Require heart rate data to qualify for leaderboards

[_JD_]

Unfortunately cheating on Strava segments seems to be fairly common. Suggestion for cycling activties is to require a heart rate monitor and power meter to an obtain a leaderboard ranking. For running, etc., require a heart rate monitor. At a minimum, a heart rate monitor for activites would be a step in the right direction. This would help maintain the integrity of Strava. Will it solve the problem, no. But the change would definitely help expose cheaters. 

[ChrisBerry]

There are way too many variables involved in both HR and Power readings for the majority of Strava users to be able to interpret them with any degree of certainty. In order to make an accurate determination as to whether an effort was legit, you would need to know the riders age, weight, fitness level, max HR, and more. A 400 watt uphill effort for me might only be a 200 watt effort for a much smaller rider. Two riders climbing the same hill side by side at the same pace could have heart rates that vary by 50 or 60 BPM and that's perfectly normal. There are plenty of ways to figure out if someone is cheating, but requiring HR and Power data isn't a reliable way to go about it.  

[anchskier]

I totally disagree with requiring HR and/or power data to be eligible for leaderboards.  Not everyone can afford all of the extra bells and whistles and others just don't want to be bothered to use them all the time.  I only recently started using a HR monitor on a regular basis.  Just never cared about tracking the data and didn't have a good, reliable system for measuring it.  For power, that is a whole different issue since power meters are not cheap.  Expecing someone to have a means to measure power when they may be riding 4 or 5 different bikes depending on the type of riding in a given year is nuts.  I ride and race on at least 5 different bikes each year (snow, road, tt, cross, and mtn).  I could buy a whole nother bike with the amount it would cost me to put power meters on each of the bikes.  Should I not be eligible for leaderboards because I am not wealthy?  

[LandonE]

There seems to be a big divide between the fors and the againsts, but i would like to point out (on behalf of the people in favour of the change) that we are not against poor people/its not about discrimination or making the leaderboards elitist. Its more about implementing more ways to remove cheaters from leaderboards. Obviously we all know that no one is climbing a 5% 2km climb at 35k an hour with a heart rate of 125, this is just not realistic. Obviously this person is either cheating, forgot to turn off their ride while in a car, or they are the next peter sagan. Its very unlikely that they aren’t cheating. All this being said, requiring heart rate and power may not fix the problem completely, but it certainly eliminate 99% of issues. (There may be better solutions, I acknowledge)

[PeterH]

Indeed LandonE! And: not having heartrate or power doesn't mean you're not on a leaderboard, it can be 'split': default with heartrate and/or power, and a 'toggle' to show all efforts.

[shaurya]

yes please, fully support this !

[rosetto]

put only the files with GPS data, heart rate or potentiometer and pedaling cadence in the cycling segments ranking in order to avoid errors or false times and make the cycling rankings more truthful.

[anchskier]

This has been discussed before and still has the same issues.  Most people don't have all of the extra gadgets to go along with their bikes.  I ride and race on 5 different bikes throughout the year.  No way I would pay, or expect everyone else to pay, what it would cost to set have those features on all of my bikes.  Even if people had them today, there is over a decade of data already in the system without most of that data, so you would have to find some way to address that.  It just isn't realistic to require all of that information just to be included in the leaderboards.  

[rosetto]

dear anchskier,more rankings could be created with the various devices present and make the competition even more fascinating

[anchskier]

@rosetto - If you split those out, the rankings would be meaningless.  You would see your ranking, but would have no idea how many other legit riders were actually faster than you but just didn't use those other devices.  

[rosetto]

<span;> you can already see for yourself how many segment rankings as they are now make no sense. It is full of fakes who modify the files or travel sections by car or moped to stay ahead. The reports are of little use because they recharge their activity equal to before. In my province there are data uploaded as activities from 2003 when Strava didn't even exist. I believe it is more useful to have rankings with the same comparison parameters rather than seeing times done on a scooter ahead. I am convinced that in the long run those who use multiple devices in their activity should be rewarded in some way for his correctness and loyalty

[Megido]

To be eligible for the leaderboard, cyclists must wear a heart rate (HR) monitor - no exceptions. An HR monitor is an inexpensive alternative to a power meter, rendering it an affordable option. Cyclists who aspire to join the leaderboard must wear an HR monitor to ensure the accurate measurement of their performance. It is unacceptable to participate in the leaderboard without an HR monitor. Cyclists who fail to comply with this requirement will be ineligible to join the leaderboard. The importance of wearing an HR monitor cannot be overstated, as it eliminates the possibility of inaccurate performance measurements resulting from cyclists forgetting to turn off their cycling computers.

[Jan_Mantau]

@Megido I don't see the connection between heart rate monitors and forgetting to turn off the device. It wouldn't change a thing if someone removes their hr monitor after the training and keeps the recording running because the last known heart rate would be used for the remainder after losing the signal .

[Megido]

@Jan_Mantau While I understand your viewpoint, it's important to note that a cyclist riding at 55kmh with a heart rate of 65 bpm over a specific segment is a red flag. This kind of behaviour shows a complete disregard for the integrity of sports. Even if we assume that the cyclist forgot to power off the cycling computer, it's not difficult for them to delete the segment in question. This behaviour needs to be called out and addressed to maintain the fairness of the sport

[Jan_Mantau]

@Megido Okay, so the effort with the forgotten stop of the recording will count for this new type of leaderboard but is easier to recognize as illegit, that I understand. It has to be a parallel leaderboard to the existing one anyway else it would be too discriminatory for older efforts without this rule and newer efforts where sensors didn't work, were faulty, couldn't be connected, were forgotten or were not easy to buy because of personal circumstances.

[Marloki]

Yes to heart rate data!
No to power data for cyclists. Not all cyclists can afford a power meter!