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. 

[ARoger]

Please add heart monitor as a requirement for leaderboards. No need to add cadence or power meters. Heartmonitors will already deal with the vast majority of leaderboard problems. They`re also inexpensive nowayds, so that`s quite a low requirement.

[rosetto]

thanks, yes of course that's exactly what I ask as a minimum requirement from Strava to enter the rankings

[k1zmt]

I would add power meter requirements too. So much cheating and broken GPS happens in segments.

[anchskier]

@k1zmt - it in no way would be reasonable to require people to buy a $500-$1000 device just to be eligible for segment leaderboards.  Add in that many of us ride on multiple different bikes, so would need more than one power meter.  Also, no way Strava would require people to use something that their own app doesn’t connect to in the first place.  

[rosetto]

dear thank you for your answer. a simple heart rate monitor is enough, not necessarily the power meter 

[k1zmt]

I think the requirement of power meter is fair. 
People can use ebike with assist. For example, pushing 500W is enough to drive the heart rate to 170bpm but to compete in the segment the athlete has to push 1000W. 
This opens doors to all kind of cheating. 
Majority of segments I have seen are requiring 500W+ on the average and peak over 1kW. 
If it would be up to me I would have the following rules:

1. Public profile 

2. Consistent training history with heart rate and power metrics 

3. Heart rate and power meter data matching segment estimates. There’s elementary math given the weight of the system and the slope. 

[ejbiker93ss]

@k1zmt,

That would mean the leaderboards in my area would, at most, have a few entries. 

For an e-Biker to cheat, he would need to only be adding a bit of power. If an e-bike with plenty of power is used, and has similar HR to a regular bike, he will be enough faster to spot the problem

[rosetto]

<span;>thank you for your response and proposal. I completely agree with you but the fact remains that Strava is responsible for creating the rankings and to date none of the program developers have taken action to respond to these requests of ours. The rankings in this so they are worth little and you pay for a service that isn't there. Greetings to all

[anchskier]

@k1zmt - How do you feel it is "fair" to require people to have to pay thousands of dollars for extra devices (power meters) just to qualify for a leaderboard?  That is ridiculous.  Even requiring a heart rate monitor is too much.  Most false efforts are pretty easy to spot and flag.  Again, Strava doesn't even have a way to integrate a power meter with their app for people recording on their phones, so no way it would make sense to require something they can't even use in the first place.  

[rosetto]

no one forces you to buy anything. if you want to be in the rankings, however, you must have minimum requirements that allow you to exclude those who are not sporty. learn

[rosetto]

no one forces you to buy anything. if you want to be in the rankings, however, you must have minimum requirements that allow you to exclude those who are not sporty. learn

[anchskier]

@rosetto - Are you paying attention to what you write?  Noone is forcing me to buy something, except that you are saying we should be required to use something we have to buy to qualify for the rankings.  Unless you are donating heart rate monitors and power meters to everyone else, your proposal would force people to buy things to use one of the main functions of Strava.  

[rosetto]

Think of it as you want. Everyone can use Strava as they want, honest or dishonest. However, in my opinion the segment rankings should have minimum requirements. The heart rate monitor should then be used not only for the rankings but also to monitor heart activity. .I greet you

[augierg]

One compromise would be to introduce a ‘certified’ badge on the ranking. The certified badge would be obtained by strava based on analysis of the user data, cross correlating gps data and sensors data.

Users could rank themselves on certified ranking only or full ranking. If an athlete is really serious about certified ranking, then it is natural to accept that minimum sensor data would be required 

[ARoger]

I'm sorry, but it's absurd to require a power meter. The majority of serious riders in my area don't have one. Even heart rate monitors are not ubiquitous.

Strava can still improve its leaderboards without such requirements. I still catch people with cars reaching 130km/h - 80mp/h on the leaderboards and people riding steep slopes with impossible speeds. I wonder why Strava cannot catch these people automatically.