplishment just to finish :)

I know I am faster than many my age, but not as fast as some. My last half marathon, at age 50, I finished strictly in the middle of the pack. But I don't know too many 50+ guys running half marathons :) So I rarely use Strava now, and instead track all my workouts on my PC using my Garmin. And the one Strava feature I couldn't care less about is how my time stacks up to some stranger's.

Now that I am living in North Carolina, I'm thinking about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I won't be doing it for time.
 
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