Is Stryd worth its price?

I have the previous version that I have used a couple of years. I really really wanted to like it I am a numbers geek and stryd produces lots of numbers. Its helpful when trying to modulate your pace/power on hills. However in the end it really wasn't that helpful to me. I also suspect that version that I was using just wasn't all that accurate. As Stryd is not a Power Meter but rather an accelerometer coupled with Stryd's proprietary algorithms to calculate a logical power output.

In the end I found it more of a distraction so I stopped using it

It's not accurate and that causes too many problems with pacing. Mine's sitting in a box upstairs somewhere.

No, waste of money.

If properly calibrated the accurate instant pacing is great especially if you train by pace. It's not accurate out of the box, I don't care what they say at Stryd.

In time I've learned Threshold pace= x amount of watts, Mile Pace x-amount etc....that frees me up to run more hilly routes and just hit that power range in line with perceived effort.

The fact that the power numbers may not be actual power metrics isn't an issue to me. I would say the more reliable instant pace is the best part of it though. I hate wonky pace numbers when in the slightest kind of tree cover even with my Fenix 6.

I thought there would be good sources of information of what all the data points or numbers mean and how you use them to improve. Unless I was looking in the wrong places, I found none of that. Stryd produced a podcast that seemed like it died off. At best, I found a table that explained all the metrics but not a whole lot more. So you have a bunch of meaningless data that after a while you can't help but ignore. You can get the Power number of watches like the Coros pace. No need for Stryd.

Not worth it.

Worth it if you know how to use it. Use the good. Ignore the less useful. Learn how to pair it with a GPS/smartphone/smartwatch device.

There are so many threads started here about runners complaining that their gps doesn't measure runs around accurately. That is because gps devices can't. There have a margin of error that could decide you suddenly ran inside an oval, or moved out to lane 2 or higher, or ran through a hill, over a cliff or off a bridge.

Here is a non-Styrd runner telling you to make it work and pair it with a watch, or smartphone app. It has been out for several years, and was last updated in 2020. The method of pairing still works, and you can adjust how-to with a newer GPS/celltower device.

Had one for a while. It didnt really do anything for me, the power number was more or less just a different metric, that did not help me. Wind detection did not work properly, and hills would be off once in a while. It didnt give me that “perceived effort” number that I was looking for, as it didnt correlate for much (heat e.g. Isnt covered at all, so good luck in the summer) it also was very bothersome to clip on vaporfly’s, their official guide included a zip tie to correct this, which is on top of everything else just summarises that the stryd is not easy to use and not very useful after going through the many hoops

It’s very easy to establish power output on a bike because all the biker does is turn the cogs. With runners moving in three planes, it is impossible to do anything other than make a very rough estimate for running power.

So in short, the principle of running power as an accurate metric to influence training is flawed from the outset and in my view is best treated with extreme caution.

I don't really use the power aspect, but the indoor distance when calibrated properly is very accurate. I love being able to run indoors when necessary and know that the distance is accurate.

Not worth the cost and their customer service is abysmal.