I recently started using the free version of Strava and now I'm being bombarded with offers to try the premium version. To me, $59/year or $6/mo. are crazy-high prices to pay for just a few more features. I know I could try it for free, but I'd rather not hassle it because I'm fine with the free version for now and I really can't see myself ever paying those prices.

Are you still using the freebie version, or have you opted for Strava premium?

I used the free version at the beginning. It was good as a tracking device of how many miles I was putting down and to check the routes. As I started training with HR and power I opted for the premium version. I like it since I get to check detailed info about my rides as well as how a stack up against people around me. If you are at least a bit serious about riding the 6mo. is worth it. Other sites that are much more detailed but also much more expensive. At the moment Strava Premium does it for me.

what's a strava?

it's a form of suppository that you use to enhance your cycling abilities. The premium version takes suffering to a whole different level.

I use free.

I use Strava free version, and it works fine for me. As the person above says, there are lots of good features in the premium, but you may or may not use them. Personally, I just want to see distance, and where I rode. Speed/pace is not huge for me, but I do peek from time to time at that and estimate of calories burned.

I have a spreadsheet in Excel that I dump all of my daily miles into, it has tabs for cycling, swimming and running. Each tab gives me total miles for the year, and there is an overall total for all events that I can use if wanted.

For me if I used the full array of features in Strava I'd pay for it. As it is now I don't. This means if I put my power/HR/etc data on Strava, basically using them as I use Golden Cheetah (powermeter software for Macs) or WKO (the commercial powermeter software but for Windows). I used WKO first, then when I went to Macs I started using the open source Golden Cheetah.

Since I have everything on WKO / Golden Cheetah I'm not interested in adding yet another task to track my data. My powermeter isn't compatible with any GPS device (wired SRM). If I had GPS integration with my powermeter I'd probably go 100% Strava, keeping everything in one place. For now I do Strava on my phone, power stuff is SRM.

BTW to me $59/year seems quite reasonable, at least for a reasonably serious cyclist. I know that my race license is $70 annually. My race entry fees are in the $30-40 range normally, fuel is about $4/gal (and I might use 4 gallons of fuel getting to/from a race), and that's just for one day of racing/riding. I don't do gran fondos or more expensive races but $50-200 is not unheard of for those kinds of events. I joke with friends about the cost of my trainer rides - if I ride for a couple hours and have a bar or gel or two it might have cost me $3-5 just to ride my bike on my trainer in my house! A lot of the group rides will finish with a stop for coffee/etc. I imagine $6 won't go very far in a month paying for stuff at such a stop.

Again, having said all that, I don't pay for the premium. I also avoid buying coffee out, I don't have cable here at home, etc, etc, etc.

I used the free version for a couple years. I did month-to-month paid over the last couple months (just cancelled it for the winter) - my plan is to get the annual Premium in the spring. At $59/year, Strava Premium is one of the cheapest 'gadgets' I have for my bikes.

I like the comparison feature, you can see where you are falling behind (or getting ahead) on a segment. Here's a screen shot of the comparison:


The black line is mine and the purple is the other guy, I have the lead until about half-way through the segment, he pulls ahead and I start catching him but clearly pull up too early. This feature is really about the competition side of Strava. If you're not into competing for rank on Strava, I see little value in Premium. Additionally, competing on Strava is like competing on Angry Birds, it's kinda fun, but at the end of the day it doesn't mean a thing.

Free

Just remove your saddle it's cheaper.

Free as well.

I've looked at what Premium purports to offer, but I'm not entirely sure I want things like real-time segments. I think about Strava arguably too-much while I ride already. The last thing I need is it blurting out that I just finished a segment and cueing me to look at my phone 10 times pr ride...

I use Veloviewer to further churn my Strava data and, for now, the combination suits me fine.

I use the free version and it's enough for me at the moment. Segment hunting gives me a bit of extra motivation and distance/speed/elevation is all I really need to know as I am sans computer at the moment. You can adjust the email notifications and turn off all the offers that you're receiving to "go premium." Just log into Strava from a computer.

I use the free version, but I also log my miles on my website as a backup. Sometimes my Garmin will have a hiccup, so I'll "lose" miles on Strava, but since I know how many miles that ride is from past rides, I can still log it all on my website.

Some of the premium features look pretty cool but I'm still using the free version.

Thanks for asking the question. It reminded me I wanted to cancel my premium membership. The only thing I liked having was the weekly goals.

I use the free. I just ended my free month of premium early. I only use it log my miles. If I get a HR monitor or power meter (unlikely) I may consider trying premium again.

But for what I do it is sufficient.

What does Strava do that Garmin Connect cannot/does not do?

I had the paid version for 1 year and reverted to the free one. The only thing I miss are the personal heat-maps. If I had a power meter, I would go for the paid version, as the free version does not have all of the fancy power analysis features.

i plan to stick with the free version.

I use a Garmin so between the Free and the Connect I have it all. But then I am a cheap arsse pasty mick.
V

Connects you with people that don't have a Garmin.

I use the paid version because I wanted the HR, power, and other extra features. Plus I do a lot of the challenges so I like the trophy case. I'm a serial money-waster when it comes to cycling so I don't care about the few bucks a month. If I eventually need that money, I'll cancel it and go back to free.

If you're happy with the free version, use it! FWIW, I opted for the premium version before I had a PM because I enjoyed teh free version enough that I wanted to support the service. $60 is less than I'd spend for a nice dinner and drinks with the wife, so it doesn't seem like that much to spend for a year's worth of ad free tracking and a social media site I enjoy.

BB

I stopped using Strava. I found it was wildly inaccurate for their segments and it was starting to influence my rides. If I knew there was a segment coming up I would take it easy just before so I could go all out during the segment. Then my wife would look at a ride and comment about another segment that I just missed, one I didn't know about. I made a mental note to find it and try harder.

I am a relatively new rider, only a few years now, but I like riding a lot more since I stopped using Strava.

That's just me though.

I don't look at speed on my computer, I don't pay attention to where there are segments on rides I'm planning... I do put segments in that are repeated legs for my own rides that I want to pay attention to, but I try to keep it organic.

I did premium just to try it out, may not keep it after a year, but I sort of like the idea of supporting stuff that I want to have continue to exist... I like the app, I think they've done some really cool stuff and good design, so it's a bit of a mitzvah to give them a few bucks to keep the train rolling, given that it's made me more excited about going for rides, and gotten me to push my limits a bit, it's a pretty worthwhile thing for me, even if the premium features aren't THAT big a deal to me.

I just got a Garmin Edge 1000 a couple of months back and have started using both Garmin Connect and Strava for rides. I'm hooked on segments right now. It has given me a new motivation for solo rides. Strava has far more segments and segment competitors than Garmin at the moment. Much harder to get KOM on Strava than Garmin due to this. More of a challenge. And when I can't reach the KOM on a certain segment it makes me happier to use the premium age/weight filter to boost my ranking among peers

I'm currently in the middle of the free premium trial on Strava right now. I love metrics and Garmin Connect and Strava give me plenty to track. The ones I dig from Strava premium right now are the estimated power and energy numbers. They are making me want to invest in a power meter more.

I could be fine with free Garmin Connect and free Strava, but I drop at least $60 every time I walk into my LBS. Spending that one time a year on Strava after it has provided me so much enjoyment seems like a no brainer for me.