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New Strava Live offers real-time data as you ride

Updated app delivers live performance information on you smartphone

by Mat Brett

Thu, Jul 16, 2015 12:39

Strava has introduced Strava Live on its updated app, giving you the chance to have more information available to you on a smartphone as you ride.

“Strava Live… delivers immediate motivation to athletes when they need it most: during actual training,” says Strava. “A redesigned always-on display provides live performance data, bringing cyclists and runners another step closer to having one device that suits all their needs.

“All Strava athletes see an array of live activity averages, while Premium athletes will see a display of current speed, pace and data, plus additional data from paired devices, to rival the best dedicated activity computers.”

The ‘Premium’ referred to here is a platform offered by Strava above the standard free package. It costs £3.99 per month or £39.99 per year.

As well as real-time data like speed, distance, power, cadence, time and maps, Strava Live offers customisable settings. The idea is that you can have all the information that interests you displayed on a smartphone that’s mounted to your handlebar.

We first told you about Strava Live a couple of weeks ago when Garmin revealed its new Edge 520. The 520 will be the first GPS bike computer to feature Strava Live Segements while a firmware update will add it to other Edge computers soon.

Strava says that 87% of its users tracked a ride or run on a mobile phone in 2014, and that figure is increasing, so it makes a lot of sense to add more features to the app.

The Strava app is free. The iOS version is available in the App Store and the Android version is available in Google Play.

Strava Live

Strava

Garmin Live Segments

Garmin Edge 520

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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29 comments

macrophotofly | 326 posts | 8 years ago

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edited

macrophotofly | 326 posts | 8 years ago

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Anyone know if you can invert the colours on the screen so its white writing on a black background to save the battery a little?

mrmo | 2091 posts | 8 years ago

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One feature I actually like about strava is the ability to link photos, I can record rides in more than just numbers.

as for leader boards, tail winds, passé, what you need is a 50kmph tractor.

Anthony.C | 274 posts | 8 years ago

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Strava segments are mainly about who has the strongest tailwind, let's be honest. We can only really judge our performance on the climbs.

Demazter replied to Anthony.C | 15 posts | 8 years ago

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Anthony.C wrote:

Strava segments are mainly about who has the strongest tailwind, let's be honest. We can only really judge our performance on the climbs.

Tell that to a certain Mr Cavendish.

Many of the people I know use Strava to analyse the own performance rather than compete against others. Sure the leader board provides some motivation but in my opinion it's not the biggest asset of Strava.

KiwiMike replied to Demazter | 1599 posts | 8 years ago

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Demazter wrote:

Many of the people I know use Strava to analyse the own performance rather than compete against others. Sure the leader board provides some motivation but in my opinion it's not the biggest asset of Strava.

Nail > Head.

Order of priority for Strava: (for me anyway)

Logging miles done
Benchmarking personal fitness against younger self, month-on-month year-on-year over the same routes/segments
Logging bike component wear - when I sell a bike it's the closest thing we have to a full service history
Keeping up with the achievements of others - offering encouragement, and being enthused to get out there meself

I have zero interest in 'comparing' against others, as it's total BS - were they in a paceline, was it windy/wet/hot/cold, were they at the start/middle/end of a short/medium/long/expedition ride, were they juiced/bonking, were they on a TT bike or hybrid, e-bike, yadda yadda.

Anyone suggesting / bemoaning Strava on the grounds it's all willy-waving clearly does not understand Strava, or 'people'.

Lamb Henry | 43 posts | 8 years ago

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Just wish they would add ANT+ support for Android.

HaloJ replied to Lamb Henry | 22 posts | 8 years ago

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Lamb Henry wrote:

Just wish they would add ANT+ support for Android.

Beta testing for the Android version with ANT+ is on the horizon. I don't yet know when but it's soon going by the Beta tester invite I received recently.

Leviathan | 3028 posts | 8 years ago

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Now we can all ride like Chris Froome, staring at our stems.

joebee9870 | 73 posts | 8 years ago

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Great more cyclists too busy looking at phones swerving about the road. Cmon car drivers aint allowed phones while driving so keep your eye on the road not on your segments.

joebee9870 | 73 posts | 8 years ago

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Great more cyclists too busy looking at phones swerving about the road. Cmon car drivers aint allowed phones while driving so keep your eye on the road not on your segments.

KiwiMike replied to joebee9870 | 1599 posts | 8 years ago

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joebee9870 wrote:

Great more cyclists too busy looking at phones swerving about the road. Cmon car drivers aint allowed phones while driving so keep your eye on the road not on your segments.

And today's award for the most uninformed, ill-thought-out and sweeping-generalisation comment goes to...

vonhelmet replied to KiwiMike | 1636 posts | 8 years ago

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KiwiMike wrote:

joebee9870 wrote:

Great more cyclists too busy looking at phones swerving about the road. Cmon car drivers aint allowed phones while driving so keep your eye on the road not on your segments.

And today's award for the most uninformed, ill-thought-out and sweeping-generalisation comment goes to...

It's such a great comment that he posted it in a thread about pumps as well.

Jimbomitch replied to vonhelmet | 165 posts | 8 years ago

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vonhelmet wrote:

KiwiMike wrote:

joebee9870 wrote:

Great more cyclists too busy looking at phones swerving about the road. Cmon car drivers aint allowed phones while driving so keep your eye on the road not on your segments.

And today's award for the most uninformed, ill-thought-out and sweeping-generalisation comment goes to...

It's such a great comment that he posted it in a thread about pumps as well.

Hey give the guy a break, it is really difficult to post the right thread when driving in heavy traffic.

Bigpikle | 108 posts | 8 years ago

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great - more numpties riding along staring at phones all the time now!

banzicyclist2 | 295 posts | 8 years ago

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I love Strava, it made a significant difference to my motivation.

Canyon48 | 1158 posts | 8 years ago

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Prefer the older style, much simpler. Wondering if there is any way to have the older style?..

KiwiMike | 1599 posts | 8 years ago

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Really wish I had Quadlock shares now.

They need to get their low-profile out-front mount released ASAP.

Arguably this makes more sense with an Apple Watch, for the battery savings - you don't need anywhere near that amount of screen real estate lit up. If they could make the screen only 1/4 lit it would be better - also providing the option to invert the colours.

Anas.Z replied to KiwiMike | 11 posts | 8 years ago

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I use the Quadlock universal mount with a 7000mAh battery pack on iphone 6 , a bit heavier compared to my Garmin, but it looks lovely on my stem and lasts quite a few hours