I subscribe. For 2 bucks a month, it's worth it. I like numbers and being able to look at different rides. I wish there was a place to exchange Strava accounts so we could see each other's ride ideas.

"If it's not on Strava, it didn't happen!"

The KOM crowd that validates their cycling on Strava will shift towards paying. Not all of them, but a significant portion I believe. Ego is worth paying for and having all the info about your KOM and position on the board will matter to a substantial demographic.

Site says it’s $5/month. How do you get such a discount?

Making the changes with almost no advance notice is an interesting way to roll.

It's a bit funny to think we wouldn't pay $60/year, yet a cellphone data plan can cost close to that much per month... so that instead we can use a free app.
Maybe better to think of an subscription like a consumable .. eg.. 2 chains, 2 tires, 10 tubes, 2x chamois butt'r, etc..

I can't work without a cell phone, nor talk to my family, nor a million other things. Strava, on the other hand, doesn't do much that isn't available elsewhere. They're also ****ty as a company (capriciously breaking third party support when those third parties do something better) ****ty as a business (first mover and can't make money after a decade), ****ty as developers (can't handle triathlon data, can't do simple things like custom tags or custom activity types), and just generally are terrible at all of their jobs.

It is very likely their VC sugar daddies reevaluated under current circumstances and gave them an ultimatum.

It's a good thing you weren't around 20 years ago then.

I just checked. My subscription says "Your annual membership will automatically renew on October 15, 2020 for $23.99"

My understanding is that, for non-subscribers, you'll be able to see Top 10, Top 10 women and your PR/ranking; you will not see your previous efforts like you could before.

I am guessing you got grandfathered into a lower price. I just checked and they want $60/year from me.

Not gonna do it.

Correct. Subscribers will retain leaderboard. 3rd party apps will lose access to the leaderboard.

I understand that you will be able to see your past results, just not compare to your friends nor analyze your efforts.

Not according to DCR, though he could be wrong. In the context of the changes, past effort comparisons seem like a thing that would get put in the 'subscriber' category.

I still don't know what the route creation thing does. Guess I missed out.

the top 10's are fun to explore in our area. There are a few names that pop up on most all of who are armature racers. But now and then a person who just destroys a segment with no data but a time and speed so you know its crap. Makes a person laugh.

Of our little group I am with that use it 2 of the 5 that I have talk to are going to dump it. So if the other 2 will dump it we will find a decent reasonable other way to do the fun of it.

You can select a start point and choose from a range of distances and it would spit out some route options.

I played with it a bit and got mostly okay results. I think that they pull route options from ridership data, which can be a mixed bag. The goals and preferences of commuters and MUP riders will differ from those of serious cyclists, and I was sometimes given recommendations cutting straight through the city or placing me on paths, neither of which are appealing.

I'm not kidding when I say this; I don't know what that means.

I pay for the subscription. I've used the site a freaking metric ton, and I thought they deserved to get a little something back. As someone said in another thread, they've been giving away too much for free for a long time now, and they do need to make money at some point if they want to stay in business.

Valid point. I think people have one main issue is that there was no notice to the community or the 3rd party app devs.

He's talking about the people who plan roads. If you're a person whose job it is to design a road traffic system, one would think that having some kind of data on who's actually using those roads, and in what sorts of vehicles, and at what times, would come in handy. At least it would if one of your goals was making the road network both efficient and safe.

That's a cute gotcha, but then I'd just be doing it with a landline. Which I'd be paying for, and then we're full-circle. Of course, Strava wasn't around 20 years ago either, so...

Even if true, they might just take it away next month when they need more subscribers.

I stand corrected.

I just looked on their website and they list “compare efforts” as a subscription, not a free, service.

That will force me to consider whether to subscribe or drop Strava. I like to try for the occasional top 10 placement, which I do t think will be affected. But more important is being able to see how I stack up against myself. RWGPS segments might be a better way of doing this now.

Interesting.

If 'training log' and 'compare efforts' become subscription features, I'll probably just keep free Strava for the social aspect and use something else for data. I really don't care about leaderboards (removed myself from them a year ago, though it's fun to see when I would have hit the top 10/QOM). The main value to me is being able to compare efforts across different conditions, fitness levels, and bikes, and I'm pretty sure another (free) website can handle that.

Dumb question: why would you remove yourself from a leaderboard?

I think you also asked something along the lines of "who would pay for Facebook".. the funny thing is that maybe you're right and not enough people would. However, people pay a lot of money so their phone can access data apps like Facebook (or Strava or whatever). I think if most divide their monthly data/wifi costs by the number of apps they really use, it's a lot lot more than the apps themselves cost -- even if they're subscription based and not purchased outright..

Sounds like something for new cyclists or new-to-an-area cyclists.

Part of the allure is that Strava is THE standard data platform for just about everyone I know that rides. Casual cyclists, serious cyclists, all of the kids on the MTB team I coach. It's great to track my own metrics, mileage on my bike (for maintenance), how I stack up against others, etc. The platform is easy to use, isn't littered with ads, and hits most of the functional requirements for just about anyone I know - including many pros. But they have to make money, and obviously what they're doing now isn't working. It's not vindictive to make changes; it's just business. Clearly, they don't want to lose users, so they're making the bet that enough people will see the value to subscribe . . . and hopefully improve their financials. It's a bit of a gamble, but my guess is they don't have many options.

I feel like I get a lot of value for a mere $6 per month. I don't agonize over the leaderboards, but I think it's fun to track it. When I take my whole family out for dinner, that $6 is less than the tip!

Yup, I think that's a big chunk of what they were aiming at. I'm interested because I'm in a route rut and there's still a lot of roads in the area that I'm not familiar with.

That's because of all the free features they had up until yesterday.