Strava is a website and mobile app used to track athletic activity via GPS. Its slogan is "The Social Network for Athletes". Its headquarters are located in San Francisco, California. The most popular activities tracked using the software are cycling and running.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Features
There are a number of features available which include the ability to search the database for routes and athletes.
Athletes can "follow" each other and activities are automatically grouped together when they occur at the same time and place (for example, taking part in an organised marathon/sportive or group run/ride). Athletes can give "Kudos" (similar to a Facebook Like) and comment on each others' activities, and upload photos to activities.
The site has aspects similar to other sites like MapMyRide or Ride With GPS. The basic service is free but an optional pay component allows access to additional statistical detail. Members include both amateur and professional athletes, whose profiles include an orange "Professional" badge.
As of March 2015, there are an estimated 1 million active users and around 200,000 premium users.
Bike App Strava Video
Activities and segments
As of July 2014 the list of activity designations include:
- foot (run, walk, hike)
- ride (cycle)
- swim
- ski (alpine, backcountry, cross-country, Nordic, roller, snowboarding)
- skate (ice, inline)
- surfing (surfing, windsurf, kitesurf)
- boating (rowing, kayaking, canoeing)
- crossfit
- rock climbing
- stand up paddling
- gym activities (elliptical, stair-stepper, weight training, yoga, workout)
The software provides a ranking of times on route segments, including top male and female performance. The current top male and female athletes for each section are awarded King of the Mountain (KOM) or Queen of the Mountain (QOM) respectively. There is ability to comment on, and give accolades on, performances. However, activities can be kept private and therefore kept unseen by other members. Depending on map zoom level, the most popular segments will be displayed on geographical search.
Challenges
There are additional features including periodic challenges which usually challenge a member to run or ride a certain distance in a certain number of days. If the challenge is successfully completed, the member will receive a badge that can be displayed on their profile page. Some challenges also offer the ability to purchase special prizes upon completion. Strava also offers members the ability to suggest new features.
Run challenges tend to be focussed around a typical race distance, such as 10km or a half marathon. Run challenges also include challenges for climbing a certain amount during a month for a different badge. Ride challenge differ slightly, although they too offer a badge for climbing a certain amount in a month. The 'Gran Fondo' challenge is awarded if a user completes a certain distance in one ride over the course of the month. There are conditions - such as the distance must be completed in one activity, and in a single 24 hour period. The distances reflect summer in the northern hemisphere as follows: January, February, March, November and December are 100km; April, May, June, September and October are 115km; and July and August are both 130km.
Both Ride and Run also feature a challenge for cycling or running a certain distance each month, which accumulates the distance of all of your activities through that calendar month. Along with the climbing challenges, user get awarded 25%, 50%, and 75% badges along their way to completing this challenge.
Premium features
Strava Premium features include "suffer scores", powermeter data, filtered leaderboards, the ability to set goals, and see live where the athlete stands in relation to the King or Queen of the Mountain on a specific segment.
Data
Various aspects of logged activity include:
- route (plan view)
- elevation (net and unidirectional)
- speed (average, min/max)
- timing (total and moving time)
- power/energy
Performances can be uploaded from GPS devices (Garmin, Polar, Suunto, Tomtom, Fitbit, Microsoft Band, Soleus, or Timex), a mobile device through the Strava app (iPhone or Android), from a file or manually.
Strava can import and export GPX format files.
Datasets gathered by Strava are available to other services. Aggregated GPS logs of Strava users help design bike traffic solutions in cities through the Strava Metro initiative. Strava Slide is a fork of iD Editor for OpenStreetMap, which allows map editors to draw roads and trails more accurately using the same aggregated and anonymized GPS data. Cycling and running traffic may be monitored by everyone on the Strava Heatmap page which shows a global heatmap.
In July 2015, Strava switched to MapBox maps and imagery, based on OpenStreetMap data. Strava allows users to report issues with the maps, which are linked the OpenStreetMap editor so that users can contribute improvements to the map.
Strava art
Strava users have used the GPS track feature to mark out words or images using street networks.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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