I think this is likely to be true. My cycling mates are social cyclists who do a few sportives a year as a challenege. They’re not interested in power meters or even HRM but they love a segment.
Investigating “flagged” rides? 
You’ve probably got a load of marketing and PR people in there as well. It won’t just be techies writing code.
Or solving issues and bugs flagged by users. Oh, wait…
Yeah, agreed. But when I compare with the published numbers of other similar tech co’s (zwift being the stated example earlier), it just doesnt seem to stack up. As mentioned, with zwift, they have an entire new engineering hardware team in their numbers that are all now working on creating their own trainers and smart bikes. And then all of the streaming and live events stuff. Our club was meant to be having a head to head battle in a pop-up duathlon zwift event in London just before the C-19 crisis broke out. Zwift were flying in all the people and equipment needed to make that happen.
Strava has nothing like any of that, and yet has 2/3 of the people.
All I’m really saying is zwift seem pretty trim and agile for what they’re doing when I see their numbers (they sacked a whole host of VP’s recently so arent afraid to keen things lean) whereas strava just came across as pretty bloated for what they offer when I saw their numbers in comparison.
I am probably wrong, but it’s at least my perception.
Surely this is like Christmas for Garmin Connect?
I know it’s only £4 p/m, but oddly I think there will be a huge drop off. It’s a real shame as they seem a decent company (from podcast interviews and articles) and have some innovative ideas.
They are keeping the free version though, just restricting a feature that has less value these days, as they are mostly out of reach.
If you do want to use it as a full training log etc. it is a good product, but the problem is they left it too long to do this. The mapping feature could be useful too, e.g. if you want to follow a race route for a recce by yourself.
Garmin is largely limited to Garmin devices for automation, but I know you can files etc.
Jeff
I don’t think numerous sub-4 minute miles by fat bloke takes much thinking about 
1 Like
I’m currently on a free trial - having had Summit/Premium a few times in the past, but never paid for it, there are a few new features that I’m not using.
My thoughts?
Segments - I like them, especially the ability to filter on Clubs and Followed/Followers.
Since easing of lockdown, our club has been setting Segment challenges and doing a “Winner of the Week” - it motivated me to get out on the TT bike and do a couple the other day, which I “enjoyed”
Social - The only reason I went back to Strava. I came off it completely at the start of lockdown, as it was there, begging me to get annoyed at people pushing the limits, or just people exercising when I had a house move to do 
But, I missed seeing what IRL friends, clubmates and you lot had been up to (thanks for the re-add everyone!)
This is the biggest part of it to me - it’s like Instagram for exercise!
Mapping - Nope. Don’t use it. Ride with GPS for me.
Fitness Scores - Training Peaks does this way better.
Beacon - Doesn’t work for me, as my Garmin is too old and my phone battery won’t last if I use that instead.
2 Likes
I got a PR on one of the segments on my ride home last night, so out of idle curiosity I had a look at the all-time leaderboard for that segment. It’s southbound over Vauxhall Bridge, about 300m long, a bit uphill for the first half and downhill fo rthe 2nd half.
Apparently, the guy with the KOM averaged 180km/h for the segment 
. The next 4 guys all averaged over 80km/h 
.
They all “look” like bike rides with normal overall average speeds, but must have hit some sort of a GPS glitch that’s seen them appear to ride over Vauxhall Bridge at warp speed
When did this change???
“Was this the first time you completed the segment or best effort distance? Achievements are only generated on top 10 leaderboard results if you have completed the segment or best effort more than once. They do not appear for first time achievements.”
I can still see segment leaderboards and filter by club/following and I haven’t paid.
Same, which surprised me 
I looked to see if there was a date on the announcements for when this would actually happen but couldn’t see anything, maybe it hasn’t actually gone live yet.
DCR post on it said “effective immediately”, but that doesnt seem to be the case. Unless it’s because I havent updated my android app, and am still in the same chrome browser window as at the start of the week (as I never shut down my work laptop … much to my IT dept’s disgust)
1 Like
You probably just ‘shut it’ like I do!
On my phone is now Saying segments are subscriber only.
Yep, just changed today.
I can see the all-time top 10 and my position, but any names either side of mine outside the top 10 are blanked out.
I can’t see the daily or YTD leaderboard.
More importantly, I can’t see how the people I’m following did on the segment. That’s pretty much what I used them for, to benchmark against the guys a train with and/or to throw some shade at them for being fat or unfit when I finally beat them.
1 Like
yeah same. Especially now i’m back on the bike, All my times are from years ago, whereas i know the friends that i should be near, the ones i should be beating and the ones i should be chasing. I’ll neevr get near a top 10 on a cycling segment, so that’s pointless to me. Running is fine, as any decent segment in my local that i have targetted i’m normally in that top 10.
The other annoying thing is seeing how well i’ve gone up a particular segment. I can now see the times i did it in, but can’t link to my own ride when i set that time. So i’d have to go and search for it manually. Rather annoying, but, at least at the moment, it’s not going to drive me to sign up to them.
That’s the only bit I’m going to miss, I’m not bothered about anyone else’s times but comparing my own either by segment or matched runs/rides is a bit of a pain. Still not interested in paying just to get that back though.
1 Like
Exactly the same to me. Segment analysis globally has never interested me. My own performance has. I can replicate that on Garmin Connect I think … probably better, as won’t be swamped by all the crappy other segments people have created
Edit - can’t seem to find a way to create new Garmin segments now. Old one’s I created are there, but not ability to create new ones
Edit2 - figured it out. You have to deselect strava segments on GC mobile. Then the ability to create new segments on GC web shows up
3 Likes