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TECH NEWS

Strava launches instant segment times feature

See in real-time whether you nabbed a KOM or beat your previous best

Strava has just released a new feature called Real-time Segments that gives users live performance updates during their ride. If you're a Strava Premium athlete, you can now see exactly where you stack up on a certain segment the instant you complete it, without waiting until you've uploaded the ride to see your results.

Real-time Segments allows you to see the day’s leaderboard on your phone straightaway, so you can see where you stand. So, if you've been targeting a specific segment you can now see in real-time whether you nabbed a KOM or beat your previous best time. 

“Bringing segment times to athletes in real-time is huge,” says Alex Mather, Head of Product at Strava. “It's incredibly rewarding to put out a hard effort and instantly see where the effort stacked up - no more waiting until the activity is finished to see the results. Segment times is just the first of some really exciting real-time features that we have in the pipeline.”

Now available on Android and coming soon to iPhone, Strava athletes can see which of their followers are currently out riding or running. Premium members can opt-in to this feature (it’s “off” by default) and share real-time segment stats with followers. Real-time Segments will also have audio support on popular segments in order to listen to performance updates during a segment effort.

You can download the latest version of the app at www.strava.com/mobile.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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12 comments

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gmrza | 10 years ago
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All the "serious" Strava users I know use Garmins, especially those likely to bag a KOM.

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Low Speed Wobble | 10 years ago
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I love Strava too, but far too many folks are obsessing so much and having their otherwise great rides ruined by their fixation with Strava. I'm telling ya! Ask yourself how your legs feel at the end of a four-hour ride. That's the true way of gauging a ride. Surely.

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therealsmallboy | 10 years ago
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They shouldn't even allow phone-based application users on the leader boards. Half the time they give erroneous results- Plenty of times I've been for a chain gang ride with the club, got back and someone has apparently climbed a hill 20 seconds faster than me even though I was on the front at the bottom and first to the top.

Simple answer, they had the phone app.....

Get a Garmin etc. or don't bother at all.

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dockhill replied to therealsmallboy | 10 years ago
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Too right!

Mind you, there's some really stupid short flat segments where they should also remove Garmin files with "smart recording" on - which can easily miss the true beginning.

Nah, instant KOM on your smartphone. I love Strava, but this is just ridiculous.

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Dave Ody | 10 years ago
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this doesn't help the Strava cause. All that bad PR about people getting killed whilst chasing a KOM - now they make it easier to check while you're riding?

they should concentrate on developing areas around training, fitness and getting better on a bike.

oh and reducing the amount of segments on Box Hill !

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alexholt3 | 10 years ago
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Utterly ridiculous. I don't see why you'd need to sprint for a segment, stop, get your phone out, check your scores, then continue the ride. Just go out there and train properly. This will just make riders focus on getting small segments and not training in an efficient manner.

The live updates for followers is a nice touch though.

Bit confused regarding the audio support - further encouraging riders to use earphones? Dangerous & idiotic.

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Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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They are flagging up recumbent riders KOM's now, because we don't ride "normal" bikes, It just shows their total lack of understanding, a KOM should be UPHILL, where a recumbent rider is never going to get it, because they allow users to make them downhill or on the flat, of course we are going to be challenging them  19

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Metjas | 10 years ago
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live audio support during your effort - brilliant! Let's stream this live through some carefully positioned speakers along the Box Hill route - I'd take the family for a picnic to see the spectacle.  1

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bendertherobot | 10 years ago
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So, now I have to look out for strava riders going hell for leather past me to get that KOM then slamming on the anchors after every segment to check their progress.

Wonderful news.  16

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YorkshireMike replied to bendertherobot | 10 years ago
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At least it saves the embarrassment of showing off your total lack of self-control and chopping a ride in half just to see how you did immediately after a particular segment!  4

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Mr. Rossi | 10 years ago
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They should fix the Android speed bias first.

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sfichele | 10 years ago
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Awesome, though it's likely to drain your phone's battery quicker, as it will be polling the tinterweb rather than only syncing once a ride is finished

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