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forum
Strava or Komoot?
(I realise this may have been done before, but I can't find a forum search facility and I'm not searching years worth of threads).
So, which do you prefer and why?
I'm currently paid up for a year on both. There are features on both sites that I like and dislike and both do things better than the other. I'm interested in what others think in order to help me decide which one I should stick with in the future.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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17 comments
I only use Strava to record rides.....route planning on Plotaroute...you can then check the route on kml (Google streetview) and share to ride buddies in multi GPS unit formats
Thanks for the replies, it appears that I'll just have to see which I end up preferring. There is one related issue that someone might know a solution to: a problems I have with Strava is I haven't figured out how to import a GPX file into Strava for a route I haven't done yet, I tried the obvious option but it was rejected due to having no riding data... any ideas?
Don't worry, I've found out. For those who don't know how to do it, this video explains exactly how to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOoHaeXUFac
Maybe i'm missing something but why are you uploading an un-ridden route to Strava as an activity ? Adding one to something that guides you actually riding it, or to plan a journey, yeah, but as you already have Komoot (and can use other free options) it seems a little bit face about arse.
If you just want to use the GPX for Strava route planning you can use the Strava Labs tool
https://labs.strava.com/gpx-to-route
That's invariably the case.
People often ask these "best bike for £xx", "best tyres" type questions hoping for a simple answer. But everyone's experience, needs and preferences vary so widely that it's impossible to come to a simple yes/no type conclusion.
And even if 95% of us choose one option that doesn't mean the other 5% shouldn't continue to prefer the alternative.
I use both as they each have different strengths and weaknesses. Neither is perfect (I might get around to developing my own at some point in the future that addresses my own wishlist).
Strava
Good
- Heatmaps
- Post ride/fitness analysis and planning
- social aspects
- segments, leaderboards, etc.
- You can get inspiration checking out other riders on daily segment leaderboards and/or flybys and easily import their routes to the route planner.
Bad
- route planner doesn't support turn by turn navigation when syncing with my wahoo GPS
- limited choices of mapping layers
- route planning often picks major roads as they are more popular than quiet lanes plus has little to no idea about hills and terrain when suggesting routes
- hard to edit routes, change start/end or re-order waypoints
Komoot
Good
- details road types and terrain on routes.
- routes automatically based on cycling discipline (although this is far from perfect)
- better route editing capabilities than Strava (changing start/end, rearranging waypoints, etc.)
- turn by turn navigation when syncing with my wahoo GPS unit
- lots of map layers to choose from (when on desktop or premium)
Bad
- Routes can sometimes lead to unexpected hike a bike sections or tricky to follow trails (especially for touring/gravel disciplines)
- mapping layers not available on mobile app unless premium.
- Highlights could do with more categorisation
- no real segment functionality
- hard to use for route discovery
- climbing/descending estimates on routes seem pretty inaccurate
- whilst still better than Strava for off road route route finding - doesn't show rights of way beyond footpaths particularly well. Would be good if integrated with local council rights of way maps.
I usually end up using a bunch of tools for route planning and cross reference them. Typically Strava for Heatmaps and discovering new routes from other riders, Komoot for planning it and looking at terrain and POIs, OS for terrain, Google maps for POIs, local shops and cafes and local council maps for rights of way.
Thanks James, so far this has been pretty much my experience and my way of using the apps... i.e. cross referencing. As I'm fairly new to these apps, I'm just trying to find out if one is thought to significantly better than the other. It appears most other are in agreement with your conclusions, both have their pros and cons.
I think this is a bit like comparing apples and oranges.
Komoot excels at route planning and is more useful for MTB & gravel riding. The new privacy options finally mean I can start using it a bit more like the social network it's designed to be. I really like it. It also doesn't cost me anything because I've got my local area and that tends to be the only place I ride, particularly at the moment. I'd like to be paying them something because I really like the app and their approach but none of their subscription plans make sense for me.
Strava excels at improving your fitness due to the segment leaderboards. I find they keep me motivated and encourage me to ride. The new Local Legend feature is really good for this too as its a way for average riders to have a bit of competition. I re-subscribed earlier this year after they changed their business model and I think I'll be a subscriber for a while. I'd really miss segments in particular, and beacon is useful too now that I'm doing more off-road riding.
I don't share your enthusiasm for Local Legends, I inadvertently became a 'legend' after riding a segment 3 times in 90 days.
Other segments are obviously on commuter routes and have got 80 rides for legend status.
Also it's easy to game, if it means anything to you. There's a short segment just out of my privacy zone that I could ride several times a day if I was interested.
It's harmless but I don't get the point.
The whole point is for the 80 rides commuters who will never get a KOM on those routes becayse their average is 12mph. Something to celebrate continued riding rather the fast riding. You can easily garner KOM's if you create the specific segments if you wanted.
Or, cynically, the whole point is to get people to record their commutes thereby giving Strava better heat maps which they can then sell on...
You are probably correct as well but as I record any ride, for me it would have been the commutes segments that would have been all of mine before the end of days started.
Agreed. There is a segment I'm in danger of getting the "legend" moniker for but it's only nine rides. Others are run into the high tens and that would just mean you're riding the same route over and over again. If it's not your usual commute, it just means your not getting the most out of riding a bike, in my opinion. Riding is about discovery. Get out there and mix it up!
I think if you've got both for a year, seeing how they work for you is going to more use than any number of other people commenting. But I've got Komoot (one off charge to unlock maps, hadn't realised until now there was a Premium option) for planning rides and walks where I want some navigation, and free Strava for tracking fitness, or at least whether I'm keeping up some level of exercise, on familiar bike routes (like my commute, back when I had a commute), and for running and stationary workouts (bike trainer, kettlebells, rowing machine).
Agreed - it totally depends on what type of riding you are doing. If you are always going around your local area, there isn't much need for Komoot.
I have the free version of Strava because I'm not that interested in my position on the leaderboard - I'm always going to be somewhere around the middle. However I can still compare against my previous times to see if I am getting fitter. I also get to see what routes my friends are doing.
I pay for Komoot because the route planning app is excellent if I am doing touring through places I don't know very well. And I think it is good value.
I use komoot for planning routes as it works well with my lezyne GPS but Strava is my go to app for viewing rides and seeing what rides friends have done. I also use Strava for the occasional run I might go on