Remember in late 2017 when Strava changed it so you received a PR every time you rode a segment the first time? That was stupid.
I vaguely recall seeing yearly KOM alerts on Strava, maybe in 2018? Don’t remember. I’d like to see those notifications come back.
I agree once a year reset on all segments would be wonderful. I know groups and individuals that will ride just for KOMs. One guy has even gone out in 40mph winds for segments 
Taking my local KOMs, as you can tell I’m salty from it.
A reset once a year or even 2 years would be great.
Maybe a historic segment log for segments to compare, like they already have would be nice to keep.
Curious to me how a lot of people have problems with the way many segments are taken, which is also how races are won. Sitting in, getting towed, wind doping, etc. Unless you’re obviously cheating (drafting a vehicle, e-bike/vehicle, etc.) it is all fair game. I live in a flat windy place and many segments are “wind-doped”. I’ve taken plenty and have had plenty taken from me in same conditions, so what? Just part of the game. Hell, just last week I did 48kmh on gravel for 3.5kms to get a segment thanks to wind. It’s just a matter of time before I lose it to a windier day and a stronger person, so that goes.
You did indeed. It might have been pre 2018 though, in 2018 I couldn’t beat an octogenarian to get a KOM but I can recall getting a few (A hollow crown icon IIRC)
I see no sense in resetting. I’ve taken down some 5-7+ year old segments, it feels awesome to replace a legendary effort down with fresh blood. Again, all part of the game. You can always switch the leaderboard to “This year” if you’re really curious how you stack for the year.
I miss the yearly trophies.
Those yearly KOMs were so annoying in the early months of the season. Even on an easy ride you’d clean up a bunch of crowns just by being the first that year.
Eh, more like season power PRs. Annoying was doing a Gran Fondo November 2017 in an area I had never ridden before, and seeing every segment was a PR! Ridiculous!
I get that, but I’m not riding with 45mph wind gusts, but like you said anyone can do it.
I live in a flat area also and someone took a KOM going 39 mph (69km?) for 5 ish miles. No one is taking that unless taking the risk riding in that weather. The end of the day it is what it is, I’ll still ride for fun and try to better my times on those segments.
Yep, that’s exactly it, risk/reward. If you think about trail segments though, they’re not much different. Some of the sketchier ones definitely require less regard for one’s well being. I don’t chase segments in high winds, it can become sketchy way too fast for my liking, but I have done it when opportunity presented itself. I do have lines that I won’t cross, like blowing most stop signs, busy paths, and generally dangerous conditions. Not to say I haven’t done it in the past, but it is no longer worth it to me. Others are welcome to make that choice for themselves, but a KOM isn’t worth a trip to ER for myself or a pedestrian to me.
It’s crazy what people will do for a 
The real wind warriors, no pun
It is true. Again, I don’t want to make myself all high and mighty because I’ve definitely taken some sketchy KOMs, but I really avoid it now. I also try to find segments that are less influenced by wind (U-shaped, loops or similar) as those are much harder to take back on windy days.
I got both of my strava KOMs by accident but defended one of them by having the town put in some 4 way stops in the middle of it.
I wasn’t meaning any of that towards you but others riding in tropical storms or in high risk situations. I honestly do the same thing as in following a loop to have wind on my back for certain segments. Plus it’s much better having tailwind on the way home, if it’s a possibility.
lol, even with a ~12mph tailwind it takes a big jump in power to go from my usual sweet-spot 27-28mph to 31-32mph:
that is a safe stretch of a county highway - 2 lanes, wide shoulder, new pavement, very little traffic at 7-8pm, and Varia radar.
I like to do these Strava attempts as pacing efforts ahead of interval sessions of the same length. A few days later on Sunday I did these 2-min “zone5.5” intervals:
a lot easier pacing that first interval after having done the PR/KOM attempt a few days earlier.
I’m not that strong, all the really fast folks live 30 minutes away. Somebody will come along and beat that.
I can’t see that ever happening though with some segments, as one of my favourites here now has 2 new raised roundabouts added to the road so you will never get close to any of the older times. And also the day the grand tour went through with 100+ professional cyclists in a peloton, I mean it was crazy to see their numbers but no one will ever get close to some of their times. My favourite was going all out on a long climb took me about 35mins, they rode 100miles then went up in around 18mins I think from memory 
I’m not sure about the road architecture, so can’t truly comment on the first, but it is possible that the segment will never again be taken. I suspect this isn’t super common, though it happens.
As for the second, you never know who’ll come out and smash. Look at Phil Gaimon, he’s made a whole career of smashing segments that pros hold. You don’t see him complain that a pro took his segment …
First effort was a 30kmh tailwind inside a 6 person double pace-line. Second effort was a solo with 15kmh mostly tailwind with a slight cross. Third effort was almost identical wind to second, but we had a group of 4, and I sat in the entire time from what I recall. Sometimes all you need is a couple others to take a pull
I’ve still got a fairly decent KOM from 2012 (1st of 438 riders), 1km long 4.4% ave and U shaped so you won’t get the wind in all directions. I’ve no idea what I was on too have set a time thats stood for a decent length of time, especially as I have never had to flag anyone. Lol, I was going to have to flag a lot of people the year before covid as a pro race was scheduled to finish up the climb but it was cancelled
I’ve got a few from 2012. I think that’s mostly how the gps software operated in those days really helped/assisted. Something to do with it sampling much less frequently, so it would jump from one place to another much faster. These days, sigh, the software is much more accurate, the zones are much finer/smaller so it’s harder to get a KOM
