Originally Posted by
Kedosto
OMG! I never would have guessed I was surrounded by so many OCD forum members. All the effort to keep track of miles?! Seriously? Spreadsheets, logs, Strava... sheesh. What comes of the info? Does it serve an actual purpose? Don't get me wrong, I keep track of my miles too, but only -- ONLY -- for maintenance purposes. And when I say "keep track," I mean VERY loosely. I make note of my yearly mileage around Dec 31, and note mileages for chains, tires, and brake pads. I just want to know when something is due, or how long a part lasted, etc.
Example; Two years ago I started using a dynamo hub and scribbled down my odo reading (wrote it on the box) at the start. Over the weekend I noticed what feels like a bit of bearing slop (wear) so I dug out the box and did the math (~12,200 miles). Not bad for a $55 dyno hub. That's the extent of my mileage tracking.
Wow. Compliments to the dedicated.
-Kedosto
Speaking only for myself, I use my data on a regular basis. I break it down into estimates on mileage saved on vehicles, gas saved on those same vehicles, carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere and money I've saved. As you can see from my above post, I've also used my data for insurance purposes.
Since 1988, I have saved
Gas: 5100 gallons
Gas money (at $1.75 per gallon): $9000
Carbon dioxide: 98 tons
Vehicle mileage: 72000 mile
My riding has also saved me many miles put on a vehicle which has deferred my purchase of a few vehicles as well. Since 1988, I've only owned 4 vehicles. One of them I've had since 2002 and I'm not planning on replacing it anytime soon. Assuming at least 2 vehicle purchases compared to most people, that alone has saved me from around $50,000. I haven't had a car payment since about 2002 as well.