strava free vs paid feature set changes...

[pasadena]

It's a "Barn Fire" and ripping off unsuspecting old people, it's all kinds of horsecrap and you can spend time posting all about it but you're "too lazy to turn it off" and take a minute to not be a member of it.

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I can't tell you the last time I logged into the site to look at anything. Not friends rides, not rando influencers, not my times on segments. But they're still getting my data. So yeah, maybe I am the rube here.

But "use" is not what I would call my relationship with their Barn Fire of a platform.

[Toddykins]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

The heat map data is nice, but their mapping software makes MapQuest circa 2001 look cutting edge.

And just because everyone rides a specific segment doesn't make it good or useful. Everybody in Charlotte did the airport loop for years on the Saturday morning chain gang. Would I recommend that to someone looking for scenery? God no.

Ugh - I think I am due at least a little more credit than this in terms of sophistication. Of course, the most heavily ridden routes in dense urban areas may not yield 'good' riding.

Let's run through a hypothetical example. Let's say Joe Rider is going to Ovaro to ride the Zoncolan. He doesn't know much else about the area, but wants to fit in at least one additional climb. He turns on the heat map - boom, within ten seconds he is able to identify the switchbacks of Monte Crostis, within two minutes or so of scrolling he finds the Forcella di Lavardet.

Could he have found Monte Crostis by poring over a normal map? Sure, but it would have taken some time. Could he have found Forcella di Lavardet? Not without spending a lot of time poring over a map and other sources.

I have been fortunate to ride all over the world. I happen to enjoy spending hours cross-referencing strava, maps, google earth/satellite imagery, etc - but I have yet to come across a more powerful single tool than Strava's heat maps for identifying good riding. This works pretty much everywhere the world over at this point (just don't go stealing my KOM in Bhutan, ok?).

If you have a suggestion as to what would work better, I am all ears.

[laupsi]

Yea, I’m simple. Strava has many benefits for me, all listed in previous posts here. $60/year, totally worth it!

[Keith A]

I'm expecting that the Strava users out there got an email from the owners today. I see that they are not yet profitable and that their focus is on their subscription service. Here's a snippet of the email...

This focus on subscription ensures that Strava can serve athletes decades from now, and in an up-front way that honors the support of the athletes we serve today. We plan to take what we earn from these changes and reinvest straight back into building more and better features – not devising ways to fill up your feed with ads or sell your personal information. We simply want to make a product so good that you’re happy to pay for it.

Sounds like they will be trimming up items that are free. I honestly haven't even looked at how much their subscription costs, it just seems like everybody wants in on the subscription model.

[ergott]

Meh, I keep it to be social and would kind of miffed to not see some KOM's, but there are so many other ways to work with GPS that are free. I have always been using the free version of ridewithgps for routing anyway. I use WKO5 for watts and training. Now that I consider worth paying for.

Strava is entertainment and I'll continue to use what they offer for free, but I have no plans to pay for premium content.

[rzthomas]

I've derived a lot of value from Strava: looking at and downloading safe, established routes in new places, making connections with other riders (some became super close friends!), and finding ways to motivate myself now that I no longer race.

I'll happily continue supporting them so that they keep their doors open.

[Lionel]

Same here. Been paying since 2013


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[morrisericd]

Cycling Tips had a nice writeup about it today. I will continue to support Strava and others who's content / work I use for free and enjoy.

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/why-...ings-you-love/

[oldguy00]

If all you care about is having your workouts uploaded to strava, then you are probably still fine with their free service.
I rarely bother to look at strava segments. Neither do my friends. Its more just a social platform for us to see what workout everyone did that day.

[Lionel]

I like looking at my leaderboard for segments. Not so much others. Sort of interesting to see how you did on a climb relative to how you felt etc....

[superbowlpats]

Originally Posted by rzthomas

I'll happily continue supporting them so that they keep their doors open.

me too. its cheap and i use it everyday. not everything in life can be free

[FlashUNC]

Already a thread on this subject.

[Vamoots58]

Originally Posted by elefantino

i'm a subscriber. Will continue to be. Hope this sets up strava for a long, successful run.

+1!!

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Already a thread on this subject.

Thanks. Merged the discussions into one.

[Tony T]

So,..... how does all of this affect the Strava Paceline Forum Club?