Strava Boards.ie Club

Chips Lovell

If Strava says that it regards segment types x, y and z as hazardous and encourages users to report such segments, people shouldn't be surprised when segments of type x, y and z get reported and Strava decides to block them.

In short, you're expressing surprise at a system working as it's intended.

You then get people creating duplicate segments of ones that have been blocked, without seeming to realise that if they're the same, they're just going to get blocked again by Strava.

I only mentioned it the other day, but it's like Einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

mossym

hueylewis wrote: »

As for what should be deemed dangerous - any segment that's broken up by traffic lights or stop signs just shouldn't be allowed. A segment like that just doesn't make any sense and until Strava starts using more detailed mapping data that includes all traffic signs and lights (so as to automatically disable segment creation accordingly), they need a system in place for people to flag those segments and have them reviewed.
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100% agree, but in that case you have two specific requirements: traffic lights and stop signs that indicate clearly that the segment should be flagged. That's easy to implement because there can be clearly stated requirements that no segments with those features are allowed

hueylewis wrote: »

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I don't think a change in the direction of a road qualifies as dangerous.

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neither do i, but here is the difference, now we're into subjective judgement of danger..meaning everyone is governed by the upper limit of the most nervous strava user out there, or even someone with some crazy reason for not wanting a segment there.

a simple suggestion would be to not give a single user the power to have the segment removed, but set thresholds, at 3 flags strava review, at 5, its automatically removed. that way you allow people to act, but it's a lot tougher to say a segment isn't dangerous if 5 separate users report it.

it'll never happen, but i reckon it would improve things

hueylewis wrote: »

In my experience though, there isn't an epidemic of spiteful people flagging difficult climbs or random pieces of road as hazardous. .

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i wouldn't call them spiteful, but when i see flags like the one i posted previously then i wonder

mossym

and, as far as i know, if you are of the type that really wants to have a segment with a red light in it, set it up, mark it as private and off you go.

C3PO

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

If Strava says that it regards segment types x, y and z as hazardous and encourages users to report such segments, people shouldn't be surprised when segments of type x, y and z get reported and Strava decides to block them.

In short, you're expressing surprise at a system working as it's intended.

You then get people creating duplicate segments of ones that have been blocked, without seeming to realise that if they're the same, they're just going to get blocked again by Strava.

I only mentioned it the other day, but it's like Einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I agree - if a segment is flagged as dangerous then Strava have little choice but to remove it.
My beef is with the people who see it as their "civic duty" to flag segments! Without beating around the bush why don't they mind their own business? I just don't understand the mindset of someone who would flag a descent such as the one from Glencullen to Kilternan! Like any fast stretch of road it is dangerous if you are riding outside your limits but it is a descent that can be ridden fast and safely by an experienced cyclist. Ryan Sherlock will go down it far quicker than I will but I wouldn't assume to judge his riding as dangerous!

Chips Lovell

C3PO wrote: »

Without beating around the bush why don't they mind their own business? I just don't understand the mindset of someone who would flag a descent such as the one from Glencullen to Kilternan!

This is kind of thing I'm talking about actually. Strava has said it regards winding descents as hazardous. You shouldn't be surprised then if it marks them as such.

If you don't want descents marked as hazardous, your beef really is with Strava for classifying them as such.

Darkglasses

mossym wrote: »

and, as far as i know, if you are of the type that really wants to have a segment with a red light in it, set it up, mark it as private and off you go.

It's not quite as good when private segments are only compared against your own efforts, not everyone else's too.

mossym

Darkglasses wrote: »

It's not quite as good when private segments are only compared against your own efforts, not everyone else's too.

might not be, but if someone is adamant they want a measured segment that includes something dangerous then not quite as good may be better than nothing at all, plus they don't encourage others to do silly things

C3PO

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

This is kind of what I'm talking about actually. Strava has said it regards winding descents as hazardous. You shouldn't be surprised then if it marks them as such.

If you don't want descents marked as hazardous, your beef really is with Strava for classifying them as such.

I actually have no beef with Strava at all! If they decide that something is dangerous then so be it! My issue is with other cyclists who feel that they should flag segments because they consider them dangerous.

hueylewis

mossym wrote: »

100% agree, but in that case you have two specific requirements: traffic lights and stop signs that indicate clearly that the segment should be flagged. That's easy to implement because there can be clearly stated requirements that no segments with those features are allowed


neither do i, but here is the difference, now we're into subjective judgement of danger..meaning everyone is governed by the upper limit of the most nervous strava user out there, or even someone with some crazy reason for not wanting a segment there.

a simple suggestion would be to not give a single user the power to have the segment removed, but set thresholds, at 3 flags strava review, at 5, its automatically removed. that way you allow people to act, but it's a lot tougher to say a segment isn't dangerous if 5 separate users report it.

it'll never happen, but i reckon it would improve things



i wouldn't call them spiteful, but when i see flags like the one i posted previously then i wonder

Fair points. Again, I don't think Strava's system is anywhere near perfect and could use some big changes. Your suggestion to move it from 1 person makes so much sense I'm at a loss as to why they only take 1 flag at the moment. More flags, and accountability for the flags would improve it. On the segment page, name the people who flagged it with a mandatory comment from them on why they flagged it? Perhaps they should publicise the function to their users a bit better, in order to get a more consistent and accurate report on segments - more awareness means more people to make up the numbers for minimum flags where necessary, and that minimum should keep away the lone wolf idiots flagging safe ones.

Wishbone Ash

mossym wrote: »

in that case you have two specific requirements: traffic lights and stop signs that indicate clearly that the segment should be flagged. That's easy to implement because there can be clearly stated requirements that no segments with those features are allowed

That doesn'tmake sense.There are hundreds of segments in Dublin with lights, stop signs and a whole lot more and they haven't been flagged.

Take the descent from Howth summit to Howth village.It gets very fast on the steep descent at the church approaching the village with several junctions and lights but hasn't been flagged and it is probably one of the most popular routes in the country.

And what about those very long segments, some running over 100kms? They must have lots of lights and other hazards.

mossym

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

That doesn'tmake sense.There are hundreds of segments in Dublin with lights, stop signs and a whole lot more and they haven't been flagged.

i'm not saying they have. my point was that if you wanted accurate flagging of segments, then making the flagging dependent on the presence of what have been clearly defined as dangerous characteristics, such as a stop sign or red light makes it a lot clearer.

think of it this way. a guard can't give you a speeding ticket cause he thinks you;re driving too fast for the given road, you have to have exceeded a clearly set limit. if a segment exceeds some clearly set limits then it should be flagged as limits.


now, on the point of whether stop signs and lights are dangerous, that's a potentially hot topic. if i thought users would respect them, then they're not dangerous. If strava encourages people to break them even slightly more often than they normally would, then i reckon they're dangerous. and guess wht, i'd find it hard to beleive anyone that tells me that people don;t push the rules a bit more when they're chasing a time
that said i can see the counter argument, for a careful user they're not a dangerous feature.


and I'm not sure what the statement that lots of segments with lights and stops exists proves? their existence doesn't prove whether they are being dangerously used or not, unless i am missing something?

Wishbone Ash

mossym wrote: »

I'm not sure what the statement that lots of segments with lights and stops exists proves? their existence doesn't prove whether they are being dangerously used or not, unless i am missing something?

I thought you implied that Strava actively didn't allow segments with lights and stop signs.

mossym

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I thought you implied that Strava actively didn't allow segments with lights and stop signs.

ah okay, no , not what i meant, sorry for the confusion

gwakamoley

I've been using Strava app for over a year now and up until recently I'd never gotten back from doing a segment to see that Strava hadn't actually taken a time on that segment but it's happened three times in the past fortnight. Has anyone else had this problem lately?

jinkypolly

gwakamoley wrote: »

I've been using Strava app for over a year now and up until recently I'd never gotten back from doing a segment to see that Strava hadn't actually taken a time on that segment but it's happened three times in the past fortnight. Has anyone else had this problem lately?

Most likely GPS drift, were the track has drifted off the road too much and strava interprets it as the segment not being completed. You can contact strava support and they can sort it (usually takes a couple of days) or you can do it yourself using SNAP here. I find GPS drift more prevalent when using my smart phone, not as much of an issue using the Garmin now.

gwakamoley

jinkypolly wrote: »

Most likely GPS drift, were the track has drifted off the road too much and strava interprets it as the segment not being completed. You can contact strava support and they can sort it (usually takes a couple of days) or you can do it yourself using SNAP here. I find GPS drift more prevalent when using my smart phone, not as much of an issue using the Garmin now.

That's a great site, thanks! I've just started using Veloviewer aswell, are there any more good sites like SNAP and Veloviewer that improve Strava even further?

jinkypolly

gwakamoley wrote: »

That's a great site, thanks! I've just started using Veloviewer aswell, are there any more good sites like SNAP and Veloviewer that improve Strava even further?

There was quite a few more but most of them no longer work since Strava changed their API and restricted what sites could use the new version. Veloviewer is pretty comprehensive now and http://raceshape.com/ can be handy, I don't really use any others now.

Wishbone Ash

gwakamoley wrote: »

I've been using Strava app for over a year now and up until recently I'd never gotten back from doing a segment to see that Strava hadn't actually taken a time on that segment but it's happened three times in the past fortnight. Has anyone else had this problem lately?

There's a segment on my commute which I've probably covered hundreds of times but it doesn't register 95% of the time even though my route remains unchanged. Every now and again it registers.

....and a few months back, I threw the kitchen sink at the savagery of the Gap of Mamore and the bloody thing didn't appear! (and it's not exactly a climb I'm keen to revisit).

MajesticDonkey

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

....and a few months back, I threw the kitchen sink at the savagery of the Gap of Mamore and the bloody thing didn't appear! (and it's not exactly a climb I'm keen to revisit).

Simply create a support request with Strava and they'll fix it for you. They've fixed segments for me in the past.

Redskinsdog

Actually, all that climbing isn't good for racing anyway - Basso has his training online and even him as a GT rider living in Italy doesn't climb much more than me!

inc21

jinkypolly wrote: »

Most likely GPS drift, were the track has drifted off the road too much and strava interprets it as the segment not being completed. You can contact strava support and they can sort it (usually takes a couple of days) or you can do it yourself using SNAP here. I find GPS drift more prevalent when using my smart phone, not as much of an issue using the Garmin now.

Nice 1. Thanks for that.

inc21

Pushed on a segment one day only to find later that due to gps drift strava did not record it. Fixed it now in a snap and all is good. And 2nd on that segment by 0.1km/h not bad either.
Thanks again Jinkypolly!

http://app.strava.com/activities/78491803#1582815829

Zyzz

Managed 29th place out of 1313 today..

Only 49 seconds off the KOM and my climbing skills are non-existent so Im relatively happy :pac:

Segment - http://www.strava.com/segments/3756185

AIR-AUSSIE

Found some interesting bookmarklets for Strava Lately:

Tour/Giro Style Elevation graphs
Here's the graph for the Boards 200 2013:



3D Activity Plot:


And change the strava map to use open cycle maps which have more detail and contours.
http://veloviewer.com/mapFlipper

bren_mc

just noticed that Jonathan O'Keeffe's excellent multi ride mapper is back

http://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/map.php

It has a slightly different look to it as it seems to be based on Strava's own new "heatmap" tool. Would have to say that Jonathan's page does it a whole lot better. Strava's own version is pretty much unreadable.

Zyzz

Knocked around 30 seconds off my PR on this tonight, fairly happy considering my climbing skills are non-existent Pretty much stopped pedaling when I hit the entrance to the car park so I may have broken 9 minutes if I had pushed myself..lesson learned

http://www.strava.com/segments/1019696

C3PO

I recently created a few routes in the new My Routes section. I assumed that when I rode the route I would get a time for it on my activity feed but I don't seem to! For example we do a couple of laps of a training route on a Thursday night so I created a route for a lap - but nothing seems to be recorded! What's the point of creating a route if you don't get a time on it?

Cookie_Monster

bren_mc wrote: »

just noticed that Jonathan O'Keeffe's excellent multi ride mapper is back

http://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/map.php

It has a slightly different look to it as it seems to be based on Strava's own new "heatmap" tool. Would have to say that Jonathan's page does it a whole lot better. Strava's own version is pretty much unreadable.

love that tool.
Is there any way to use it (or strava) to show popular routes in a given area? I know you could look for segments and then see how many people have done them and the routes but that is tedious.

Zyzz

The leaderboards dont seem to work when I create a segment anymore I know for a fact a few hundred people have cycled the same segment but most of the time its only me on the leaderboard :"|

Wishbone Ash

Zyzz wrote: »

The leaderboards dont seem to work when I create a segment anymore I know for a fact a few hundred people have cycled the same segment but most of the time its only me on the leaderboard :"|

Try deleting the created segment and then re-create it using one of the others route.