Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you commuters out there actually bother using Strava to log your minor-commuter miles. (less than 5 miles). My problem is, I forget to turn on Strava to or from the destination. I'm pretty sure that I've lost over a hundred miles since this season started. I don't mind missing the miles though, what's everyone else's opinion on commuting&strava.

I don't use the Strava app to record my rides. I use a Garmin watch that I also use for running. I upload to the Garmin Connect site and then import that data into Strava.

I started importing more regularly once I saw some friends on there and when the Bike Forums group got setup. I also import into Endomondo which in turns gets imported into the National Bike Challenge site.

I'm just trying to make sure the world knows how many miles I ride. Hmm, maybe I should auto-post to Facebook too. Or tweet it?

I do. For my commute I just use my phone but for longer road/mountain bike rides I use a Garmin.

If you are in a competition or collective mileage deal and you have to use Strava as a method to record the miles then I can understand it. But otherwise I can't see any reason especially for a regular daily commute that doesn't vary. I don't like using the connected phone apps as they are a big battery drain on the phone, which is a bad thing if you are on a long ride and you're 30 miles out and you have an emergency.

I use a Garmin 200 and have a mount on all my bikes. Easy to remember to turn it on and off, weather proof, and no fuss. So no matter what bike or where I'm riding my miles get recorded and then saved when I charge it.

I'm a daily strava user; commutes, long rides, anything in between. I like statistics and I like tracking my progress, and this is the easiest/least expensive way for me to do it. I used to use a cycling computer and right everything down in a notebook every day! This is much simpler and since I see it every day, it keeps me motivated. I typically don't see too much of a battery drain, even on my two hour rides (typically around 10-20% drain per hour, unless I'm actively using the maps, which I'm typically not). Heck, my under-five-miles rides make up the VAST majority of my riding, so I definitely want to keep track of them. When I forget to turn it on, it really does bum me out a bit.

Wouldn't mind using a Garmin, but hard to kick in the $300-400 for such a specific device. Having garmin-like abilities on my phone is convenient and affordable, even though it's not as a great of a tracking device as a Garmin, but hey! It does do more than one thing! Which has got to count for something...

I think a phone with a good battery (or carry a backup batter or get one of those solar chargers) would be a good option. Some recent smart phones are even featuring water-proofness. With Google maps and Strava - or something similar - I think it would be as good as or better than most Garmin devices.

My phone is my only Strava device. I have a little pouch on my backpack shoulder strap that the phone fits in and I turn on Strava and put music on the speakerphone so people on the MUP can hear me coming.

I really enjoy Strava even though I've only been able to ride a couple of times. My son had a few dollars left over from his computer buy, and after seeing me get a bike and start riding he used his money to get a bike (cheap walmart fixie but it's a start) so we can ride together. He uses Strava everyday when he rides to school so I can track him. It's funny because he tries to take a different route each time so he can see it on the map. I'm also on the BF group too and there are a handful of riders who do a LOT of mileage. So in my own shy way, it's a pretty decent little social tool.

I strava all my rides as I too like to track the miles-a friend who follows me saw what I was doing and started commuting himself! My commute has 7 or 8 segments on it and I enjoy working my time down on them. My smart phone is 4 years old, but strava doesn't drain the battery much during my 1:40-1:50 trip.

I commute using, through the year, about a dozen routes so I've created them as routes in MapMyRide and when I get to work or return home, I record the ride and the time, if I've timed it. I find that with my phone's GPS (likely the same with a Garmin) that there are minor variations in my actual riding: on a mapped 24.97km route, my GPS may record it as 24.54km or 25.36km and I don't care about GPS inaccuracies or minor deviations in my route (cutting a corner closer when no cars are around, etc).

The other advantage IMO is that I can plan out a new route (commute or fitness ride) using the map and know the distance before I go out. I always ride alone (not that I always want to, I just don't have any cycling friends).

Wow I didnt think there'd be so much variety of people and users who do/don't. Definitely enjoying your opinions.

I do use STrava, but not via the Phone. Too much resource, too much a pain to deal with. I wear a TomTom MultiSports watch ( also use it for running and swimming ) and let it sync to Strava and MapMyFitness either via Bluetooth on the phone or the dock on my desk at the office. FAR more convenient, and size wise it is fine as a watch. I find that I rarely leave home without it on my wrist, and I don't bother to put it in the cradle. Just leave it on the wrist.

I started tracking my commutes with Google MyTracks, and quickly realized I don't really care to see those stats, so I stopped. I do have total mileage on the bike computer, and that suffices.

Yup - every time. Keeps me motivated

I made a Bike Forums Commuter Strava group over here if you want to join: Bike Forums Commuters | Strava Club

Makes it more interesting than just a blank feed

I use it for every ride so I can accurately tell how many miles I've biked each week. I always remember to turn it on but I forget to turn the thing off. I'll pick up my phone to check a message a hour after getting home and see its still running!

Solar charger? Have you ever heard of this thing called a dynamo hub? You can ride your bike and charge your phone. At the same time.

Yes.

I have a el cheapo speedometer with an odometer and trip meter that totals my miles that week. More than that is a distraction for me.

This.

I log almost every ride on my Garmin. Like diet tracking, ride tracking keeps me motivated. I have goals and milestones to hit for my own personal satisfaction. A friend keeps joking with me "it's not a race". My stock reply is "I am the only one I am racing with, and Strava lets me know if I'm winning".

Maybe an ad in the Wall Street Journal, or on a billboard at Hollywood and Vine, or in lights on Times Square or on the Goodyear Blimp?

A friend gave me a Garmin for Christmas last year, and ever since I've had it with me whenever I take a bike, which is always, and I log almost every mile. I've become an obsessive mileage counter, for no good reason, as I'm not training for anything, and I don't win a prize, but it adds to the fun. I use it even when I ride bike share. I used a cell phone for a while before I got the Garmin, and it was more hassle, and less accurate. GPS can do wacky things in urban canyons; the Garmin came with a speed sensor. I don't use Strava, I don't care about segments or KOMs or beating anyone's time, but I use ridewithgps.com to track things.

Same. Love it. My wife and I both have one.
And we both use them for our commutes. Commute to work is ~4.5, and commute home is ~9.5. On Saturday when I plug it in I download all the week's riding to Map My Ride.

Garmin 200 is $120 on Amazon.

If you commuters haven't done so yet, and you use Strava, come join us!

Bike Forums Commuters | Strava Club

I just use a 10$ cycle computer which gives me trip distance and odometer (and some other things). don't need anything more...