If you're even half-way serious about cycling, you probably use Strava already. As we all know, if it's not on Strava, it didn't happen, right?
One of the great things about Strava was always that you didn't need to pay for it unless you had quite specific requirements - the free version was very feature-rich. Sure, there were upgrade options - Strava called them Summit packs, and there were three, Training, Safety and Analysis, each offering specific functionality. You could also bundle them together if you wanted everything. Plenty upgraded, and got the little orange chevron next to their name, but plenty, myself included, had everything we needed from the free version.
You'll notice that a lot of that last paragraph was in the past tense. For Strava have ditched the Summit packs and moved to a much simpler model - you're either free or you're a paid subscriber, simple as that, with all subscribers getting everything.
Now here's the rub. Strava is not yet a profitable company, and that has to change, I get that. So, to coincide with this change of pricing model, Strava has moved some of the previously free features to sit behind their subscriber paywall. Yes, they're also rolling out new features for subscribers, but let's be clear here, they need to have more paid subscribers and so are making some popular features "premium". Here's a list of what was free that no longer is:
- Overall segment leaderboards (Top 10 view is still free)
- Comparing, filtering and analyzing segment efforts
- Route planning on strava.com, with better maps and support for segments
- Matched Runs: Analyze performance on identical runs over time
- Training Log on Android and strava.com
- Monthly activity trends and comparisons
Now monthly activity trends and matched runs - big deal, can live without those easily enough, and I suspect I'm not alone in that. Similarly, the Training Log... well, that was more useful but, if I'm honest the only thing I used that for was to summarise the previous week's total distance, elevation and longest ride for this blog. And - top tip - you can still get those three metrics from club leaderboards, although they are limited to the current and previous week only, whilst the Training Log lets you go back to any point in your history.
Route planning is another big change. They're softening the blow by saying that their new route planner integrates segments better, and that's great but not enough to make me get out my wallet. Not when ridewithgps.com does route planning every bit as well and arguably better, since it generates cue sheets right off the bat, and talks to my GPS just as seamlessly as Strava, without charging me for the privilege.
The real kicker, then, in the changes to the Strava pricing model is that they make so many segment features subscription only... Strava is segments, segments are Strava. It is Strava's defining feature, what distinguishes it from its competitors. Yes, the Top 10 leaderboards are still visible but for me, and most others, Top 10s are usually out of reach. The leaderboard I was always most interested in was for the people that I follow - how do I compare against my mates, in other words. That's gone now. And in terms of a bigger picture, Top 10s are nice (I do have a few) but realistically I was more interested in knowing if I was in the top 250 for a segment, and I can't tell that any more.
Now there is a partial workaround for this, for now. The Elevate App for Strava is a Chrome extension that gives you a passable training log substitute and also integrates some segment stats into Strava itself, like this:
I really can't recommend Elevate highly enough, it's terrific and integrates seamlessly with Strava, at least when you're using the .com through a browser (it's no help for mobile Strava apps, obviously). But even Elevate is going to change imminently, and it won't be long, surely, before Strava pull up the drawbridge on their API, especially around segments, as they seek to turn users into subscribers.
There is some good news, at least; Strava are giving users a 60-day free trial of the subscription service. Of course, if you forget to cancel the trial before the end then you start paying full whack. And I guess that's the other good news - that "full whack" is only about £4 per month, so falls squarely in the "cup of tea and a slice of cake" price bracket. But if you're already paying for other cycling subscriptions, such as simulation software for your turbo trainer, then all these little amounts add up: £4 here, £10 here. Where does the line get drawn?
I do love comparing segment times with people I follow though... think I might wait for lockdown to lift, then try the 60-day trial. I'll report back here if I do.
