What are Strava Live Segments?
Strava Live Segments are a real-time presentation of your progress against Strava Segments that you have starred in your Strava account/app.
Once Live Segments are enabled and synced onto your ACE, before a ride, the ACE will display a list of all Live Segments associated with your Strava account on a dedicated Live Segments page. During a ride, the list is reduced to those Live Segments linked to your account that are nearby (< 1 mi / 1.5 km). All of those nearby segments also appear on the Map page. As you approach a given segment, the Live Segments page will change to an active record of your progress on the segment with elapsed time, a graphic of the segment and your location on it, and several other customizable fields.
Requirements
- An ELEMNT ACE computer
- A paid Strava subscription
- Some segments, starred in your Strava account
- the Wahoo app (to authorize the connection between Strava and your Wahoo account)
- a data connection for your phone (cellular or Wi-Fi, to initially sync settings from the ELEMNT ACE app to the Wahoo Cloud)
- Bluetooth (to access ACE settings in the Wahoo app)
- Wi-Fi (to sync Live Segments directly from the Wahoo Cloud to the ELEMNT ACE)
Setup
1. Link Strava in Authorized Apps
- In the Wahoo app, navigate to the Today tab >
(Settings) > Authorized apps > Strava
- Authorize Wahoo in the Strava app as prompted by your phone.
A check mark will then appear next to Strava to confirm it the accounts are linked.
2. Connect ELEMNT computer to Wi-Fi
In the Wahoo app, connect your ELEMNT computer directly to a local Wi-Fi network.
See Connect an ELEMNT ACE to Wi-Fi for step-by-step instructions.
3. Enable Strava Live Segments in the Wahoo app
Strava Live Segments are enabled at the workout profile level. For a greater explanation of workout profiles, see Customize workout profiles and pages for ELEMNT ACE.
- In the Wahoo app, select the Devices tab > ACE > Workout profiles > the workout profile in which you wish to enable Strava Live Segments.
4. Customize your preferred settings
The following settings can be toggled on/off in the Strava Live Segments settings in the Wahoo app:
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Enable Strava Live Segments
- Enables/disables the feature for this workout profile.
- You can also enable/disable Live Segments for the workout profile currently selected on the ACE on the Settings > Ride page. For more information about ELEMNT ACE settings, see ELEMNT ACE Settings.
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Automatic page change
- The ELEMNT ACE will automatically change to the Strava Live Segments page at the start of a saved segment.
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Notifications on other pages
- Segment progress will be shown as notifications on other pages during the segment, regardless of which page you are using.
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Enable during planned workouts
- The Strava Segments page change and notifications will be active even during a planned workout.
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Use LEDs in Strava mode
- When ELEMNT, BOLT, and ROAM are brought into the Wahoo app, top LEDs will display the proportional distance to go on the segment and side LEDs will reflect your current pace relative to the target pace (behind / at / ahead of your chosen target).
5. Add / Remove a segment in the Strava app
- In the Strava app, navigate to Maps > Segments > select a segment > star that segment.
- Starring a segment will link it to your Strava account, and allow it to show in your Strava Live Segments once synced via Wi-Fi. See below.
- Un-star a segment to un-link it from your Strava account and re-sync to remove it from your ELEMNT.
6. Sync your Live Segments via Wi-Fi
In order for a segment to appear on you computer during a ride, it must be synced directly to your computer via Wi-Fi. Your ELEMNT ACE must be in range of a saved Wi-Fi network. For more details on connecting your computer to Wi-Fi, see Connect an ELEMNT ACE to Wi-Fi.
- When in range of a saved Wi-Fi network, navigate to the Strava Live Segments page on your ELEMNT ACE by swiping right or using the Page button (front right).
- Select Sync (front left button).
- A loading circle symbol will appear.
- All starred segments will be synced to your computer.
The Strava Live Segments page
Once Live Segments have been enabled in the Wahoo app, a Strava Live Segments page will appear after Planned workouts by default in the page stack.
The Strava Live Segments page has two states/subpages:
- A segment list, that includes all Live Segments starred in your Strava account before a ride starts, and Live Segments within 1 mile / 1.5 km after a ride has started.
- A Live Segment page that appears when you have entered a starred Live Segment
The Strava Live Segments page has two persistent fields:
- Elapsed segment time and
- The elevation profile with your current position, and the relative position of your PR (if previously completed) and the K/QOM on the segment.
Like other pages, most of the data fields on the page can be customized with Live Segment specific and other general data fields. Live Segment specific fields can be found in the Strava field section and include the following.
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Elapsed Segment Time
- The elapsed time since the segment was started.
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Ahead/Behind Time
- Your estimated pace timing relative to your chosen target (toggleable during the segment between your PR and the KOM/QOM) completion time.
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Goal Duration
- The total elapsed time for this segment for your comparison target metric: PR, or the KOM/QOM (course record) on this segment.
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Distance Remaining
- The distance remaining to the end of the segment.
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Estimated Duration
- Your estimated time to completion of the segment, based on your current speed and position relative to previous attempts.
Live Segment specific fields will only display data when in an active starred segment.
During a ride
Alerts
If notifications on other pages is enabled, or you are on the Strava Live Segments page, you will receive an alert at the bottom of the screen when/if:
- You are within 750 feet / 225 meters of a starred segment. The segment name and distance to start will be presented.
- You have reached the start of the segment. GO! appears in large text.
- You have reached 25%, 50%, 75% of the segment. Your current relative pace and distance to go is presented.
- You are close to setting a new PR or claiming the KOM/QOM toward the end of the segment. Your relative pace and distance to go is presented.
- You have completed the segment. Your provisional completed time is presented.
You can dismiss certain alerts, or mute all Strava Live Segment related alerts by selecting the Mute (middle) button during an alert.
Before a segment
Once a ride has started, the Strava Live Segments page will show any nearby segments within 1 mile or 1.5 kilometers. Nearby segments and their distance from your current location are shown with alternately with the segment name and your current PR on that segment.
During a segment - on the Strava Live Segments page
When you reach the start of the segment, the distance to segment start alert will transition into a larger GO! alert, and then transition into the live Strava Live Segments screen as you have configured the data fields in the ELEMNT app > Settings > Pages > Strava Live Segments. When on the live segment page, you can use the Segments (left) button to toggle back to the Segments list page, or the VS (middle) button to toggle between your segment comparison target metric (your PR or the KOM / QOM [course record]).
During a segment - NOT on the Strava Live Segments page
If you are not already on the Strava Live Segments page and do not have automatic page change enabled, but do have notifications on other pages settings enabled, you will receive the approaching segment distance alerts, the GO! alert, and pace/distance alerts at 25%, 50%, and 75% progress through the segment and completion alert. If the notifications on other pages is also turned off, the computer will record your segment progress in the background for later review and upload to Strava.
After a segment
Once a segment is complete during an active ride, the Strava Live Segments page will display a completion alert and then provide your provisional time for a completed segment and continue to list other nearby segments.
Viewing completed segments
After a ride has been ended, provisional completed segment times can be seen on the ELEMNT ACE computer before it has been turned off or another ride is started and in a ride detail page on the History tab of the Wahoo app. Confirmed times and relative performance can be viewed in the Strava app or web view from the ride details page or Segment explorer page.
Because Strava independently validates the ride data, all values presented on the ELEMNT app and in the Wahoo app are provisional estimates.
Troubleshooting
The most frequent issues before, during, and after a Strava Live Segment are driven by location inaccuracy:
- A segment starts or ends before/after you think it should.
- The segment suddenly stops recording in the middle.
- There is a sudden jump in your location or time to go.
- You have passed where the segment was supposed to start / end before it registers the start / end.
Because Strava Live Segments are built on an estimation of the position of your computer that is moving in space and time, relative to a previous estimation of your and other Strava users' computers on previous attempts, there is a lot of opportunity for small errors in location to compound. These include:
- The location of the road/trail on Strava's map of record doesn't exactly match the location of the road in reality.
- The person who first recorded the segment experienced a GPS error, and so the segment doesn't match the location of the road on the map or in reality.
- You momentarily experience a GPS error or delayed reading during the segment due to tree cover, heavy cloud cover, steep embankments, or tall buildings.
Any time there is a sufficient mismatch between the GPS reading of your computer and the previously recorded segment GPS location data, a variety of things can occur.
To address any issues with Strava Live Segments, you should:
- Confirm the segment you are competing against matches the location of the road/trail on the map in the Strava app Segment explorer. If the route is off the road, the odds of you completing the segment, or getting accurate data is low. If necessary, make a new segment that is actually on the road/trail.
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Ensure that your ELEMNT ACE computer has the best chance of providing accurate location and speed data:
- Turn your ELEMNT on in clear view of the sky from all directions, and remain stationary until it has confirmed a GPS lock.
- Use a speed sensor, either auto-calibrated, or manually calibrated with an exact rollout of the wheel the speed sensor is attached to.
- Mark a point on the floor/driveway and place your front wheel with the valve stem at the bottom of the wheel at that point. Roll the bike one wheel revolution forward in a straight line, until the valve stem is again at the bottom of the wheel. Mark that spot. Set your bike aside and measure the distance between the two points in metric units, or convert and enter that value in meters. One imperial inch = 25.4mm or .0254 meters.
- Accept that, occasionally, an issue is inevitable, based on the real time averaging of data and the variability of conditions which affect GPS readings (GPS satellite location, tree cover, cloud cover, tall buildings) from day to day.
FAQ
Is it possible to ride a route and use Strava Live Segments simultaneously?
Yes, you can ride a route and the ELEMNT will notify and track your progress on Strava Live Segments. Turn-by-turn notifications will take precedence over notifications of approaching Strava Live Segments if they occur simultaneously. You can navigate to the Strava Live Segments page on the computer ensure your can see upcoming Strava Live Segments while still receive turn-by- turn notifications.