Author Topic: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?  (Read 8270 times)

Bianchi Boy

  • Cycling is my doctor
  • Is it possible for a ride to be too long?
    • Reading Cycling Club
Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« on: 26 September, 2015, 03:56:09 pm »
Hi,

I have been looking at Strava and wonder if I should pay for the premium version. Does anyone else subscribe, are the extras you get with premium worth anything?

I like what I get at the moment and just wonder if £40 extra a year gets anything else?

BB
Set a fire for a man and he will be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life.

Dibdib

  • Fat'n'slow
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #1 on: 26 September, 2015, 05:22:59 pm »
I don't think it's worth it for me. I think I probably would if I had HR/cadence/power monitors, as I think a lot of the premium stuff digs deeper into that data, but I don't so I don't :)

simonp

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #2 on: 27 September, 2015, 10:26:31 pm »
There are some metrics you don’t get, such as the fitness & freshness curve, if you have premium and have HR and/or power data. I find that interesting more than I find it useful, I would say.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #3 on: 27 September, 2015, 11:13:47 pm »
Personal heatmaps could be fun. To see where you have gone, or to try covering as many different roads as possible.
There are other websites that can make heatmaps for free, but they can be limited or slow to update.

Though I don't think its worth paying £40 just for that.
Strava often have offers for a month free trial, though I think you have to give your credit card details, and remember to cancel it before you get charged.

Pedal Castro

  • so talented I can run with scissors - ouch!
    • Two beers or not two beers...
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #4 on: 28 September, 2015, 07:14:18 am »
I signed up the free trial and cancelled my subscription almost immediately. You still get the free month. Two months later I had another offer of a free month but didn't bother to sign up.

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #5 on: 28 September, 2015, 08:59:49 am »
I signed up the free trial and cancelled my subscription almost immediately. You still get the free month. Two months later I had another offer of a free month but didn't bother to sign up.

Thanks, useful to know.

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #6 on: 05 October, 2015, 09:36:11 pm »
There is a good Google Chrome plugin alternative called Stravistix.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn

dim

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #7 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:11:05 pm »
costs less than £4 a month and you get loads of additional info especially if you add the Stravastix free app

I use strava daily (on every commute ride).... definately worth £4 per month  :thumbsup:
“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” - Aristotle

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #8 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:24:26 pm »
Can't say I have ever felt the need, though I have thought about it out of curiosity.


I was heavily into Strava, Map my ride and Garmin Connect data when I was in my first year of cycling but it quickly got tiresome breaking my legs trying to beat my own personal records.  I'm kind of new again now, having had a few months off - it's a useful training tool to get me going again but I expect it will wear off again.


I like measuring my personal mileage against some of the forumites and other strava connections I have occasionally to see how I measure up but you don't need premium for that.
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

dim

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #9 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:29:25 pm »
There is a good Google Chrome plugin alternative called Stravistix.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn

from what I read, it's an add on to strava .... so you need to use strava to use this app .... not sure if it works on the free version though
“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” - Aristotle

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #10 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:30:57 pm »
You get the livesegments on your garmin with immediate feedback with premium, plus all the analytics I don't use.

I'm using it for interval training on my commute setting up segments with a rest in between. It's good fun.

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #11 on: 09 June, 2016, 10:53:31 pm »
I don't mind paying because I like the service, and they need to make some money. The fitness and freshness tool is really interesting - and for me, helpful in promoting rest days.

I hate live segments - it turns my 520 in to a demented tamagotchi. If you don't mind beeping and nagging, YMMV.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #12 on: 09 June, 2016, 11:52:25 pm »
I'm with DrM -  live segments are a real nuisance, but there's enough else about the service that I consider it worth paying for. YMMV.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #13 on: 10 June, 2016, 05:37:02 am »
Livesegments are optional. Only turn them on if you want them.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #14 on: 10 June, 2016, 07:00:09 am »
I find it odd that people complain about something that's optional - like Live Segments - though perhaps its default setting should be 'off'. I've been a Premium member for some years as I like the stats and analysis, even though I'm not very fast. Combined with Veloviewer (or Stravastix), it's a great tool. For serious training, adding Training Peaks is probably a good idea.

Ben T

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #15 on: 10 June, 2016, 08:27:16 am »
All these complex stats like average increase in standard deviation of heart rate vs gradient are all great but do you actually do anything differently in response to them?


TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #16 on: 10 June, 2016, 10:55:04 am »
No, not really. I probably don't ride enough to make it worthwhile. But I do like stats, and I find it fascinating to have them displayed graphically. I'm also mildly competitive, and occasionally like to have a go at improving on PBs on some segments. At 60, any improvement is a more-than-minor victory!

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #17 on: 10 June, 2016, 11:15:01 am »
I don't mind paying because I like the service, and they need to make some money.
I'm sure Strava make plenty money from non-premium members. They are not a charity.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #18 on: 10 June, 2016, 11:22:41 am »
I don't mind paying because I like the service, and they need to make some money.
I'm sure Strava make plenty money from non-premium members. They are not a charity.
Strava is free to non-premium members. None of them is forced to buy anything from Strava, and I doubt many do.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #19 on: 10 June, 2016, 11:25:21 am »
But Strava make money by selling your data. http://metro.strava.com/
They want as many users as possible uploading their rides, even if the users are not paying anything themselves.

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #20 on: 10 June, 2016, 11:48:42 am »
Yes, they do - and in time I've no doubt that'll represent the majority of their income. But, unlike Farcebook and Twotter, they don't exploit your contacts, friends, relations, workplace, thoughts and prejudices, nor do they ram advertising down your throat. I reckon the exchange is a fair one.

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #21 on: 10 June, 2016, 01:17:40 pm »
But Strava make money by selling your data. http://metro.strava.com/
They want as many users as possible uploading their rides, even if the users are not paying anything themselves.

Strava have salaries and fixed costs.  These need to be paid somehow.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #22 on: 10 June, 2016, 04:22:11 pm »
Obviously Strava have costs. My point is they have income from a variety of sources, other than premium subscriptions. Strava refuse to say how many members they have, and how many of them are premium.

Don't know if they are actually profitable anyway, or are they still burning through venture capital...

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #23 on: 10 June, 2016, 05:25:24 pm »
At 60, any improvement is a more-than-minor victory!

At 74 even more so! Enjoy your relative youth.

I too enjoy the stats.

simonp

Re: Strava Premium - Is it worth it?
« Reply #24 on: 10 June, 2016, 06:03:45 pm »
I'm paying for TrainerRoad, TrainingPeaks and Strava Premium. They all manage to have things I want that are missing from the others. If I was to ditch one it'd be TrainingPeaks.