Variability of GPS derived apps. Ie. Strava

B

bradcox68

Squid
Hey Guys and Girls,

I wonder if someone could point me in the right direction as to the accuracy of any app thats uses GPS locations services to map and time bike rides? I have been using Strava for awhile now and feel that i am being quite consistent with my rides ( I am not a Strava Nazi by an means) however there seems to be quite a lot of variability in the times that i am recording. Generally plus or minus 5 seconds over a short well ridden course.

Thanks,

Brad
 
mtb101

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
short segments won't be as accurate, if you are using a smart phone then they are not dedicated gps devices so not as accurate, tree canopy and cloud cover will effect signal as well.

find a 20 minutes + loop (climb etc.) create a segment on that and use that to gauge your progress.
 
The Duckmeister

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
Strava & the like are only as good as the GPS tracking of the thing that's feeding the info to it. Phone GPSs are notoriously flaky because they just don't have the processing power to do it properly. Dedicated GPS units - Garmin, Bryton, Magellan etc. are much more reliable because that's what they're built to do. However they can still be prone to mistracking if the satellite signals get bounced off trees & buidings etc.
 
ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
I believe, a smartphone records a point every 3 seconds whereas a Garmin/Bryton ect records a point every 1 second... so potentially you and your mate could ride a segment, side by side and with the 3 second swing either end of the segment, could be as much as 5-6 seconds different, and thats not taking into consideration GPS swing or bounce that Duckmeister posted.

Its not a rare occurrence to get smashed on a segment by someone using a phone that's out by a mile... but its only a bit of fun.
 
M

Mickstab

Cannon Fodder
I found Strava to be somewhat accurate when going for rides.
i've done a couple walk/runs with it aswell and found it to be quite useful.
Also good to give you an estimate to see how much you're riding each week.
 
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