Uh, have you ever watched pro cycling?

Yes, but they strap the number on and that takes balls....if you're a guy

I agree with the premise of your post 100%.

I use Strava for personal data logging and couldn't care less what anyone else does on my segments or others around me. Honestly.

That said...to compare it to pseudo racing isn't totally accurate in all cases. I live in a rural area which is at minimum 8.5 hours round trip from any place that has sanctioned road/crit racing. I would love to try racing even knowing that I would suck, but it is prohibitive where I live. I don't even want to try it on an infrequent basis in case I really liked it, because I don't want to get hooked on something I can't do. It'd be like telling a guy he could have 3 Oreos per year.

Long story short, not everyone who uses Strava has his/her zipper down. I like looking at my own times on segments and comparing them.

And yes, the .TCX manipulator is hilarious.

Ya, I know how a team works together for the final lead out. I'm talking about the guy that sucks wheel, hammers one segment in the middle of the ride, then has nothing left to finish with the group.

Awesome gif

Wait, timeout. You are comparing what pros do in a professional race with other professional racers who are professionally racing for $$$ to what some bike geek using Strava does? Strava was invented for those annoying random guys who think they are racing the Tour de France every time they get out riding around the 'burbs.

It's only a temporary fix. Given how seriously so many people seem to take this stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if Garmin winds up encrypting the file which would require a developer's key to read. Keys would be revoked for tampering with the data.

As for myself, I don't need objective proof of how badly I suck.

That kind of firmware mod requires a business case and I'm not sure one exists. Plus an encrypted data format would really peeve a lot of developers.

And never mind that keeping it secure is impossible.

Yup, some dude thought he'd win the Strava (is that how you say it?) on a downhill route, and pancaked himself into an SUV. It's right near my town where this happened so it's a well known story around here. But I love how bike nerds think a downill route means something. OH YEAH, I'M THE FASTEST AT GOING DOWNHILL, I WIN! lolwut. Anyway, there was a story about the lawsuit from the family on Velonews, and disgraced drug cheat, former pro Joe Papp decided to rip on Strava in the comments section. You shoudla seen the wrath from Strava nerds all over the world coming utterly unglued that an ex-pro (albeit one with little credibility) basically called out Strava for what it is... Bike nerd wannabe's whose dreams of one day actually having those Strava times mean anything won't go away.

I like Strava. It's a great way to see what routes the guys on the team are taking, I've found a lot of great rides like that. Sometimes the best way from A to B on a bike isn't so obvious, a bit of local knowledge is great. I don't think anyone really thinks it's particularly 'meaningful'. That seems like a straw man argument to me, but maybe it's just the crowd I roll with...

All the Strava haters just need to come to Norcal near SF. You'll never get a KOM ever again.

Yea...no. They're not the same. No one may care that you banged that 7 after the bar last week, but it's still not the same as ************.

Um, that asterisked word refers to 'touching yourself in your special place'.

Absolutely.

A business case could arise if too many Freds were unwilling to use the service because they thought people were "cheating." I've overheard some yap where people get surprisingly upset about this. Encryption would suck and while there's no way to keep it totally secure, it would be easy to drastically reduce instances of messing around with the numbers.

I don't get the point of modifying data except as a practical joke. If your identity is known and you put up fake numbers meant to be taken seriously, you'll look like an ass when the real life you is totally different.

Strava haters are hilarious. Most don't even race, but they hate on Strava because people are enjoying it. I don't take it serious but I find it funny that Fred's and other slow a$$e$ rip on Strava trying to be cool.

I enjoy Strava. Its a good way to see where your friends are riding, discover routes, track your miles, and have a little light-hearted fun. I think its cool to see how other local riders have done on routes I ride. You just cant take it seriously. Everyone knows the KOMs are set on days with a stiff wind and that people cheat and all that. If you think you've "won" something by getting a KOM, you're a fool, but that doesn't take away from the fun of seeing your friend's rides and how others do on your routes. Its very motivating, I think.

you're not suppose to have fun. In fact, you're not suppose to be competitive at all, even in group rides. Group rides = you ride as a group the whole ride and climb at the slowest riders pace. Period.

I'm new to racing. You strap the numbers to your balls? I think that would hurt like hell.

cat 2-5 racing = Strava KOM's. Other than you, your buddies and your girlfriend...no one cares.

Like anything - it's not that simple.

I don't care how anyone else is using strava in whatever area they are, or how cool it is for them.

Around here is gives a specific segment of guys the motivation to ride in horribly dangerous and disgusting ways all so they can say they "beat" someone on Strava. These are the same guys that "don't race crits" because "they are too dangerous". They're the group of enthusiast riders that fancy themselves racers but won't actually race (because they usually cause wrecks when they do).

Riding on open roads is NOT RACING. Strava encourages horrible behaviour on open roads.

If you want to compete with others then do it in a race on a course that is closed and has safety checks in place. Pin a number on. Races aren't won on numbers, but the entire premise of Strava is that they are.

As a promoter, heavily involved member of the local cycling community, industry OEM, Team owner, sponsor, etc - I despise Strava because of how much more dangerous it has made the already testosterone filled Tuesday night worlds rides. Racing on open roads is for stupid kids in alley cats.....not old rich guys in suburbs.

The fact that the sanctioning body that I have to use for my races, the same one that is our UCI and Olympic organization, has partnered with Strava just makes me ill and makes my skin crawl. It's like the NHRA endorsing illegal street races.

I thought they used pins rather than straps to attach them...

No one cares about any result ever - no matter where it is.

The issue is encouraging unsanctioned racing.

I think just an encrypted time stamp at the beginning and end of each segment data would do the trick, without complicating access to the data itself or altering the data all. Like a checksum, if it doesn't add up it's been altered.

Wow, talk about sticks in the mud. Some of these Strava bashers sound like they're as much fun as a hemorrhoid. If they do actually have any friends they must all be way too cool for me since I don't race.