4 ms·

Garmin Connect is so much better than Strava it's not even close. The only reason I could possibly imagine preferring Strava is if I desperately need my social

by mdoms 5y ago

Garmin Connect is so much better than Strava it's not even close. The only reason I could possibly imagine preferring Strava is if I desperately need my social circle to be aware of my every workout. For those of us who do this for ourselves and not the approval of our peers Strava is miles behind.

adam-_- 5y ago
Maybe it’s just what you know but every time I’ve used Garmin Connect it’s felt like a dumpster fire compared to Strava. Even for route planning (years ago) which I would not say Strava is fantastic at, it still seemed worse. YMMV
- asdff 5y ago
  Are any apps at all actually good for route planning especially on a bike? It seems like that this is something in software that just sucks. I don't even bother anymore, I open up a topographical map and figure out routes by hand. No more turning left across six lanes from a stop sign. No more route thats "mostly flat", aside from the 400ft of undulating terrain that saps you. No sharing the road with semitrucks that go 50mph and are actively trying to force you off and into riding on the sidewalk. No more surprises. All this planning turns things into a homework assignment, but its worth the investment for points of interest you regularly are going to.
  - jamincan 5y ago
    I use ridewithgps.com, but rely heavily on my own local knowledge to avoid problem areas.
  - Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
    https://cycle.travel/map https://cycle.travel/map Disclaimer - my site. It’s very focused on quiet routes, so will generally prefer a hilly road if the alternative is a traffic-infested one. Europe/North America/AU+NZ only at present.
    - sastraxi 5y ago
      Really impressive site, thanks for sharing it! Bonus: I'm just used to sites not having data / support for Canada; this was a pleasant surprise. UX observation: clicking to create a start and end was relatively intuitive, but it took a while to find "Close route" to reset it (and be able to click for start / end points once more).
      - Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
        Interesting point - thanks! There's an (X) button to close the route but maybe I should change the icon to a trash can or similar...
    - cheeze 5y ago
      This is good. Guessing you're already ahead of me, but a feature that I find super useful in competitors is an elevation map of the route after I've selected it.
      - hedora 5y ago
        It has that, in the hamburger menu. (Also, an alternate route button!)
    - InCityDreams 5y ago
      Checking it out...thanks,
    - rich_sasha 5y ago
      Great! How do you determine quiet-ness? Is it just by the grade of the road, or do you have some kind of data feed for quietitude? E.g. in the UK, some A-roads can be very quiet despite being technically major, whereas some B-roads or even ungraded can be very busy, e.g. if they are used as shortcuts.
      - Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
        It's by historic traffic data where available, defaulting to road class if not. (Before I added the traffic data, it used to route over rough mountain tracks in the Highlands to avoid A roads...)
  - hondo77 5y ago
    > Are any apps at all actually good for route planning especially on a bike? No. Google Maps directions for bikes is a good start but you have to take the routes with a big grain of salt (even with that Google is still better than every other app I've tried). I street view the route to make sure there's a least a good shoulder and re-route appropriately.
  - mattmichielsen 5y ago
    I've been really happy with ridewithgps.com for route planning. I do sometimes have to go to other sites for areas I'm more unfamiliar with. It syncs any routes I make automatically to my Wahoo GPS, and gives me options to share with others on that platform.
  - cheeze 5y ago
    Komoot is by far the best IMO. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. My workflow is 3 monitor setup. Komoot in the middle, actually planning the route. Strava heatmap on the left to see where people often travel in an area. Gmaps on the right to see streets and street view. It's still a pain to plan, but it's _so much easier_ with komoot.
  - InCityDreams 5y ago
    komoot.com Used by ultra-racers to plan multi-day events. My only problem is, that when I select 'road ride', it tries to get me on a bike path. That would be a good thing for some people.
notacoward 5y ago
That's a very negative view of why people want to share on Strava. It's not all about ego. Sometimes it's about motivation, in two ways. I try to track my own times on various segments to see how well my training is going, and sometimes challenge myself to beat those times, because that helps me increase route variety and that helps me keep going. (I don't actually like running so much as I like having run BTW.) Garmin Connect's equivalent of segments is a barely populated wasteland by comparison (though I do like the pace-color-coded display more than Strava's so I usually look at both). Even more importantly, Strava is a platform where friends can encourage each other, and celebrate each other's accomplishments. I greatly appreciate the "kudos" I get from others, and that was especially true after I had a setback some years ago. I have a friend right now who had an even more serious setback, and I'm glad I have a way to support him as he logs his rehab activities. It's the only forum where we're connected (he's not very online the way I am) and it enriches both of our lives. I know a lot of people think Strava is just about getting KoMs to satisfy ego. I submit that it's often projection or bitterness from people who don't get what they want out of it. Seems like a miserable way to be.
- johannes1234321 5y ago
  > I greatly appreciate the "kudos" I get from others This was once nice for me, but at some point it was obvious that many simply kudos everything. However for a while it was quite a motivation to go, just to keep the public image of myself active. ;)
renewiltord 5y ago
Curious HN phenomenon: Describing reasons for behaviour as different from some hypothetical human with undesirable traits. This one: 1. I don't use Strava because I am doing things for myself and not the approval of my peers I shall shelve this along with my other HN faves which are (paraphrased): 1. I am remote because unlike everyone who goes to the office I have a life with hobbies and I don't like having friends only from work 2. For those of us who own a phone for productive reasons and not for social "clout", iPhones are terrible 3. If you want to do work and not just sit around in coffee shops posting about work, you would avoid a Macbook Very enjoyable.

by mdoms 5y ago

adam-_- 5y ago

Maybe it’s just what you know but every time I’ve used Garmin Connect it’s felt like a dumpster fire compared to Strava. Even for route planning (years ago) which I would not say Strava is fantastic at, it still seemed worse. YMMV

asdff 5y ago
Are any apps at all actually good for route planning especially on a bike? It seems like that this is something in software that just sucks. I don't even bother anymore, I open up a topographical map and figure out routes by hand. No more turning left across six lanes from a stop sign. No more route thats "mostly flat", aside from the 400ft of undulating terrain that saps you. No sharing the road with semitrucks that go 50mph and are actively trying to force you off and into riding on the sidewalk. No more surprises. All this planning turns things into a homework assignment, but its worth the investment for points of interest you regularly are going to.
- jamincan 5y ago
  I use ridewithgps.com, but rely heavily on my own local knowledge to avoid problem areas.
- Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
  https://cycle.travel/map https://cycle.travel/map Disclaimer - my site. It’s very focused on quiet routes, so will generally prefer a hilly road if the alternative is a traffic-infested one. Europe/North America/AU+NZ only at present.
  - sastraxi 5y ago
    Really impressive site, thanks for sharing it! Bonus: I'm just used to sites not having data / support for Canada; this was a pleasant surprise. UX observation: clicking to create a start and end was relatively intuitive, but it took a while to find "Close route" to reset it (and be able to click for start / end points once more).
    - Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
      Interesting point - thanks! There's an (X) button to close the route but maybe I should change the icon to a trash can or similar...
  - cheeze 5y ago
    This is good. Guessing you're already ahead of me, but a feature that I find super useful in competitors is an elevation map of the route after I've selected it.
    - hedora 5y ago
      It has that, in the hamburger menu. (Also, an alternate route button!)
  - InCityDreams 5y ago
    Checking it out...thanks,
  - rich_sasha 5y ago
    Great! How do you determine quiet-ness? Is it just by the grade of the road, or do you have some kind of data feed for quietitude? E.g. in the UK, some A-roads can be very quiet despite being technically major, whereas some B-roads or even ungraded can be very busy, e.g. if they are used as shortcuts.
    - Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
      It's by historic traffic data where available, defaulting to road class if not. (Before I added the traffic data, it used to route over rough mountain tracks in the Highlands to avoid A roads...)
- hondo77 5y ago
  > Are any apps at all actually good for route planning especially on a bike? No. Google Maps directions for bikes is a good start but you have to take the routes with a big grain of salt (even with that Google is still better than every other app I've tried). I street view the route to make sure there's a least a good shoulder and re-route appropriately.
- mattmichielsen 5y ago
  I've been really happy with ridewithgps.com for route planning. I do sometimes have to go to other sites for areas I'm more unfamiliar with. It syncs any routes I make automatically to my Wahoo GPS, and gives me options to share with others on that platform.
- cheeze 5y ago
  Komoot is by far the best IMO. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. My workflow is 3 monitor setup. Komoot in the middle, actually planning the route. Strava heatmap on the left to see where people often travel in an area. Gmaps on the right to see streets and street view. It's still a pain to plan, but it's _so much easier_ with komoot.
- InCityDreams 5y ago
  komoot.com Used by ultra-racers to plan multi-day events. My only problem is, that when I select 'road ride', it tries to get me on a bike path. That would be a good thing for some people.

notacoward 5y ago

That's a very negative view of why people want to share on Strava. It's not all about ego. Sometimes it's about motivation, in two ways. I try to track my own times on various segments to see how well my training is going, and sometimes challenge myself to beat those times, because that helps me increase route variety and that helps me keep going. (I don't actually like running so much as I like having run BTW.) Garmin Connect's equivalent of segments is a barely populated wasteland by comparison (though I do like the pace-color-coded display more than Strava's so I usually look at both). Even more importantly, Strava is a platform where friends can encourage each other, and celebrate each other's accomplishments. I greatly appreciate the "kudos" I get from others, and that was especially true after I had a setback some years ago. I have a friend right now who had an even more serious setback, and I'm glad I have a way to support him as he logs his rehab activities. It's the only forum where we're connected (he's not very online the way I am) and it enriches both of our lives. I know a lot of people think Strava is just about getting KoMs to satisfy ego. I submit that it's often projection or bitterness from people who don't get what they want out of it. Seems like a miserable way to be.

johannes1234321 5y ago
> I greatly appreciate the "kudos" I get from others This was once nice for me, but at some point it was obvious that many simply kudos everything. However for a while it was quite a motivation to go, just to keep the public image of myself active. ;)

renewiltord 5y ago

Curious HN phenomenon: Describing reasons for behaviour as different from some hypothetical human with undesirable traits. This one: 1. I don't use Strava because I am doing things for myself and not the approval of my peers I shall shelve this along with my other HN faves which are (paraphrased): 1. I am remote because unlike everyone who goes to the office I have a life with hobbies and I don't like having friends only from work 2. For those of us who own a phone for productive reasons and not for social "clout", iPhones are terrible 3. If you want to do work and not just sit around in coffee shops posting about work, you would avoid a Macbook Very enjoyable.