Strava breaks DCRainmaker

Macy0161 · 17-01-2023 02:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120118957#Comment_120118957

I use the the Strava heatmaps with Ride With GPS OSM and Satellite view to try to assess whether sections are rideable. rwgps isn't perfect either - I do a lot of route planning with "Walking" selected as it won't let me "Cycle" some of the most commonly used trails around me!

seanin4711 · 18-01-2023 09:48AM

well thats me cancelling Strava!

oh wait I am on free Sub!

benneca1 · 19-01-2023 02:36AM

After watching ditched my Strava account paid that is, I already have Kamoot, ride with GPS and Trainer road asked myself what I was getting and couldn't see it

JMcL · 20-01-2023 03:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120110916#Comment_120110916

I signed up for a years sub with 2 extra free months in January last year, but what I noticed when I logged in is that I've been flipped over to being billed monthly. I've until the end of February to make up my mind, but if I was very honest with myself, I make very limited use of the premium bits other than using it as a training log (certainly not challenging for any KOMs!)

magicbastarder · 20-01-2023 03:49PM

i currently see this:

Subscriber since 6 April 2017

Your annual membership will renew on 7 May 2023 for €59.99

jamesd · 20-01-2023 04:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120134653#Comment_120134653

I think the new price if charging will show closer to the renewal date, mine says June. I have gotten the last 3 years free with the strava bug a few years ago where you could gift a strava sub purchased in Brazil so I bought 3 at the time.

retalivity · 23-01-2023 07:39PM

Ireland wasn't initially listed as one of the countries that is changing, funnily enough. It was mainly the UK, France, Germany, Canada and the US.

Mines due for renewal at the start of April, still says €59.99/

magicbastarder · 24-01-2023 11:17PM

just got this in an email from strava:

Strava + FATMAP: A match made for adventure

Bring your trail and winter sport dreams to life like never before now that the FATMAP app is part of Strava!

FATMAP’s high definition, 3D satellite views of the routes you’ve explored (and the ones waiting to be discovered) will be available on Strava in the coming months.

And if you want even more – like drawing 3D routes of your fave slopes, trails or streets – a Strava subscription will get you access to allllll of FATMAP’s best features soon.

We’re stoked to keep bringing improvements to Strava to inspire you to get out there. Check out FATMAP here and keep your eyes peeled for more updates.

JMcL · 25-01-2023 04:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120153570#Comment_120153570

I think they're losing the plot at Strava - first the nonsense with pricing, now they announce an integration with something that won't accept authentication with Strava credentials. They might have wasted the limited amount of curiosity I had about it

Paddigol · 25-01-2023 04:42PM

Yo!!!! Tech bro!!!!! "stoked"?? Gimme a break. Who do they think they’re kidding!? How many corporate heads did that carefully crafted release have to pass I wonder… I doubt many of them are familiar with the concept.

They lost the plot around the time that they thought the height of a global pandemic/ lockdowns was a good time to pull a huge amount of features from the free version with the aim of forcing people to sign up to paid subscriptions. Just completely brain dead, ill-timed and woefully communicated stuff. Its not the principle - no problem paying for something that has value or that you need and use - it's the way they go about things that alienates them for me.

magicbastarder · 25-01-2023 05:14PM

the act of removing features from the free option may have been sensible; they clearly offer a free option to get people using it, and to act as a lead in to them subscribing (very few people would sign up for a paid subscription without having used it first for a period), but if you make the free version too feature-rich, you're giving people reasons to not bother stumping up. there's a balancing act there in terms of how much is optimal for them to offer, and i suspect they decided they were offering too much.

if i was them, i wouldn't have been worried too much about customer loyalty from a section of their customer base who hadn't actually paid for the service.

magicbastarder · 25-01-2023 05:20PM

oh, and 'forcing people to sign up' - sod that, no one was forcing anyone to do anything. either pay up, or just accept that you're still getting a free service.

Paddigol · 25-01-2023 05:40PM

I've no intention of arguing the toss on the meaning of 'being forced to do something'. You're of course welcome to your view of how Big Tech should treat customers, but I'd have thought that a slightly gentler approach with staggered pull back of features, flagged in advance, possibly not at a time when most of your customers were relying on a bit of outdoor exercise to maintain sanity in a pandemic, might have achieved the same commercial result for the company without alienating a (sizable if online commentary then/ now is anything to go by) chunk of them.

By way of example. I signed up to Spotify. Used the free version for about a year. Was aware of what the paid version offered (didn't need to actually experience/ try it to be able to make a decision) and decided it was worth taking the plunge on the paid subscription. Spotify communicate clearly. There aren't constant changes. They couldn't care less about me and just want my money, but at least they don't make it as obvious as Strava. Strava seem to want to make people realise how little their monetised features are needed.

Worth also bearing in mind that Strava was built off the back of free user's data as well as paid subscribers.

As I say, my gripe isn't with Strava deciding to monetise their features. Its the way they go about dealing with/ communicating with their customers.

JMcL · 26-01-2023 01:48PM

I'd agree with both trains of thought. As they're probably answering to VC overlords requiring double-digit growth they have to generate revenue someplace. I do appreciate that my eyeballs have never been poked out by crass ads (I do accept the the challenges are ads by another name - but they're in line with the product and don't rankle as much). What does rankle however is that when they made the big push on paid subs, they had this "well, we know it hurts, but wait to see all the cool stuff we've got coming". I'm still waiting, and something aimed primarily at skiing freds ain't really it.

As regards a taster, I do like the approach taken by the likes of Flickr where you've got full access to most of the site features, but only your last 200 photos will be visible on the free layer.

nicksnikita · 26-01-2023 11:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120160250#Comment_120160250

"skiing freds" 🤣

Mr. Cats · 15-02-2023 08:35AM

Seems strava are providing a discount if you email their customer service

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/02/strava-ceo-michael-horvath-resigns-company.html

magicbastarder · 10-05-2023 09:51AM

just noticed on my bank account that i've a pending transaction from strava, for €59.99 - so no price increase for me?

JMcL · 10-05-2023 12:45PM

Cancelled mine as well. They'd flipped me over to monthly payments despite having signed up for an annual sub - probably something to do with it having been a black Friday offer of 2 free months.

Their stupid system of not allowing subscription type be changed without actually cancelling the old sub first must be losing them customers. It certainly lost me - when I had to cancel it anyway it gave me pause to think did I really need it anyway? Otherwise, I'd have probably just changed my sub back to annual and ran with it.

Also bizarrely I'd have expected a "We're missing you" email or somesuch, but nada, so customer retention isn't their strong point. It's not that I'm expecting them to send out offers of discounts (I read an interesting article recently that these will be thin on the ground in general as all the "free" money is no more), but even just the "Look at all the great stuff you're missing" kind

casion3 · 10-05-2023 09:03PM

Mine went up to 79.99 or something.

Due to expire in Aug so cancelled.

I think if I sign up again it will be 59.99

JMcL · 11-05-2023 04:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120580874#Comment_120580874

Showing as €59.99 for me annually. Interestingly, they jacked up the monthly price. Before I cancelled it would have renewed at €7.99, but current price is €9.99

Steve SilverMint · 30-05-2023 08:31AM

Just noticed mine has now gone up from 7.99 to 9.99 a month.

Suvarnabhumi · 17-11-2023 07:32PM

Just had a look at Strava to see what my total for the year is so far and it looks like that number is now only available to subscribers.

There wasn’t much left on the free app anyway, but taking away this number is a bit crap.

Anyone else not able to see their total?

cletus · 17-11-2023 07:32PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121381548#Comment_121381548

I use statshunters for all that info now

DeepBlue · 17-11-2023 08:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121381548#Comment_121381548

On the app you can go to your profile and from there you should still be able to see your yearly totals.

Mr. Cats · 17-11-2023 08:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121381554#Comment_121381554

Intervals.icu is great for all the strava stats too

Suvarnabhumi · 17-11-2023 08:38PM

I found it again.

it’s slightly changed as I can’t get to the yearly total the way I used to.

wheelo01 · 18-11-2023 07:42PM

Theres a hacked Android app that apparently gives you some of the premium features free (dont know which ones as I have an Argentine subscription)

If anyone wants it, i can point them in the right direction.

JMcL · 20-11-2023 05:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121381548#Comment_121381548

If you're going via Garmin Connect, they have a decent summary for the year as well (just on the website rather than the app for some unknown reason)

Suvarnabhumi · 21-11-2023 09:26AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121392636#Comment_121392636

I did spend a while looking for my stats on the app 😂

G1032 · 21-11-2023 09:51AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121385217#Comment_121385217

I originally had an Irish sub. Switched a few years ago to a Brazilian sub. Let it lapse this year (August) but now it'll only let me sign up to an Irish sub. I don't get anywhere near 60 euro a year worth so have no intention of signing back up to premium but if I was able to get back on a Brazilian or Argentine sub I probably would. Any idea how I get around this block? No VPN I've tried will work (admittedly I haven't spent too long trying either)

Strava breaks DCRainmaker

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