unterhausen

no benefit that I can see, but I'm participating in the national bike challenge so this thread reminded me to log my miles.

bovine

Your loss if you don't have the common sense to keep a poop journal.

I-Like-To-Bike

Helps to mollify OCD heebie-jeebies.

Andy_K 

I track my mileage because I'm an obsessive data junkie. It helps with anticipating when certain components (chains, tires) are going to need replacement and when others (pedals, hubs) are going to need service. Distance between flats provides some information that can be useful in deciding how well a model of tire suits your typical riding conditions, but with most decent tires flats are so uncommon that it takes a huge amount of data to distinguish trends from bad luck.

You don't have to record your mileage while you're riding if you have a pretty good idea where you rode. For my commutes, for instance, I know the distance of the routes I'm most likely to take and so I can record the distance offline later without having recorded any actual data during the ride. For routes that I don't ride regularly I use online mapping software to calculate the distance if I rode a bike that didn't have a cyclocomputer tracking the distance. For most practical purposes your numbers don't have to be super accurate. For instance, it doesn't make a lot of difference whether my tires have got 2000 or 2200 miles on them when I just want to know whether or not they'll need to be replaced soon.

mcours2006

Absolutely.

Drew Eckhardt 

Tracking component wear.

Tires and chains with the same price tag are half the price when they last twice as long. When you try something different you may want that to be a one time experiment or something you keep doing.

It's much more convenient to replace your rear shift cable when you know it's about to wear out, not after when it breaks requiring riding home using one cog.

Phamilton

These are all excellent, well thought out responses - thank you much!!! I think for the near future I will continue to just be happy with riding and not worry about the numbers - there are enough numbers in life to manage already and one thing I particularly love about riding is not having to manage so much. I know what time I need to leave for work and what time I'll get home depending on weather and wind. As for components, I don't own particularly nice bicycles anyway. I guess if I rode every day for a year I would put around 8k miles just for work, but I'm not yet at that point. I will probably be looking to upgrade once I wear wear out the current ride. Thank you again.

gregjones

That is headed to the top of the all time list of true first world problems--with a bullet.

Ft. Wayne.....Drove around it a bunch in a big truck. Bought stuff from Sweetwater Music before Cheryl got sick.

Have Fun/Ride Save

I-Like-To-Bike

Ya mean to say that tire wear cannot be visually determined and requires some sort of mileage tracking log?

old's'cool

At least once, and 20 miles per day, respectively, for optimal results, in my book.



Though I'm not saint in this department, I like to diagnostically inspect my bikes regularly and take care of preventative maintenance on an as-needed basis. When I fail to to that in a timely manner, they typically inform me, usually with some time to spare, about impending maintenance requirements.

Regarding mileage tracking, I use an abstract method, consisting of my bathroom scale, the visibility of my ribs, and, of course, my belt notch and fit of my trousers.

tarwheel 

I started tracking my mileage 30+ years ago when I was primarily a runner and cycled on my off days. I've tracked all of my fitness activities since then and find it very motivating. As others mentioned, the data are also useful for bike maintenance purposes. I was a science major in college and work in a technical field, and collecting and analyzing data is interesting and useful for me. More than anything, however, setting mileage and performance goals helps motivate me to ride on days when I might otherwise slack off.

mgw4jc

That's an awesome history to have.

I use a Garmin running GPS that has a bike mode. I use it for both running and biking and have a history of about 7 years. It is fun to look back over the years and see where there are highs and lows both in the mileage and number of rides/runs, annually, monthly, whatever.

It's also helpful if I want to remember when and where I may have done a big ride or race. I didn't track commuting miles until I started a longer commute. I consider commuting to be cross-training to my running, so it is nice to track it for those purposes.

And then there is the National Bike Challenge (pointless except to see how I rank with everyone else on there) and Strava (ditto).

PatrickGSR94

I like how on the NBC it shows the heat map that's all red in the Memphis area where everyone rides, but then my commute to work (which ZERO other people ride) is all lit up red just from me alone.

puckalish

I think that commenter's point was that s/he tracks mileage vs. wear on components in order to compare the relative quality of different manufacturers and products lines. For example, if "x" tire lasted 1000 km before it started getting bald, whereas "y" tire only went 750 km before it was in the same condition. Now, you've got info on how these two tires compare to one another as relates to how you ride.

Personally, I'll let other people do that and read their reviews, but it's a good idea.

Drew Eckhardt 

I replace my tires when they look like this:



From my logs I know GP4000s and Gatorskins take 5000 miles to get there, but GP 4 Seasons wear out in 2500-3000.

WIth the GP 4 Seasons slower than the 4000s, not more flat resistant, and much shorter lived I won't buy another pair.

With the Gatorskins no less flat prone and no longer lived I don't buy those anymore either.

Rear shift cables require replacement when they look like this, at which point shifts to smaller cogs are slightly sluggish and it might require less tension to keep them reliable:



That takes 4000-4500 miles with pre-2009 Campagnolo ergo levers with the bend in the housing, but only 2000-2500 with the new levers having a tight 90 degree guide inside.

With the new lined housing only lasting 4000-4500 miles when that goes I replace the cable at the same time because it's not going to last long (I rode 900 miles in May, so a shift cable with only 1500 miles on it probably won't make it through a month) and I'd rather save the maintenance time than a couple dollars.

no motor?

I tend to replace stuff by time more than mileage. I replace the cables and brake pads every other year at a time when it doesn't cut into my riding time. That seems to work well for me, and saves me from more roadside repairs.

PatrickGSR94

I can attest to GP 4 Seasons only lasting 3K miles. Had to replace my rear one in less than a year, kinda sucked. I still have the front one with well over 5K on it.

I replaced my original Vittoria Zaffiro rear tire when the cords started showing.

CrankyOne

I'm an admitted gadget and numbers guy. However, I never track mileage for everyday bicycling. I'm a strong believer in the KISS principle. When I need or want to go somewhere I get on my bike and go. I ride in whatever clothes I have on, my lights are dyno based so always ready, my lock is mounted to the seat stays, and rubber bungees are permanently attached to the rear rack. For our daily transportation we use Dutch bikes and we try to reliably replace the chain every 10 or 20 years. No idea how many miles we get out of Marathon tires but typically 5 to 10 years.

Last year I tracked mileage for the National Bike Challenge using Endomondo on my phone. Kind of interesting but not really useful and a pain. Glad to be back to KISS.

When I raced I tracked miles, speed, weather, heart rate, power output, VO2, ascent/descent, and anything else useful or interesting. I still do much of this for 25 - 50 mile fitness rides–mostly just for fun.

scroca

I wrote my own application to enter and to track miles and one function allows me to associate parts to a bicycle. So, for example, I can tell you how many miles I have on my front tire, or my chain. I find this useful. And of course, there's just the notion that I know how many miles I did not have to buy gas for.

highrpm

This is my second year of bike commuting, but I really like to look over my numbers and see how I've improved. For example, I was going slower in the spring after taking the car to work all winter.

I'm riding faster now than I ever did on my bike, and I find it motivating to look over my new-to-me speeds!

Riveting

These are also the main reasons I track mileage. Although mileage tracking isn't as important/encouraging to me as noticing the gains in avg power output (watts/kg) or avg mph.

Hangtownmatt

I've kept a simple Excel spreadsheet of my miles since 1995. I started it as a motivational tool to keep track of my miles and times. After we started a family I let go of the time aspect. I found I needed to save energy to play with the kids once I got home. But I did continue to log miles. Over the years it's been very useful for maintenance, product evaluation, motivation and probably most importantly, it helps keep me from becoming legend in my own mind.

By the way - I've also kept maintenance logs on all my automobiles, motorcycles and one tractor. Without them I could never keep track. And I've pushed several autos close to the 300,000 mile mark without a major mechanical failure like engine or transmission. And generally when sold these autos were replaced simply because they no longer fit the growing family lifestyle; not mechanical issues.

I'm a big believer in logs!

Robert C

I don't know of any meaningful benefits. I keep track; but it is a game to me.

PatrickGSR94

I bought a 94 Acura Integra GSR with 89K miles in 2001, and it's still my daily driver today with 347K miles. All original engine and gearbox internals, and I only just opened up the engine to replace the head gasket 2 years ago at about 330K miles. It's on its 4th timing belt and 3rd clutch. Still gets 30+ MPG highway.

Andy_K 

The first pair I used went about 2100 miles without a single flat, then the rear casing split. I kept using the front tire and about 700 miles later its casing split. The tread still looked fine on both of them.

My experience has been that most tires become very flat prone for me around 2000 miles, so this didn't deter me too much. I bought another set of GP 4 Seasons and I have a third set in my parts drawer waiting to be needed. On the other hand, I've got a pair of GP 4000S's on my road bike that are going strong after about 2000 miles and have only had one flat.

The best mileage I've gotten from a tire was 3400 miles from a pair of 700x35 Marathon Supremes. The tread still looked good on those but they started getting flats about once a week after having been rock solid for 3000 miles.

So, yeah, for me, I can't visually tell when a tire is worn out and without tracking mileage I wouldn't have a very clear idea how soon I'd likely want to replace it.