Rubbish Strava

[Shreds]

I am aware of many people finding Strava to be inaccurate, a poor app and one that is totally inept. Its just a money making app.

More so they rarely correct mistakes their poor algorithms make and dont respond in a timely manner to feedback.

The only real answer is to expose such rubbish and hit them in the pocket…. Just dont use them. There are better alternatives. Worth spending some descent money on upgrading my Garmin. At least it also avoids countless ads and attempts from them to upgrade sub to higher paid for level.

Plus its dead easy to fake rides to get to top of leader boards. Its so obvious of those foolish ones who want to see their name in lights. How many genuine AudaxUK riders live in Brazil?

We know who you are.

Anybody else made similar observations or troubles with Strava?

[De Sisti]

The only real answer is to expose such rubbish and hit them in the pocket…. Just dont use them.

I use Strava and don't pay (them) for the privilege.

[FifeingEejit]

The only real answer is to expose such rubbish and hit them in the pocket…. Just dont use them.

I use Strava and don't pay (them) for the privilege.

Same

I happily pay RWGPS mostly for their fantastic route planner.

It's a Social Network, I expect to be advertised at.

[Genosse Brymbo]

I happily pay RWGPS mostly for their fantastic route planner.

Me too.

[phantasmagoriana]

I ditched it years ago.

[IanDG]

I'm currently on premium for the first time. Will go back to free when my subscription expires.

I don't take notice of leader boards or segments. I only join groups because it's an easy way to see what friends are up to.

Like others I pay for RWGPS, my preferred site for route planning.

[Kim]

It's fine for what I use it for; a convenient way to log mileage and see what other people are doing, and a gateway drug to VeloViewer tiles.

I don't pay attention to the segment stuff, apart from a couple of private segments I use as a benchmark for fitless levels.  Local Legends are just pointless spam.

I don't know what the OP means by inaccurate.  The data's only as good as the device you record the ride with (I rarely use the Strava app).  The power estimates are obviously bollocks, as it doesn't know anything about the bike.

The route planner is marginally useful, in as much as it shows you the heatmap of where the-sort-of-people-who-use-Strava tend to ride.  Not my preferred tool for route planning, but occasionally handy to refer to.

[bobb]

I am aware of many people finding Strava to be inaccurate, a poor app and one that is totally inept. Its just a money making app.

I find the data recorded with the Strava app is pretty much identical to that recorded by my Garmin.

[Feanor]

I am aware of many people finding Strava to be inaccurate, a poor app and one that is totally inept. Its just a money making app.

I find the data recorded with the Strava app is pretty much identical to that recorded by my Garmin.

Same here.

Perhaps the OP needs to clarify what exactly is inaccurate and inept or poor.
(I don't use the app much, just the main website which gets auto-populated from my Garmin and Suunto devices.)

[bobb]

I am aware of many people finding Strava to be inaccurate, a poor app and one that is totally inept. Its just a money making app.

I find the data recorded with the Strava app is pretty much identical to that recorded by my Garmin.

Perhaps the OP needs to clarify what exactly is inaccurate and inept or poor.

Indeed. Not all phones are made equal. I suspect a shite phone with shite GPS could cause issues. Which is hardly Strava's fault....

[Shreds]

A few points of clarification since you all ask.

Strava software is poorly programmed and makes up routes that dont even exist. Why? I have no idea.

If it loses signal at certain points in open countryside when signals are not compromised then I would suggest  they need to use a different satellite network or however they track the signal. Its the algorithm that is poor and must be rewritten to prevent such rubbish data being guessed at.

Plus even reporting incorrect data to them brings no response or acknowledgement.

The argument it has a free version holds no water. I would pay for accurate data as would others so they are shooting themselves in the foot or dont care. I would suggest the latter.

The challenges are pointless and winning brings absolutely no benefit from buying their sponsors over priced  tat. Much rather be seen in club jersey or one that has real meaning or connection to the cycling world. Oh and if anyone wants to know how to be top of their pointless leader boards, dm me and I will let you know.

Thanks to those who suggested alternatives. Hopefully they can gain a bigger foothold and send Strava to where it needs to be….

Oh and if an iPhone 13 or previously iPhone 11 aint good enough for tracking I would like to know what will.

[Kim]

Oh and if an iPhone 13 or previously iPhone 11 aint good enough for tracking I would like to know what will.

A GPS receiver.

[Lightning Phil]

Oh and if an iPhone 13 or previously iPhone 11 aint good enough for tracking I would like to know what will.

You are braver than me, fitting those to your handlebars.

[lissotriton]

Also check any battery saving settings on the phone. They may be killing the Strava app.

[cygnet]

What Kim said

Strava is now my backup on a DIY by GPS. Press record. Put phone in pocket. Take out phone at end of ride and press stop.

So far, no questions have been asked, so I assume its accuracy is good enough to satisfy validation.

If you travel on remote roads/tracks then the triangularisation from phone masts is going to be a bit shit, no matter how "open" the terrain is. But probably accurate enough to show that  you went down that road, and not the "short cut" 5 miles east.

It's a logging tool, trying to be a social media tool.

[Karla]

I dunno, I've been using it for nigh on ten years to log my rides and see what my friends are up to, and I've never had any of your problems.

[quixoticgeek]

I dunno, I've been using it for nigh on ten years to log my rides and see what my friends are up to, and I've never had any of your problems.

I've been using it since 2017 and have also not had any issues. Sure I use my waho to log, which syncs to Strava, but it just works.

Only minor issues I've had are:

- they changed their mapping so stations no longer appeared. I filed a bug report. Stations are now on the map
- the route planner is inconsistent with regard to ferries.

J

[TimC]

Methinks the OP simply doesn’t like Strava and is creating justifications for this position.

Strava is as accurate as the device used to record. Telephone GPS is OK in my experience, but rarely as good as a dedicated GPS receiver - which is generally a bloody sight cheaper than a phone. The routing and route planning facilities are perfectly decent - though I use RWGPS’s far less intuitive (and a lot more expensive) but more comprehensive route planning too. Whether the Challenges are of any interest to you is a personal thing, but I find the regular distance/elevation ones mildly motivating. Garmin and others do much the same, and I think they all do segments these days (and Garmin allows Strava segments on its devices).

Strava may be a bit ‘social media’ but it does a good job - especially if you have Veloviewer too.

[Shreds]

Oh and if an iPhone 13 or previously iPhone 11 aint good enough for tracking I would like to know what will.

You are braver than me, fitting those to your handlebars.

I have no space for todays phone on the bars and also more susceptible to water and physical damage, so always goes in back pocket or saddle bag.

[Shreds]

Methinks the OP simply doesn’t like Strava and is creating justifications for this position.

Wrong.

Been using Strava for over seven years and wish it did work better. But it doesnt and annoyingly lets you down. I am not alone in these observations despite the love for it being shown here.

Also its nothing to do with the phone battery optimisation settings, as it is kept fully charged and have always carried a powerbank in reserve if it gets lower.

The only valid point amongst the replies is about the triangulation that Strava relies upon and yes as someone with professional experience in cartography and IT, that would seem to be where the system falls down in rural areas.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Strava just uses positioning data from your phone - so it is no more or less accurate than that. You can increase frequency of GPS updates, which considerably improves pace data. This is a phone config change, nothing to do with Strava.

My beef with strava is the altitude data. They won't pay for this, so they crowdsource it from devices using Strava, and record in intervals greater than 10m. That's a pretty coarse measurement.

For me, it offers, for free, a way of recording and comparing runs. I don't use it for anything else.

[lissotriton]

Also its nothing to do with the phone battery optimisation settings, as it is kept fully charged and have always carried a powerbank in reserve if it gets lower.

Doesn't matter whether the phone is charged or not. It will probably still be killing apps running in the background, unless you tell it not to.

The only valid point amongst the replies is about the triangulation that Strava relies upon and yes as someone with professional experience in cartography and IT, that would seem to be where the system falls down in rural areas.

The phone may use the phone masts to speed up the first fix, but it does not rely on that for an accurate location. It uses the GPS satellites for that, so coverage in rural areas is irrelevant.
What matters is whether the phone has a clear view of the sky, so carrying it in a saddlebag won't help.

[Lightning Phil]

Oh and if an iPhone 13 or previously iPhone 11 aint good enough for tracking I would like to know what will.

You are braver than me, fitting those to your handlebars.

I have no space for todays phone on the bars and also more susceptible to water and physical damage, so always goes in back pocket or saddle bag.

That is not exactly the best orientation / position to get a good gps signal is it?

[grams]

The iPhone 11 and 13 are (for cycling purposes) waterproof. Mine has been fully submerged multiple times.

[tom_e]

My beef with strava is more the dislike of continuously pushing segments and badges at me.  Not interested, I just want to see what my friends have been up to and use the heatmap.

Unsurprisingly it uses the phone GPS [with cell assistance].  So when my old phone was a bit crappy at GPS so was strava.  The new phone with reliable GPS produces reliable strava.  My phone in a bag or pocket also produces a less reliable signal than held out in front in my hand or a mount.  Mildly annoying, but unsurprising since GPS relies on a line-of-sight to satellites.

I'm not a great fan of strava for various reasons, but the suggestion that they should create their own independent global location mechanism for all the world's phones is nonsense.  Strava are not doing any triangulation themselves.  They are asking the phone OS for location data.

How about taking your phone out of a bag and mounting it somewhere with a clear view of the sky instead?