Segment match threshold should be configurable

[tlubin]

Strava recently introduced trail running as a sport“. However, segments don’t play very nicely with some trails. Often when on a trail the particular route you take varies a little bit from run to run. An example of where I just observed this is when on a run in Kenya. My run didn’t match a segment that it should have because I had to take a minor detour due to some animals on the usual route. The “potential segment match analysis tool” (https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918247-Using-the-Potential-Segment-Match-Analysis-To...) shows this slight deviation:

I don’t know what the threshold for a matching segment is. This one was a 79% match according to the tool, but it clearly was the same route.

My feature suggestion is to allow the match threshold to be configurable for segments. Segment creators can mark a segment as requiring a lower threshold so it is more likely to match new activities.

 

[Soren]

​​Thanks for submitting your idea. It has been reviewed by our moderation team and is now open to voting.

[DRSpalding]

In the MTB world, there are many cases where a trail goes relatively close to a road or double-track, and may in fact start/end right on that road.  However, unless the trail really goes a long ways away from the road, the trail segment can be polluted by rides along the road which are often much faster than the trail.  It would be good to have a setting where the user creating or modifying the segment can signify that they want better matching than just the end points and "close enough for GPS accuracy" on the majority of the trail.

Being able to indicate one or two extra points that the ride has to be close to like an end point, but in the middle of the segment might be able to alleviate this problem.  It could also fix the similar issue where a trail loops around itself and can confuse the match to call it the end of the segment on a particular ride even though it continues until reaching the actual end.

I have trails in my neighborhood that have these issues and would like some way to prune out those "close by, but not on the actual trail" rides that pollute the leaderboard.

[Jan_Mantau]

Segment matching is already based on all the points of your suggestion. There isn't much what can be made better here because gps inaccuracies both in the segment creation as in the activities are always there and therefore the matching algorithm allows much leeway for deviations.

If the MTB segment is near a road maybe it can be altered to include points that are a long way from the road or a MTB activity can be found where the gps recording erred on the "not road side" of the trail so the segment can be made from that activity.

[DRSpalding]

I guess I was not quite clear enough.  When I say "extra reference points", I mean to say that those points must be in the set of x% that do match.  I.e. the segment must match in that range of the segment and not deviate from the path.  I admit that if the entire segment is within the usual 10m (or whatever it is) of GPS accuracy of the road that it may entail having to tighten up the range to make it work.

This picture should illustrate the issue:

There are two defined segments for this trail next to the road and they both exhibit the problem  If I could edit them to force the matching to include a few points where it goes the furthest away from the road, it *might* clear out the folks that rode straight down the road and own the top 10 times on the segment.  FYI, the segment ID on these two are:

A) 6251324
B) 23762164

Segment 'A' (Flow Down) was an attempt to get it to disregard the road rides but enough folks took the right turn at the bottom of the road and trail and then matched the end of the segment too closely and are also included.

Unfortunately trying to add in a new segment here will never work because it is now too short and Strava will not let a new one be created or to modify an existing one.

As for the looping back issue causing a premature ending to the ride on that segment, the same statement applies.  Adding in a location that has to be in the matched set of points would likely fix that issue too.

This is the segment where I have seen the premature ending https://www.strava.com/segments/23256770:

The yellow highlighting is the area where Strava sometimes matches it with the end of the trail.  If I could add in the blue highlighted area as a set of "must match" points, those rides would hopefully not prematurely end at the yellow splotch.

[Jane]

Hello @DRSpalding 

Thanks for your idea submission.

We have another suggestion about segment matching here.  

Although not identical, the original suggestion is also trying to come up with ways to improve segment matching, so we've consolidated the posts. This helps us keep the forums organized and makes sure suggestions are easy to find and votes for them aren’t divided across duplicate/overlapping ideas. Don’t forget to show your support by clicking on the kudos button.

[Jane]

Hello. We wanted to let you know that your idea submission from September, 2022 regarding configurable segment match threshold has received little support from the Community and will not be added to our Product Roadmap in the foreseeable future.  The idea submission will be archived.  

Please note that your feedback is valuable to Strava. As stated in our Community Idea Guidelines, we receive many idea submissions each week, and realistically, there may be various reasons that prevent us from including an idea on our Product Roadmap.  

We want to thank you for taking the time to submit your idea and we look forward to your continued contributions to the Strava Community.