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Today January 2023

Yeah, that video was wild. It was as discombobulated and confusing as Strava's handling of the price increase, which, I think, was the point. Very nicely done. As luck would have it, I have cancelled my subscription last week. When the founder came back, I subscribed in the hopes that Strava would implement new and useful features. I was mistaken, progress was glacial and the way the company has "handled" the price increase is completely laughable.
 
I think I said this somewhere else but I am done with Strava to be honest - well the premium options that is. The subscription hasn't really proven itself to be beneficial to me, considering what the Garmin Connect site offers - and its included with the price of a unit, or it could even be free. I'll stick with the free option of Strava going forward, only to see what my non-Garmin friends are doing.
 
Strava aspiring to be the premium brand. If you have to ask...

Its only use to me is another data store and central clearing house to sync rides. I have other redundancies in training peaks so no big loss if I have to nuke this free account.
 
Strava aspiring to be the premium brand. If you have to ask...
Which is a real weird play to me considering the reach they have managed to acquire. Cycling, running, swimming... I see people tracking their snowboarding and skiing runs now too. I understand some kind of price increase but this amount and the secretive roll out is going to make a lot of people cancel the membership I think.

Maybe this is just me, but I'd be interested in a lower tier membership. All I really want is the heat maps, and I'd pay a couple bucks a month for that alone. Raise the price a little bit on the current membership package, add more features for a premium membership deal, then add some basic class with stripped down features as well.
 
The hugely different pricing strategy for different countries is weird. Plus the amount of increase is way above the norm. Finally, there is a bit of arrogance in how they are being secretive about it. I don't think they have thought this through carefully. Maybe they hired a consulting firm to advise them.
 
Strava aspiring to be the premium brand. If you have to ask...
But for a premium brand, you have to deliver some sort of premium experience. I have given them several years, and I see so many obvious, obvious gaps. Why can't I invite people for a group ride on Strava, sharing the route and all the information? (I have very recently learnt that you can create group rides on Strava, but only the admins or people who were granted permission. And the feature is, as far as I can tell, not documented.) Why can't my team and I use a team chat on Strava?
The hugely different pricing strategy for different countries is weird. Plus the amount of increase is way above the norm. Finally, there is a bit of arrogance in how they are being secretive about it. I don't think they have thought this through carefully. Maybe they hired a consulting firm to advise them.
There is the weirdly selective list of countries, the refusal to simply state the new prices (WTF?!?!) and the amount. I really don't understand any of that, and Strava refused to explain anything. Maybe Elon Musk is running Strava's comms department in his time off?
 
This doesn't affect Japan for now, however, fyi it may affect some of us.
I only use the free tier but out of curiosity I tried to find pricing for Japan and could only see a number by following the link to "Start a free trial" which in the small print before you pull the trigger suggests the annual subscription after a 60 day trial would be 6,300 JPY (equivalent to 45 EUR / 49 USD / 66 CAD / 70 AUD). That makes Japanese pricing the cheapest amongst rich countries (but more expensive than for Brazil or Indonesia) for the countries on DC Rainmaker's list:

Screenshot 2023-01-15 at 13.23.17.png
Maybe they didn't bump up Japanese pricing as much because USD/JPY rate has been a rollercoaster for the past 12 months.

Screenshot 2023-01-15 at 13.30.18.png

As for the company's customer communications, pretty awful. One of the reasons why my money pays for RWGPS instead.
 
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Out for a couple hours this afternoon, spitting/sprinkling all the way, but not too wet. But slow, and I did take a shorter route back from the river.
 
I didn't plan any significant rides for the weekend because of the forecast, but tonight I did head out for two hours in the drizzle. Even a January ride in the drizzle in the dark is better than no bike ride at all!
 
I was able to sneak in a short MTB ride today after work and before another drizzly evening.
We took the trail that rarely suffers from water and only saw 1 easily avoided puddle in 7km of trail.
I was riding with a buddy who is just getting back on the bike after reconstructive knee surgery (not MTB related) so we took things chill and just enjoyed the ride.

This rain sucks.
 
Anybody have experience with Tubolitos and/or Pirelli Smart Tubes? Mostly wondering what they're like for punctures. Reviews are mixed.
 
WOOT! Upgrades ordered.

My hardtail is 12 speed, my 'downcountry' is 12 speed, my enduro is 11speed.
I recieved a coupon in the mail for 20% off one full priced product.
I found a complete group listed on their site and the coupon worked.
Mrs Bloaker didn't object, so I pulled the trigger.
While I prefer Shimano, the price was too good on the SRAM stuff.

Now hopefully I can climb with my enduro almost as good as the others.
Also, my rear wheels will all be interchangeable now. (front rotor on the Enduro is bigger than the others)

I now just need to swap out a set of bars on my gravel bike... and I am pretty much done.
I don't have any other 'I kinda want to..." in my head regarding the bikes.
 
Just kind of isolating this to see how long it takes...

:warau:
Pretty much have everything I need locally... if I move to Misawa or Oki, then maybe a fat bike.
I even told my wife, if she let me buy a 1969 RS/SS Camaro, I would never buy another bike.
She looked at the Camaro and said "no" - so I suppose I could get a bike..... hahaha.

In VIrginia -
1 Hardtail Titanium MTB.
1 steel gravel bike.

With me here:
1 Ti Enduro Hardtail
1 Steel Single Speed
1 Steel Rigid 29+

1 Carbon Enduro Full Suspension Trail bike
1 Carbon Trail Full Suspension bike ('down country' is the latest Marketing BS - short travel trail bike)

1 Steel Adv Tourer
1 Steel Road Bike
1 Ti All Road (leaning toward road)
1 Ti All Road (Leaning toward gravel)


I feel like I have it covered. :D
 
Anybody have experience with Tubolitos and/or Pirelli Smart Tubes? Mostly wondering what they're like for punctures. Reviews are mixed.
Nothing long term, sorry. I recently bought some RideNow TPU tubes from AliExpress. Cheap as chips, arrived within a week, and so far no problems. Only a few hundred km on them so far.
 
Anybody have experience with Tubolitos and/or Pirelli Smart Tubes? Mostly wondering what they're like for punctures. Reviews are mixed.
I run tubeless on most of my bikes. My Fargo and Ritchey still run tubes.
I did get a flat on my tubeless setup once that nothing would have stopped... a small piece of metal entered near the centerline and came out the sidewall.... there was also a spur on the metal, so no pulling it out without removing the tire. The good news... I got hit by a car an hour later, so it wasn't the lowlight of my ride. :D

On the rear wheel of my MTBs, I run Tannus Armour. These inserts are there to protect my rim more than anything, but they do actually allow me to continue riding on a flat - so If I cant fit a puncture with a Dart (noTubes) or something, then I cn still just ride out, just at a lower speed.

They make an insert for Tubes as well. I have never used them, but I have faith in their other design, so I would maybe give it a try if I was worried.

Minimum size is 700x28mm - so lots of options.
I have not noticed a weight penalty on the MTBs and I have significant condifence doing dumber than normal things.

I just read this on their site....
"If you get a flat during the ride, Tannus Armour allows you to ride a few miles on gentle terrain, without hurting your rim.*"
 
I even told my wife, if she let me buy a 1969 RS/SS Camaro, I would never buy another bike.
She looked at the Camaro and said "no" - so I suppose I could get a bike..... hahaha.
I'm gonna make a mental note of that negotiation tactic … 🤣

Honestly, I thought you are owning more bikes than that.
 
if she let me buy a 1969 RS/SS Camaro
Trivia, and not bikes, but...

On my mother's side, a long (and now long gone) history of chevys--my grandfather, then my uncle owned a small dealership in rural illinois, and then that uncle's son (my cousin) was very much into drag racing (I went along sometimes, being in the pits was special, especially being casually right up next to his '65 chevelle 396 (a Z16), sometimes even kept busy putting ice on the intake manifold after a run). I don't know how, but even as probably one of the smallest dealerships, they somehow got some muscle cars. What would these be worth today?!?

camaros.jpeg

(and is the yellow one a corvair?)
 
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Fun times!
I had my 1953 Merc with a 351W as well as my old AMX with a 360. (the anniversary of its death was just a couple days ago Jan 17, 1997)

But this is the one she veto'd....
The only thing I don't like are the Z28 stripes on an SS.

36559209-1967-chevrolet-camaro-thumb.jpg
 
In high school, I dated a chick with a 72 split bumper Camaro.
This was when i still have my mercury.
At the time I was so hung up on the 68/69, I never really appreciated her car.
Quite possibly her having the wrong year would explain why we didn't date longer.
 
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