Great. I'll take it.

KOMs make me nervous because it is only a matter of time before you are knocked off. One time I got a KOM on a segment and not even 24 hours later I was bumped down. Next day went back to reclaim my title. Only have two KOMs that I achieved without some serious wind assistance and it was tough. Most of the segments, especially shorter ones you have to average over 30mph just coming into the segment. No way I can maintain 30mph for more than a few seconds.

KOM or placing in top 10 is fun and entertaining at times, but a PR is more valuable.

I have a few top tens on some moderately difficult roller segments of 2-6 miles long. It tickles me to see my name alongside cyclists whom I know are much stronger and faster. But it's because I loaf and conserve energy to warm up until I reach those segments, then give it maximum effort before loafing again. And I take advantage of tailwinds, but pretty much every noteworthy Strava segment is dominated by riders taking advantage of tailwinds, or during a race, or by a small paceline of 2-4 people working together. So I'm not ashamed to be a tailwind mooch.

The difference is, at the end of a ride my average speed will be 16 mph, while those folks are averaging 18-21 mph on the same routes. So I'm not fooling anyone, least of all myself. I'm not even particularly strong or fast for my age (61) -- I know several guys close to my age, and a couple of women, who are faster. I just enjoy the personal challenge of tackling a new PR once in awhile.

I have one KOM, which surprised but didn't impress me. I wasn't going for it, didn't even know it was a Strava segment. It's just a one-mile loop in a quiet residential neighborhood. I rode it several times, beginning in 2015 when I resumed cycling after a 30+ year hiatus. I'd ride it maybe once a month, getting a little faster as I got fitter. One day Strava notified me I had a KOM there. It had been there all along, I just hadn't noticed. My average on that flat loop was 21 mph. I figured I'd quit since it's a 20 mph speed limit and I don't want to annoy the folks who live there and make other cyclists look bad. All the other folks on that segment are casual neighborhood folks puttering around about 8 mph. If conditions were safe to do so, a strong cyclist could easily average upwards of 30 mph on that one mile loop. It would be an ideal crit circuit if not for the curbside parking.

I think by keeping the kom's open and having so many ways to take it is what creates such an awesome buzz around trying to get one.

Yes, it sucks when you lose one. Even more so when the rider took it via questionable means.

But did that motivate you to get out on your bike? or set a goal and training plan to try to get it back?

Another benefit of kom's i believe is the social aspect. I've actually met a lot of riders who are now my mates and ride/train together on a weekly basis. All because of that fateful day when i got that dreaded message from strava "Uh Oh" so and so has taken your KOM!!!! :)

So, friend the person who takes your kom because you can make some new friends and you can only get stronger if you are riding with people stronger than you are right?

Since you take it personal when someone has a different opinion than you do and resort to attacks you should not post at all on these forums.

That's not your point. But for a lot of us it adds some fun friendly competition and gives us something different to do when we feel like it.

This may sound mean, but I intend it well. When I see stuff around town that's on a MUP or in an area that's obviously ridden by more "rec" riders, and the segment has like 50 riders or something.......I try not to go bashing around there ruining people's fun. It's just not nice and does nothing for me. Imagine zooming in on a large suburban neighborhood and seeing all the 1-min segments in there with like 50 people per leaderboard.

It's about picking a fair challenge geographically and communally. Being a "good Strava citizen".

If I know I can do 5.5 to 6 w/kg for 2 to 3 minutes, then why go pick a 50 person segment where the #1 power is like 300w for a minute? That 300w for a minute might be damn impressive for that leaderboard and area, and a good measuring stick for those folks. No need to ruin that.

It's exactly the point of KOM's. They are segments where people see who can do them the fastest.

Welcome, evan326.
You last visited: 12-23-18 at 08:51 PM
Also, what attack?

A KOM is by definition a PR.

KOM's should be sniped by any means possible: hurricane tailwind, paceline, TT bike, skinsuit, only hammering that segment during that ride, or doing all of the above simultaneously for maximum sniping advantage. The only unwritten rules should be no e-bikes, nor drafting a car/truck.

Why is a paceline acceptable but taking a draft off of a car any different? They're both assistance which allows a rider to go (often significantly) faster than they could alone, even under the best conditions. If it's perfectly acceptable to soft pedal for 15 minutes between all-out 2-minute sprints, then it's equally fine to tuck in behind a city bus as it goes by. I don't think I've ever seen anyone out on the open road actively motor-pacing, though I imagine it happens somewhere.

As one of the guys at my LBS said, "Over a long enough timeframe, every KOM on the road will be set by a paceline of 5+ guys with a 25mph tailwind."

Many segments are on routes of group rides or race courses that existed long before Strava. And you still have to go faster than other riders.

[on edit]

Some riders seem to be under the impression that Strava is an ITT, maybe because the segments are timed. It's not. It's a RR.

Most of my QOMs are really nothing to write home about. Many are climbing segments that some guys made way out in the country, further out than a lot of local women tend to go. I held a number of climbing segments for quite some time, but there is always someone who is younger, more fit, and training harder who will come along and take them. So it goes.

The memorable ones are why I keep Strava set to show my placement (rather than just setting it to show PRs). One was a 2.5 mile climb in 90+ degree July heat, racing my friend to the top, and just barely beating her out. It was one of the hardest efforts of my life, and we were both dripping sweat and on the verge of throwing up at the top. To me, that's what sport (as opposed to mere recreation) is all about: pushing yourself hard in friendly competition. Strava allows some of us non-racers to get a taste of that.

QFT. Or the local semi-pro triathlete or TT specialist with a tailwind.

I think Strava has the computing power to determine KOMs by "group" versus "solo". It can see the date/time of the effort. I think it would resolve a lot of consternation by doing that. Usually a paceline KOM anyway is going to be a 3-way tie.

I have seen TT/individual segments done in a way that it's a standing start due to how the segment begins. Or dead-end the segment. Meaning you couldn't have a 20 person rolling chaingang come through and get it.

My favorite move is to choose hill-climb segments that start at the bottom of a cul-de-sac with zero "runup". All solo grunt work.

Also, KOMs are fun for me, but ultimately I still care more about my w/kg and my TT personal bests. Those are a LOT harder to cheat or to coax than a Strava KOM.

Anyone can paceline 10 miles at 25mph and take a single 30 second turn. Not everyone can TT a lumpy 10 mile route at 25mph by themselves. Especially a "certified" style out-back or looped route.

Maybe we need a "Strava Confession" thread. Here's one: Last season I built up a TT bike but never managed to enter any official TTs, but I did KOM a local out-and-back route. That was totally worth the price of admission.

Oh, if we're doing Strava confessions, where to start? Done an entire out-and-back 25+ mile ride just to take a KOM from someone I know, out of spite? Absolutely. Headed out on days with heavy winds from the north, and pre-selected southbound segments before leaving the house? More than once.

But more fun even that KOMs... QOMs. I pick a handful of segments and play leadout man for my wife-- she's half my size, so she might as well be drafting off of a van. Unsurprisingly, she has in this way destroyed some local segments. I cough my guts out to miss the top-3 by 2 seconds. She's got the QOM by over a minute in some places.

You can define "real" or "unreal" segments if you wish.

Yes, the flat segments deal with winds, but they can be as much fun as the hard climbs. And, not necessarily dominated by the featherweight riders.

Descents?

Personally I don't like high speed descents around switchbacks and blind corners, but one can put out a lot of power even going downhill.

Are those the segments above... 1/2 and 1 mile? Short, but FAST. Still impressive. :thumb: And the rest of the ride was pretty fast too!!! :thumb:

I have a similar short semi U shaped segment. It is a blast, and deceptively fast. If only the OP wasn't using a Garmin with 5 second time chunks.

Quote:
"Trying to beat someone who was riding a segment competitively, who isn't much faster than me isn't wrong in my eyes. If it is to you, screw you."

Nuff said....................

yep and this is what i use koms for. Good fun competition and It adds some fun to my daily commute and gives me something to aim for. Even though i will never get some of the koms in certain segments that i go for. I can at least track my PR's which is a good indication i am improving.

We had a 30 mph wind from the east which is super rare. I went out on a hill near my house and got a fast start and I flew up the hill and got the KOM. The next day, the wind blew even harder from the east and I lost it within 24 hours...DOH!!!

A few years back, I knew there was this segment near the end of my Sunday club ride. Sundays tend to be recovery days. I figured I'd give 80% and see how I placed. Maybe I'd get a top 10! The segment was about 1/2 mile of maybe +2%, flattening out and going slightly down a little before another gentle rise. I soft-pedaled the down slope (not really enough to call a 'downhill,' and declined to push hard on the last bit up to a stop light.

When I got home I found I'd tied for first place. Well, the co-King took 2 years to take it back, and when he did, several others from his paceline did it with him. Last year one of them commented that they dread seeing that I'm riding on 'their' routes because they never know when I'm going to do that. :lol:

I don't need to have any KOMs, but it's nice to know that the local team respects my potential. :innocent:

I don't Strava, but I can absolutely see how it would be great for helping someone push that little bit harder.

Almost wish I could check around my area for segments. Not enough to join, just out of curiosity.

I see a lot of road bikes where I ride, but since 2011? I've only ran into one other rider on the gravel. I could KOM a bunch of segments for sure.:)

[MENTION=484479]88Tempo[/MENTION], you can browse the segments via a map in strava. I think that part is free. Another feature is that you can then "star" that segment so that as you approach it, it will appear on your garmin and give you a virtual rider to race against.

"I could KOM a bunch of segments for sure." - why not give it a go mate!? get out there and take a few koms :)