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. 

[rosetto]

hi, yes I also agree with you but at least the heart rate monitor and the pedal counter. Hi

[Jan_Mantau]

@rosetto A mandatory cadence sensor would exclude many who records with a watch or wristband. Even the folks who record with the Strava app can't connect cadence sensors.

[rosetto]

yes you are right but in my opinion some parameters must be respected in order to be included in the segment ranking. the heart rate monitor should be a minimum parameter. I use both on a racing bike while on a mountain bike I only have the heart rate monitor but not the pedal counter

[rosetto]

as in all sports, rules must be respected in competitions, the same thing should apply to the strava segments: only those who have a heart rate monitor, pedal stroke counter and power meter enter the rankings. At least one of the three. bye

[ChrisBerry]

@rosetto what exactly is it that you think you can determine based on pedaling cadence? Power is a function of cadence and pedaling force. It is not possible to estimate power output based on cadence alone  A rider can generate the same amount of power spinning an easy gear at a very high cadence, or by grinding a hard gear at a very low cadence. I ride a ton of miles on fixed gear bikes, and while riding downhill it's not uncommon for my cadence to hit 150 RPM or higher while my power output is 0 watts since I'm not applying any force to the pedals. Cadence is a useless metric for gauging effort.  

[rosetto]

 I understand that the pedaling cadence on a downhill section has no relevance. It's different for flat or uphill segments or rankings. Read my posts carefully. Hello dear

[ChrisBerry]

@rosetto pedaling cadence has no relevance in any situation, uphill, downhill, or flat. 2 riders identical in every respect on identical bikes can be moving at the identical speed pedaling at very different cadences depending on their gearing. Cadence as a metric tells you nothing about performance.   

[rosetto]

Yes, it's true that it doesn't say anything about performance but it still certifies that that stretch was covered by bicycle and not by scooter for example. Read the previous posts. Greetings

[anchskier]

@rosetto - Requiring expensive devices just to be included on a leaderboard is not a good idea.  I ride on at least 5 different bikes throughout the season, racing on all of them multiple times.  There is no way it makes sense that someone like me would be required to pay hundreds of dollars for each bike just to be eligible for a virtual leaderboard that is intended for fun and training.  As others have pointed out, even the use of those devices doesn't mean that the effort was legitimate anyway.  

[rosetto]

Hi! You're right, the effort might not be the real one anyway and as you say we're talking about virtual rankings. So explain to me why many people enjoy falsifying times and therefore rankings. I think it's right to put a stop to these abuses

[mydearriley]

For the same reasons of exclusionary practices others have voiced, I hesitate to implement either a hardware requirement or a separate leaderboard. HOWEVER, one solution could be to simply add a "heartrate/biometrics verified" badge as additional information within the leaderboard information page.

[anchskier]

@mydearriley - When I look at the leaderboards as they are now, I can see displayed whether the person had a heart rate monitor and also if they have a power meter.  Are you talking about something beyond that?  I guess I am not quite sure what would constitute "heartrate/biometrics verified".  What would be used to verify those metrics beyond just having them as part of the data file?  

[rosetto]

<span;>Hi, thanks for your comment. Certainly verifying the data would be difficult to carry out, but their presence would be one more real objective data to falsify. I can do a segment on a scooter while wearing a heart rate monitor and the expressed heart rate could be useful to understand that there is something strange

[ejbiker93ss]

Anyone serious about being at the top of the leaderboard will have a HR monitor. They're inexpensive and easy to use. Require them. Power meters is a whole different story

[rosetto]

hi ejbiker93ss (Mont Blanc) strava also includes those who don't have FC data in the rankings. It seems more complete to me for what it's worth to create rankings that are more faithful to reality