I tried Golden Cheetah but found it buggy and unreliable; not sure why - I know others don't experience that. I personally like the portability of web-based software since I can use it on any computer I use.

I've been using betas and release candidates with excellent results. GC seems to be even more comprehensive than WKO+ at this point.

Sure, but only an idiot would go to that much trouble just for the ability to post bogus numbers. So we're safe.

I thought strava works for running too. Presuming that is the case, anyone wanting a boost need do no more than post their cycling workout to the running section of strava...

This thread is silly.

I live, race, and ride in SF - the home of Strava. I know people who work at Strava. I ride and race with them as well.

I've never, ever, been in a group ride where someone does something dangerous in the name of a KOM. Maybe it's luck that I don't, I don't know. The guy that died trying to get back his KOM in the Berkley Hills was an idiot of his own accord and an experience cyclist - he should have known better.

I can't speak for other's experiences, but in my own, the Strava hate is way over-blown.

Just to add some valuable data... it doesn't modify the increment marks... meaning: time speed and heart rate are modified, but the raw data stays the same... there are inconsistencies... what DigitalEPO.com does to the file you can do yourself using the activity editor in Garmin connect... sad... what is more sad is that I had enough time here at work to try it out...

Ditto. I've been using Strava since 2011 and I've never once seen an unsafe act in the name of a KOM. I have to assume all the KOM racing shenanigans are in the heads of people who just want to whine. Not on a single group ride have I heard an utterance of attacking a strava segment. Most of my teammates are on Strava and as far as I can tell nobody really worries about it that much. There's also this mistaken belief that chasing a KOM inherently means being unsafe. How about just being strong? There are several flat segments and climbing segments near me, for which safety is not a concern. Going 0.2mph faster than the other guy doesn't make you unsafe unless there are intersections involved. For segments that are clearly dangerous, I flag them and they get hidden or removed. What's the big deal?

I think most of the negative comments regarding strava come from people who live in the flatlands. Where there are hills, the KOMs are as meaningful as time trial results but they reward power/weight. Many of the segments are on hills that are only available for races maybe once or twice a year if that. Strava lets people have some fun with some friendly competition year round. KOMs for the bigger hills are generally owned by Pro/Cat 1 riders but it's still fun to try and move up the board against similar riders.

The group rides I've encountered all have sections (flat or hilly) where people ride all-out and try and drop each other. This is not the safest riding but it's fun and has nothing to do with Strava. 95% of the riders in the group I ride in don't even use Strava. I would say that amonst racers probably 1/2 use and upload to Strava.

Yeah, but people who use that service are a bunch of um cheetahs. Yes.

Re: Strava....

Like anything else, it can be and often is misused, abused, and generally FUBAR'd. This is just the latest in a long string of examples. But then people will do what people will do. Don't blame the medium for it's user's stupidity. A hammer is a pretty stupid piece of equipment, and people do some unimaginably stupid things with them. But when you've got a nail that needs driving, I can't think of a better instrument for the job.

Same with Strava. I find it a useful adjunct to Golden Cheetah and Garmin TC to track my own pathetic efforts and create course files. That's about all it's good for, but used for just that purpose, it works fine.

Aside from that, all we've got here is just one more afirmation of Einstein's musings on the nature of infinity.

I think they're driving their cars up the hills!

While usage is growing, I would put strava usage by real racers at faaaaar less than 50%.

I'll admit that I've gone out with my club mates specifically to attack a handful of segments up hills in the SF area and Marin Headlands(mainly). But I don't see how that is different than any other group of friends attacking a hill as hard as they can trying to drop one another. It's mainly just a "hey let's go turn ourselves inside out for fun, yeah?" 90% of these guys are racers, btw - only about 60% are on Strava. Also, this is at like 6AM on roads that have (quite literally) no traffic on them.

Anyway, this garners a massive /shrug from me. Do whatever you want. If you really want to flaunt the fact that you're 'fast', though, it better involve pinning a number.

Example: I have a handful of KOMs and some top 10-25 on highly 'contested' segments (2,000+ riders) in the bay area. I am a lowly cat4, and not a remarkably fast one either. Strava means jack **** for how fast you are, IMO.

This is the 41.

I just realized I should get on Strava just so I can go for some of these downhill segments on one of my 'bents -- the Freds on racing bikes won't stand a chance. I never realized how studly 'bents could be...

True. I suppose the two statements are somewhat synonymous. I spend too much time away and when I come back that realization process starts anew.

Five pages of bickering and we managed to stay away from Paul Ryan jokes? I figured that was the only way this would have gone on so long. I mean, that's more work than Addiction put in today.

We're not that sophisticated. We prefer planetary humor to political humor.

You defend new technology and your analogy fails to recognise the nail gun?

Strava is effin great, this will potentially make it AWESOME!!

Yep. I just can't understand KOMs for flat and downhill segments.

But I take solace in that old saying: Lies, damned lies and statistics.

That's because people are confused as to what the acronym means. The M stands for Molehill...

Perhaps 50 is a little high but just as an example the Pescadero RR in your area last weekend had 20+ riders from the P12 field showing up in Strava including the winner. I think the field size was around 50. Maybe by 'real' racers you mean pros and in that case I agree with you.

edit: and 21/40 of the 45+ masters (cat123)

I like Strava because it shows me how slow I am w/o having to demonstrate it publicly in a race.
Also, since this is the Boulder area, I can see just how fast a lot of well-known racers are.
In fact many of them post their Garmin data when they race the Superior Morgul Classic, (on the old Morgul Bismark course).

That must be it --- it simply can't be that lots and lots of people don't ride in mountains and yet are allowed by Strava to define segments anyway.

For anyone who might actually use the site originally posted I suggest cheating in a game of solitaire instead.

Strava is fun... I like riding my bike, I like riding my bike fast... I know when/how to push it and do so at my leisure. Makes hard intervals that much more interesting and is an incredibly useful tool to track progress. Comparison to others in this context may or may not be useful - but personally I have great fun chasing for a KOM, its a great motivator to push just that bit harder... as such I've gotten crazy stronger and going all out for a strava segments is a major part, its merely an interval. I mean, what puts someone on a high horse for refusing GPS data they can review/analyze/compare? What makes your interval better than mine??? And if you wanna put up fake data that says you went .1mph faster than me in a segment, how can you possibly scoff at ME???? How lame can you be? If me going for/beating my best time or someone elses best time pisses you off... well, in this time I got stronger and you got pissed off at someone who doesn't care.

If I do something stupid and crash, thats my own dam fault. Frankly the close calls and crashes I've been involved with had absolutely nothing to do with strava, they were merely a product of riding on a road/not knowing the limits of my bike/stupid people doing stupid things/me being stupid and not paying attention. I'm not stopping at every stop sign and putting a foot down, I'm not waiting for every green light, I'm not going to go 30mph through a crowded trail either...

Folks can hate it all they want, I'm gonna keep using Strava to motivate my training/find new places to ride/find people to ride with and I am very happy with the results (read: winning an actual race in a solo breakaway and keeping up with/finding the fastest group rides around here).

Its so cool to see pro's race data - even cooler to run through the same segments they TT'd/raced through! Finally getting to where in one segment I can do an interval at the pace the pro's were running as part of a 40k TT (after a 180 degree turn, then ends before another 180 degree turn so its actually a reasonable "comparison")... its fun and challenging... or somehow would it be better if I didn't know how fast they were going, and didn't time myself either????

Take it to P&R, troll.