Strava

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Totally addicted to www.strava.com

Adds a whole new dimension of smalk talk-ability amongst your friends with the the KOM features (for uphills AND downhills). Plus a bunch of other great features.

Anyone else on here using it?

[givethepigeye]

Strava has pretty much replaced Garmin Connect for me

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Yeah the only thing IMO that Garmin Connect has over Strava at the moment is that you can download other people's rides to your GPS unit in case you are in a new area and want to follow someone's route.

Heck with Strava's free iPhone and Android apps for GPS enabled phones, there's no reason to even buy a Garmin GPS unit anymore unless you need/want the map function on their higher end models.

[bbense]

Yes, I first heard about it in very negative way. ( Local cyclist died while most likely chasing Strava KOM on a descent. ) So I avoided it for a nearly a year... However, it is addictive once you start.

Even if you never get on the KOM lists, I find the segment tracking feature to be something I've wanted in various GPS training log software for a long time. The power stuff while mostly only slightly better than a WAG, is at least consistent if mostly depressing.

Strava like Garmin Connect tends to overcount vertical footage, but getting accurate elevation gain totals is actually a much harder problem that it appears to be at first glance.

[Particle]

Heard about it recently from a friend, gonna have to give it a try...

[Z]

what the fuck are you people talking about.

[givethepigeye]

Y
The power stuff while mostly only slightly better than a WAG, is at least consistent if mostly depressing.

What is a WAG? I am mostly confused by the power numbers coming off Strava - ride with folks that have Powertaps, I weigh more, ride a bigger gear and beat them to the top of a hill, yet the imputed watts for me are less than what came off their Powertap. I largely ignore the actual # and look at improvement over time. Maybe I just dont understand power as a measurement. But I dont get paid to ride so nbd.

[Dantheman]

What is a WAG?

Wild Ass Guess

If you are heavier and getting to the top faster, you are producing more power.

[givethepigeye]

^ Ahh. thanks - and that is what I thought too.

[Particle]

Holy crap this is the most addicting thing EVAR! I haven't found enough people around me who I know using it yet, but it is awesome for comparing my own ride performance/times.

I tested out some new tires tonight, hoping for a dramatic improvement (way less knobby, supposedly way less rolling resistance), but put in only my 2nd best time against some super fatty knobbies. No reason to take less confident descending without increased uphill speed, so I ditched them and went back to the fats.

[bbense]

Start a Maggots Club ? I doubt we'd catch MBTR in the climbing competition.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Holy crap this is the most addicting thing EVAR! .

haha..welcome Addicting indeed. And once more people in your area start using it, it gets even better/more addicting. As you use it, you'll start to find some bugs with closely related segments...i.e. you'll be on one trail, but Strava thinks you're on a different nearby trail and clocks your time on that one. But this is rare, and Strava is working to improve things. I'm a big fan.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

What is a WAG? I am mostly confused by the power numbers coming off Strava - ride with folks that have Powertaps, I weigh more, ride a bigger gear and beat them to the top of a hill, yet the imputed watts for me are less than what came off their Powertap. I largely ignore the actual # and look at improvement over time. Maybe I just dont understand power as a measurement. But I dont get paid to ride so nbd.

Hmm, a buddy of mine rides with a Powertap and uses Strava and he says that the power numbers are pretty similar.

In your Strava profile, do you have your body weight entered correctly? Enter would you would weigh with consideration to what you wear when cycling (i.e. a hydration pack, cycling shoes, + helmet can add a few pounds). And also make sure the weight of your bikes is entered correctly as well factoring in saddle bag, filled water bottles or whatever too.

The Strava power algorithm isn't perfect...i.e. it doesn't account for headwind (or drafting for that matter), or road conditions, etc. but it's usually fairly close if your weights are entered into your profile correctly.

[Particle]

I'd be down for a maggot club, but I agree with TS that local riders are best comparison.

I don't understand the power thing either. I assume more power = better?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I assume more power = better?

If you're trying to get faster and stronger...than yes, more power is more betterer.

It's simply a measure of how many watts you are churning out.

[Particle]

Cool, I just didn't know if a goal could be to get more efficient with less power + faster times.

MOAR POWER!

[kidwoo]

what the fuck are you people talking about.

You know those ski areas that have those ticket scanners that tell you your total vertical at the end of the day? The mountains where dudes in obermeyer one pieces rip groomers all day on carving skis and then talk shit on how much they skied with their buddies over mint juleps in the bar later....

That.

Only for bikes.

Just wait till these guys here about the vertical plus program at northstar!


I'm kidding. I know all you guys race and this kind of thing helps. I just couldn't help myself with that parallel.

[Arty50]

You know those ski areas that have those ticket scanners that tell you your total vertical at the end of the day? The mountains where dudes in obermeyer one pieces rip groomers all day on carving skis and then talk shit on how much they skied with their buddies over mint juleps in the bar later....

That.

Only for bikes.

Just wait till these guys here about the vertical plus program at northstar!


I'm kidding. I know all you guys race and this kind of thing helps. I just couldn't help myself with that parallel.

I'm hoping Alpine installs one of those next year so I can have vert contests with you.

[kidwoo]

My fartbag for next year has spoilers on the oversized padded shoulders.

You goin down.

[bbense]

Cool, I just didn't know if a goal could be to get more efficient with less power + faster times.

MOAR POWER!

The key thing to measure is Watts per kilo of body weight. At least if you want to be fast uphill... 250 watts for a 50 kilo guy is really good, for a 80 kilo guy, not so much...

Supposedly Lance could do sustained climbs at a 6 watts/kilo.

- Booker C. Bense

[XtrPickels]

Watts/ kg is specifically useful for going uphill. On steep legit climbs a 10% improvement in watts/kg usually equates to a 10% improvement in finish time.

On flat ground, however, pure wattage typical wins the game, which is why climbers tend to suck on flat ground and why TT specialists with big engines (Fabian / phinney) suck going up hill.

I tried to record a ride today and my silly GPS (phone) kept losing satellites.

[AKbruin]

Okay, so this actually looks pretty cool.

Any recommendations for a suitable (yet affordable) GPS? One that could also be used for BC ski tours? (I know nothing about GPS units.)

[bbense]

I have the Garmin Edge 705 and while it's suitable for both a biking speedometer and BC ski tours, I'm not sure it meets the affordable criteria. The cheaper Garmin units are fine for biking, but w/o a decent color map display, they are pretty hard to use as a general purpose GPS for BC navigation.

If you have a suitable smart phone, you might try Strava's apps to get started. They are free.

http://support.strava.com/kb/iphone-...e-app-overview

They have one for android as well.

[Particle]

^ yeah I'm just using my iphone, seems to work fine.

[AKbruin]

I have the Garmin Edge 705 and while it's suitable for both a biking speedometer and BC ski tours, I'm not sure it meets the affordable criteria. The cheaper Garmin units are fine for biking, but w/o a decent color map display, they are pretty hard to use as a general purpose GPS for BC navigation.

If you have a suitable smart phone, you might try Strava's apps to get started. They are free.

http://support.strava.com/kb/iphone-...e-app-overview

They have one for android as well.

That Garmin Edge 705 looks pretty damn sweet. Unfortunately, it is out of my price range. I could probably do without GPS for bc skiing route finding anyhow.

^ yeah I'm just using my iphone, seems to work fine.

I'm trying to avoid the iPhone vortex for as long as I can. This isn't helping.

This one is intriguing though: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerun...1201830&sr=1-1