STRAVA - - - - DELETED -- BYE BYE!

That's quite a flounce, deleting your entire ride history just cos someone took a KOM!

I don't Strava every ride by any means but my ride history on there includes LEJOG, various once-in-a-lifetime rides, a couple of foreign holidays, several Strava Challenges... In amongst it all are about 40-50 KOMs so I fairly regularly get the "uh-oh..." emails. There's always someone better than you out there and surely that's an incentive to try harder, ride further or faster?

A month or so ago, a local rider took a KOM off me. 2 weeks later, while out on an evening ride I thought I'd give it a crack and I got it back. He commented on the ride file to say well done which was nice. Both of us pushing each other to be better. No malice or jealousy, just encouraging comments.

Neither if us take it particularly seriously but it's a bit of fun finding new routes, new riders, using it to get better and to track your own progress. What a waste to go and delete everything just cos someone else went a bit quicker! KOMs aren't the be-all-and-end-all of Strava!

And to all those saying "go and do a race". I still race occasionally and I imagine there are a fair few regular racers on here. And just as on Strava, there's always someone better to inspire me to try harder. Different tools to get the same outcome.

I just use it to track my miles and see what my mates are doing. I stopped caring about KOMs when people kept flagging my rides for beating them. It seems there are a lot of sore losers that take the thing way too seriously out there.

There is a guy who I ride with who is a very good Cat 2 rider who would probably bebetter if he bothered his arse to race more. he regularly sits down in 10-20th place on all the major segments around my way yet tears people apart in TTs and races. I sit a few places above him but he's waaaaaay better than me. Your Strava KOM means nothing.

Of course you can't take KOM too seriously doesn't mean you can have banter with mates over it. Anyone who thinks it's really competitive is deluding themselves BUT if it drives a person on to push themselves a little harder, then it is adding a level of personal competition that isn't entirely a bad thing if that's what drives you on!

It is interesting to me that so many people like the KOM aspect of Strava, and yet they do not seem to enter time trials, where for a couple of quid you can rock up and compare yourself to real people on the same night and get an accurate time.

To me a KOM is a bit silly. I have faster times on loads of sections than people who regularly beat me in races, they simply do not represent a persons ability compared to your peers. Look what happens to a the KOMs if you get a hill climb on a segment. A mega hilly race in our area certainly did interesting things to the leaderboard on a few hills.

Or why go through the trouble of entering a race when you can just go out and do it through strava?

Yes it's not racing but it still competitive

'Perhaps andyp thinks competitiveness in this format isn't legitimate'
correct. Woo, look, I just rode a segment faster than someone else. Who may have been riding it 200km later in a ride than me, into a headwind, and with one leg. We'll never know. Ergo, it's not competitiveness.

'that trying to get KoM on a segment is childish'
not childish, no. Fairly sad.

Why not just enter a race?

Whatever floats your boats, lets not all knock others for viewing things differently. I like Strava, i like it for tracking my own data. Do i need the data? No not really but it provides motivation to see improvements. Is it good to see how you sit against mates/others? It doesnt hurt, shouldn't be taken seriously as plenty of factors determine their and your times.

The important thing here is use it sensibly, dont become a tool in behaving badly on the road just to rank higher up the charts!!

Strava made me faster, so I'm grateful it exists. I expect I'm not the only one. There is of course a whole load of bullshit that comes with it - but like many things, it's a package deal.

Just turn on the privacy options and you don't appear on any leaderboards. Surely the best of all worlds?

Just turn on the privacy options and you don't appear on any leaderboards. Surely the best of all worlds?

Just turn on the privacy options and you don't appear on any leaderboards. Surely the best of all worlds?

ridewithgps and track ..... me - totally stress free

having turned 50 I have defo found that I no can't do what the 25 y.o. on the
club run do

If you're using Strava to compare yourself against others - seriously - then you need to take a good long look at yourself. Just go and pin a number on and actually race them. On the same day, in the same weather conditions, with the same number of km in your legs before the finish line.

It's very good for tracking your *own* progress. But the whole KoM thing...those people who put their 'stats' in their signatures...is pretty pitiful.

Strava's a game don't take it seriously. KOM i got yesterday involved sitting behind a tractor for c6miles*. Is that worse than using a chain gang or waiting for a gale?

*I wonder... what happened to the truck and bike Guy Martin used got to be good for a few segments.

I love Strava. I have 1 KOM (it's a descent). I ride with a bunch of guys and we compare our progress against each other's and poke fun in the comments. I love having a record of my rides, and enjoy pipping mates on a key local segment from time to time.

Thank god I'm not a super fit rider, it sounds like life isn't nearly as much fun.

I think we need a sarcasm alarm.

Guys I was joking
Too easy on here

I think I posted to Strava last year, possibly in spring.

Being the proud owner of 1 KOM now, I peaked at 3 of them, i find it a fun tool for memories, but day to day? not so much.

Use map my ride or endomondo rather than garmin then?

Damn.

If I could pinpoint my form on number of Strava QOMs I would be a happy girl right now. Why oh why won't BC notice me

Seriously though, why don't you just use Garmin connect instead? That way you can ignore those pesky spams and still track your progress!