Strava vs Garmin segment time question...

[Heisenberg71]

Sad to some but important to me. Competing against myself and others for extra motivation I am trying for a specific time on a certain Strava segment. I have a Garmin Edge 1000 linked to Strava with the live segments function. This morning Garmin said 1:29 for the particular target segment but when I checked on Strava it said 1:32. My understanding is that Garmin uploads its data to Strava, so why the time difference?

Anyone got any ideas or experience of similar differences between the two? Those 3 seconds are hard to get and kind of important to me. I either did the time or not, surely.

Any insight?

 

[Dogtrousers]

Bummer, but you can only compare like with like.

The Garmin may be giving you info from its trip computer, and Strava is working from the GPX file produced. The latter is coarser grained, and may have to interpolate between points to figure out when you crossed the start/end. (I'm guessing)

Basically the whole setup just isn't capable of giving the level of precision you require.

For a level playing field you, your friends, and your alter ego have to agree on a common method, which means relying on Strava, I'm afraid.

So you'll just have to try again and pedal a bit harder

ETA the same applies for distance. I've learned from experience that if the trip computer is showing 100km or miles, the GPX track may be a bit short. This has resulted in me doing circuits of car parks or back streets at the end of a ride to guarantee the ton.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Recording interval on 1s or smart?

 

[jarlrmai]

None of them are accurate enough for a 3 second difference over such a short segment to matter.

 

[HarryTheDog]

@Heisenberg71 I know how you feel, strangely very similar times garmin gave me a 1.28 and a PB on strava live segments, when I got home no PB and 1:29 on strava. On that section that was a difference of being in or out of the top 10. I learnt just to accept it and put it down to tyre circumference out a bit on the speed sensor. . Found with no speed sensor and just using the garmin as a gps speed indicator Garmin and strava matched. I could be wrong though. I assumed on garmin site speed sensor data overrode gps speed data but strava only cared about gps data.

 

[Heisenberg71]

Glad to see some very logical explanations. It had not occurred to me they recorded time and distance in different ways. My understanding was that Garmin uploaded its data to Strava, not Strava recorded it separately via another format / method.

Basically the whole setup just isn't capable of giving the level of precision you require.

Makes sense, but means I need to go 3 seconds faster, which nearly puts me to KOM pace. Not sure I can manage that as nudging +90% of max heart rate. More training?

Recording interval on 1s or smart?

Which one, Garmin or Strava, and where in settings is it buried?

I'm 9th fastest all time and fastest this year. Well pleased with that. However a seriously quick guy from work who I did London-Edinburgh with is only 1 second in front placing 6th fastest ever. He's doing 1:29, me 1:30. I guess the target is still there then and that gives me the motivation I need. I bet if I manage to get a 1:28, he can sail out and get a 1:27. My wife thinks I'm mad. I am becoming a bit Strava obsessed on my commute, but it makes me work hard. Not so bothered about segments on the big rides.

Thanks guys.

 

[Heisenberg71]

@Heisenberg71 I know how you feel, strangely very similar times garmin gave me a 1.28 and a PB on strava live segments, when I got home no PB and 1:29 on strava. On that section that was a difference of being in or out of the top 10. I learnt just to accept it and put it down to tyre circumference out a bit on the speed sensor. . Found with no speed sensor and just using the garmin as a gps speed indicator Garmin and strava matched. I could be wrong though. I assumed on garmin site speed sensor data overrode gps speed data but strava only cared about gps data.

I'm glad I am not on my own in being obsessed about Strava times
Your logic supports the above arguments, I think. When both default to GPS data you get a match. You're a clever bunch, when you put your minds to it.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Which one, Garmin or Strava, and where in settings is it buried?

Press ‘Tools’ icon (screwdriver and wrench on the main screen) > System > Data Recording > Recording Interval > 1 sec

 

[Heisenberg71]

Press ‘Tools’ icon (screwdriver and wrench on the main screen) > System > Data Recording > Recording Interval > 1 sec

Thanks. It's set to 'Smart'. Do I want it on '1 second'?

 

[Andrew_P]

Something happened to the Garmin to Strava algorithm a while ago. I think it happened around about the time when Garmin more or less gave up with Connect and allowed auto upload from Garmin to Strava.

It is really petty of me but Garmin Connect consistently report faster, less time than Strava from the very same file as per the head unit itself.

Basically Strava re-works your Garmin file. Pretty sure they changed it to stop sad feckers winding up their wheel size

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216919487-How-Distance-is-Calculated

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us...fferent-times-than-my-Garmin-?page=3#comments

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Thanks. It's set to 'Smart'. Do I want it on '1 second'?

Yes

 

[Heisenberg71]

Diamond!

Edit: I forgot to quote, sorry

 

[Heisenberg71]

Something happened to the Garmin to Strava algorithm a while ago. I think it happened around about the time when Garmin more or less gave up with Connect and allowed auto upload from Garmin to Strava.

It is really petty of me but Garmin Connect consistently report faster, less time than Strava from the very same file as per the head unit itself.

Basically Strava re-works your Garmin file. Pretty sure they changed it to stop sad feckers winding up their wheel size

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216919487-How-Distance-is-Calculated

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us...fferent-times-than-my-Garmin-?page=3#comments

Yes

Great links. An interesting thread detailing many experiencing the same issue as me. Strava not accurate enough to bother about seconds over a segment. In my head With a Strava recorded 1:30 I now have the KOM

 

[David Hockley]

I rode with a friend using Strava on his phone, I had a Garmin Fenix Even though I waited for him several times, it consistently showed his time as significantly less. one segment showed my time as 4 minutes and his as 3 minutes and I waited at least 30 seconds or more for him at the end of it. That is significant!

 

[Two-Wheels]

Not the same as your situation & I can't help with it, but on the topic of device accuracy -

I ride with my Wahoo. I also have a Garmin watch which like the Wahoo pairs up with a couple sensors on the bike. I'll set them both off to record & by the end of the ride, some segments may match exactly, some may have me as a few seconds faster on the Wahoo while on other segments the Garmin will show as a few seconds faster.

That's also ignoring the fact that the Wahoo will have had me covering X-miles while the Gamin will have had me a reasonable amount different at Y-miles.

Like when the wife & I go for a walk. She'll track on her Fitbit, I'll track on my Samsung. By the end of the say, 6 mile walk, my watch will say somewhere in & about 6 miles which matches Google Maps & the car, roughly, but my wife might've done 6.5-6.75 miles, even though she never left my side to go for an extra bit of a walk.


Makes you wonder which is right & which isn't.