What Is An Odometer in Bike?

To understand what an odometer is, one need only look at the origin of the word. ‘Odometer’ is derived from two Greek words - ‘odos’ which means ‘street’ or ‘path’, and ‘meter’ which means ‘to measure’. So simply put, an odometer measures the path (or rather distance) a bike has traveled. You’ll find odometers as a smaller five or six digit readout (either digital or mechanical) as part of the instrument cluster.

Generally, an odometer measures the distance has traveled over the bike’s entire lifespan - from the time it rolls off the assembly line to the current date. Of course, depending on the number of digits the odometer can display, the odometer will roll back to zero once it crosses 99,999km/miles (if it has five digits) or 999,999km/miles (if it has six digits). If you want to measure shorter distances, such as a single ride, bikes will come with another one or two odometers which can be reset to zero manually by the rider. These odometers are referred to as ‘tripmeters’.

What Is An Odometer in Bike?

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