Show activity metrics based on moving time on indoor workouts instead of elapsed time

[jelledj]

I would suggest an option to use total moving time, instead of elapsed time for an activity. I would suggest looking at the imported data from Garmin and other third party platforms, and take over their time data instead of calculating these within Strava.

For example:

Garmin paused and resumed activity shows correct time on Garmin but Strava shows incorrect total time.

1. step one start activity on garmin watch
2. pause activity after 5 minutes
3. pause for 50 minutes
4. resume activity for 5 minutes
5. finish activity and save
6. garmin shows the activity correctly as 10 minutes
7. activity get sync to strava
8. activity shows up as a 60 minute activity instead of 10 minutes.

I have been able to reproduce this issue multiple times on strava.

Strava response:

Indoor activities currently use total elapsed time instead of the device's moving time. The elapsed time is then used to calculate the pace and activity time shown. Therefore, even if you manually stop or pause your device the time will be included in the activity. The file that is uploaded to Strava contains data points instead of GPS data, our system relies on GPS data to calculate moving time. We hope to have a better way to process this data in the future but unfortunately there is nothing we can do at this moment in time. 

We invite you to visit the Community Hub.

[jelledj]

I would suggest an option to use total elapsed device moving time, instead of elapsed time for an activity. I would suggest looking at the imported data from Garmin and take over their time data instead of calculating these within Strava.

[Jane]

Hello @jelledj 

​​Thanks for submitting your idea. It has been reviewed by our moderation team and is now open to voting. 

We have modified the wording of your idea to make it clearer to understand and to make it easier for others to search and vote for. 

[DL_44]

It would be nice if Strava reverted back to moving time. The change to "elapse time" was recent and it affects the data on peloton apps.

For example, if you were to take a 30 min Becs Gentry Interval run class in the past, Strava would have recorded it as something like 29:45 (the time your heart rate or distance indicated movement). Now, Strava reports it as 31 minutes because it calculates the introduction from the instructor. That extra minute may not be a big deal to some, but it totally affects the stats.

[Jc2265]

In its current configuration strava is not an appropriate platform to use for training when riding indoors. When riding indoors using a garmin headunit (for training intervals)if and when the garmin is paused at any time during the indoor ride strava does not recognize the pause in time. Therefore the power data does not reflect the pause in time when the garmin data is uploaded to strava at indoor ride completion. When the indoor ride is complete and the garmin unit is stopped and saved and uploaded to Strava. Strava then independently recalculates all indoor ride data based upon total ride time. Meaning strava will not allow for a pause when doing an indoor ride. Training peaks, breakaway, and obviously garmin data platforms all incorporate and reflect a pause when training indoors. Hopefully Strava engineers will review, understand, and implement a platform improvement so that indoor training data is more accurately reflected on their platform. 

[robbertmijn]

Implementing @jelledj his suggestion would also fix another problem that me and maybe others are experiencing.

When I workout indoors (on a rowing machine or maybe just skipping rope), the device I might record on (wahoo app or garmin watch connected to my HR monitor) will sometimes record “movement” (couple of accidental GPS points, or from the devices’ movement sensors). This movement data is artifactual, but there’s no way to delete it afterwards. 
However, Strava will only display my HR over distance. Which in the attached example was “32 meters” (this was a 40 minute workout on a rowing machine). The next figure shows why this wildly distorts the HR graph in Strava. The figure after that shows what the graph is supposed to look like if distance was ignored.

This may seem like a fringe detail. But in this case it causes Strava to incorrecly estimate relative effort also (set to 0 in this example). 
 A solution would be to add the option “Ignore movement data” or “Ignore GPS data” or “remove gps data” (the last one might also be beneficial to people who accidentally recorded GPS data that they don’t want to share).

 

 

 

[Tata55]

IMHO the total elapsed time has for the athlete no useful value. It is totally out of my interest how long I have been "out". The only important for me is how long lasted my sport activity.

E.g.:

If I rode 60km in 3 hours to the mountains and had there 2 hours lunch break and then rode 60km in 3 hours back home, my "sporting time" was 6 hours and my avg. speed was 20km/h.

Now the Strava calculates this as 120km in 8 hours, so my avg. speed is 15km/h.

Or:

I decide for a ride of 360km. During this I logically have multiple pauses (snack, lunch, toilet, sleep, etc.). The riding time would be about 20 hours, the pauses time would be about 10 hours in total.

My real avg. speed would be 18 km/h. But Strava calculates the same as 12km/h.
That makes no sense and the calculated values are nonsense.

[Tata55]

"...unfortunately there is nothing we can do at this moment in time..."
I don't agree. All data necessary for a realistic and logical calculation are there. The only that's needed is to set the formula so that it use moving time instead the elapsed time (exclude pause time from the elapsed time).
Basically, I hope all athletes have in their "Garmins" in their "indoor" profiles the GPS switched off. This can be the indicator to use the same formula for calculation as used for outdoor activities.

STRAVA is an excellent platform. It is worth to fix this very bad failure ASAP.

[sebdd]

I agree, this is a very bad failure from Strava. I just finished a 5k race where I crushed my PR and I paused the run on my Garmin watch after the finish line. I rested on the side for 5min and then I registered the race on my watch. Results: On Garmin Connect, nothing is wrong, I have the correct time with the correct distance (19min), but on Strava, with the elapsed time, it shows 24min with the same distance of 5k. This is absurd and wrong as I didn't run for 24min but 19min. And all average paces, PR distances, and segment times are wrong and make nonsense.

Please Strava, you must fix this, show moving time instead of elapsed time or give the option when editing the run, this is nonsense. I pay a Strava subscription and I'm very unhappy with that kind of failure! 

[Tata55]

Let see how Strava react on demands, reviews and comments of the users.

[Tata55]

---

@Strava response:
Indoor activities currently use total elapsed time instead of the device's moving time. ... even if you manually stop or pause your device the time will be included in the activity...

---

Definitely wrong approach lacking any logic. Imagine:
I start a week training with a plan of 1 hour a day = 7 hours a week. I want to have the whole week in one file. So I use a power bank and stop the Garmin after each part of my week plan. After week - 7 hours of training I see the desired result on Garmin Connect (7 hours incl. all graphs, data and analysis). But Strava claims that I have been training 168 hours and my results are recalculated by 168 hours. What a nonsens?!!!

It would not be difficult to provide the graphic even now with shown breaks (e.g. red lines).

[jkwhitfield]

Agreed that neither the current approach or the explanation that nothing can be done make sense. 
There is no argument that the current behavior has any value as a feature, and clearly Strava can get moving time from devices and use it to calculate pace. 
Saying that nothing can be done is nothing more than a brush off. 

[ghinder]

I agree. I find this ridiculous. In what world would I only want to know the elapsed time of my workout? 
Especially on indoor workouts, when I pause my clock/workout, I do not want a toilette break, getting water, talking to a friend, etc. to be included in the workout time. It makes no sense. When summarising the weekly workout time, I do not want my coffee and toilet breaks to be included. 

Make an option where the user can select "actual workout time" without including the pauses. 

Please fix this Strava. 

[LFM]

Much agreed with all of the above. 

Strava engineers, please use the "actual moving time" and do not included pauses in your calculations. 

I work out on indoor trainer with Wahoo SYSTM and when I upload my ride to Training Peaks and Strava, only Strava includes the pauses in their time calculations.

See below for reference.

This was from a ride this morning where I rode my bike for 2-hours and intermittently left my bike for 22minutes and my Wahoo Systm paused the workout.  Note that although Wahoo SYSTM, Training Peaks, and Garmin all recognized the pauses, Strava included the 22-minutes off the bike in my total Moving Time Strava Report 😞 

TRAINING PEAKS 

STRAVA

[Giovanjane]

Apparently nothing happened on Strava’s side up to right now. Yet another of those awkward peculiarities resulting from Strava’s stubborn reliance on GPS data, ignoring much better data available in the FIT file. Unrealistic run pace values from bouncing GPS is another annoying example. Come on guys, all the data is in the FIT files — start/stop-events, data series from reliable sensors etc etc. Just use it, please! It’s not that difficult.

[dpo]

Just adding to this thread: I am fed up with this issue related to pool workouts. It makes no sense that we cannot show pace based on moving time. When my pace is 1:25 per 100 yards I bristle at the app showing 2:00. I have zero interest in my elapsed time. I want to know what my pace was while I was actually swimming.