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Strava has introduced the Best Efforts feature to its cycling workout profiles. Previously available only to runners, this feature is now accessible to cyclists on Strava.
The Ride version of Best Efforts is now accessible for Strava Premium subscribers. It will display best efforts for various categories such as distance, elevation gain, climbs, time across intervals, and power. Unfortunately, this feature is limited to paid subscribers, similar to Best Efforts for Run, and is not available for free users. However, Strava remains one of the top fitness apps in the market, and cyclists may find this new feature a compelling reason to upgrade to the premium version.
According to a statement from Strava, 77% of active cyclists achieved a Best Effort in 2023, with that number rising to 33% in February 2024. Similar to the Best Efforts feature for runners, cyclists can access the Ride version at the bottom of the athlete’s ‘You’ page on the Strava mobile app.
The feature aims to help cyclists track their progress and performance by highlighting an athlete’s top three efforts in the five aforementioned categories. Best Efforts was initially introduced for runners in 2023 and has since been widely embraced by the community.
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Your Best Efforts on Strava can be likened to your personal “high scores” across your cycling history. This feature allows you to track metrics such as your top three best 10km ride times and monitor when you surpass them.
If you’re concerned about missing out on your best achievements as the feature is newly released, Strava assures users that their past activities will be retroactively scanned to identify their best efforts.
While the Best Efforts feature isn’t new for runners, cyclists will require additional technology to optimize its benefits. Specifically, cyclists will need a power meter to measure the force applied to the pedals accurately. These devices complement your phone by providing an extra metric for Strava to analyze, unlike heart rate monitors or speedometers, which respond to your movements.
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Power meters can also monitor the time you spend seated or standing during rides, making them valuable tools for triathletes to assess their performance across various activities.
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Lloyd Coombes is a tech and fitness writer contributing to TechRadar. With expertise in Apple products, computer technology, and gaming devices, his previous works have been featured on TopTenReviews, Space.com, and Live Science. You can often find him testing the latest MacBook or iPhone, but his primary focus is on writing about video games for Dexerto.
