HOW TO: TRACK YOUR BIKE'S RIDING HOURS
Why is it important to track your bike's riding hours?
Tracking your bike’s riding hours is important in knowing what maintenance items are likely to be needed on your bike. Just like your car has a recommended maintentce schedule at different mileage intervals, your bike also needs specific care at/around specific riding-hour landmarks. For example, we recommend getting our Bronze-level service package every ~50 riding hours and a Silver package around every 100 hours. So if tracking your bike’s riding hours is so important, what are some of the best methods to track them? We’ve put together a simple guide to help you find the solution that best fits your style.
Option #1: Manual Tracking
The first method to track your riding is keeping a spreadsheet to track your total riding hours per bike. After you complete a ride, make sure to log your ride’s total hours and track your running total since your last service/tune-up. If you ride multiple bikes, make sure to keep separate tabs/spreadsheets for each bike. This method is simple and free, however, it can be difficult to remember to log your hours after each ride.
We’ve included a simple template below that you can download to start manually tracking your riding hours for separate bikes.
Option #2: Bike Computers
Another way to track your bike’s total riding hours is with a cycling computer. Simpler computer models will allow to to track just one bike per unit, however, Garmin computers will allow you to create individual profiles for each of your bikes and track them separately. Once you set up your profile(s), this method is as “set-it-and-forget-it” as it gets. Simply ensure your computer is charged and turned on & let it do the work for you.
Shop some of our favorite cycling computers below!
Option #3: Cycling Apps
Another one of our favorite methods to track your bike’s riding hours is using apps like Strava and RideSpot. Not only are these apps great for tracking your ride’s distance and time riding, you can also get great metrics such as elevation, average speed, etc. to track your improvement.
Simply download these apps, connect them to your cycling computer/smart watch or mount your phone to your bike and your ride’s total time along with miles and other metrics will be tracked automatically. Just like Garmin, these apps also allow you to create separate bike “profiles” to track each bike individually.