Feedback in case of value to you re the relatively recent Climbs feature:
On my ride today (https://cycle.travel/map/journey/926426) I found the operation of the Climbs feature rather flaky. The start of a climb was only announced and displayed for about half the climbs, with some announced and displayed only when already nearly at the top. Likewise, the top was not reliably handled. I beleive the phone did have a signal at the relevant locations; although I did not stop to confirm this, it did seem to be tracking progress on the map, and the climbs were in open country rather than in twisty hollows where blackspots might be expected.
(As this mostly meant I was further up the modest climbs than I thought, it was far from a disaster! But not really how its meant to work.)
(Android on Samsung Galaxy A55, latest app, latest Android. App configured to Dim between turns, and using offline maps.)
Comments
Thanks – interesting example!
I think (but would welcome your views) that the issue is that this one is quite an undulating route – it’s very bitty. There’s an argument to say that it should be one long climb from Chollerford to the summit at Little Baverton, for example. But the nature of the road is that there are actually lots of little ups and downs within this stretch.
The climb detection logic is broadly based on n metres at m% or more, so if a section of a long shallow climb just falls within this but the next bit doesn’t, then it’ll appear as two separate climbs. Obviously n and m are numbers I can adjust, though the challenge is what works in Northumberland may not work elsewhere!
Have a look at the elevation display on the app – the identified climbs are highlighted with a black top. Hopefully the announcements were correlating with these sections and it’s just a matter of playing with the thresholds.
Richard
Sorry, I wasn't clear; as I perceive it, the problem was not the corelation between the "climbs" identified by CT and the actual road - that seemed ok, picking out the steeper bits of the generally rising road up to Little Bavington. I appreciate that what is classed as a climb is a down to the algorithm, so won't always reflect what feels like a climb to ride (eg sections too short to trigger CT's algorithm, or the real height gain not detected due to the estimation of heights being out a bit out, which I appreciate is a difficult black art where precision is impossible).
My feedback is that the start of some of the climbs as picked out by CT wasn't announced until well up them (ie the climb graphic already showing my position most of the way up) - or not announced at all. And for the tops, some were announced well after the real top (eg the climb described as say 1000yards, then the top announced after more like 2000yds - eg climb 2 ; or not at all (eg climb 6, IIRC).
And I forgot to mention: when in the climb if I tapped the screeen to bring up the display (cos I had dim between turns set), the current position on the climb was not always shown. (I'm 99% sure I was in reality within the climb identified by CT.)
I will try to monitor more closely on forthcoming rides, and give a further report.