I pay for Strava because it's a product that I use almost every day and I find to be a valuable addition to track my fitness, milage and goals.

Is the free version "good enough"? Probably. I pay for a lot of things in life that I don't really need though, and in the context of cycling/fitness purchases spending $79/year on Strava is relatively minor.

Certainly, the extra $20 a year (over the previous $59 subscription cost) is not something I would have even noticed if it weren't for the dozens of blogs and cycling media outlets complaining about it.