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BikeCare vs mainTrack: two bike maintenance apps compared
Free and lean versus deeper maths – what mainTrack does well and where BikeCare goes further.
mainTrack is free, mature and deliberately lean: if you ride on an iPhone and want a dependable counter with intervals and reminders, it costs you nothing and does that job well. BikeCare is free for one bike and already includes the arithmetic behind the maintenance: remaining life per part, wear weighted by conditions on drivetrain and brakes and by measured power, tyre pressure, cost per kilometre, plus Android and the browser. Pro adds unlimited bikes, the 90-day maintenance plan and more AI. Where mainTrack's own pages stay silent on a feature, we say so rather than claiming it is missing.
BikeCare and mainTrack side by side
| Feature | BikeCare | mainTrack |
|---|---|---|
| Remaining life per component | available | available |
Remaining life forecast per component (chain, tyres, brake pads, cassette) BikeCare: BikeCare shows a remaining life in kilometres and days for chain, tyres, brake pads, cassette and 20+ further parts. mainTrack: Maintenance is planned per part against a target the rider sets: "Plan your bikes maintenance periodically based on period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time", plus "Check your bike's parts usage since you last serviced them" and a notification "when a service is due". A wear-rate forecast with a projected date is not described in the provider's sources. | ||
| Weighted by conditions | available | not stated |
Wear weighted by conditions (wet, surface, elevation gain) BikeCare: In BikeCare, wet weather and surface feed into the remaining life of chain, cassette and chainrings, and elevation gain and wet weather into that of the brakes. mainTrack: The provider itself lists the bases of its intervals as "period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time"; wet weather, surface and elevation appear neither there nor on any of the five pages of its website. Not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| Weighted by power output | available | not stated |
Wear weighted by the power actually put out BikeCare: Chain, cassette and chainring are additionally weighted by the work done: 200 km out of the saddle uphill loads the drivetrain harder than 200 km rolling along the flat. The calculation runs on kilojoules per kilometre and only counts power actually MEASURED by a power meter; Strava's estimates are deliberately left out because they ignore wind and drafting. Without a power meter the calculation stays unchanged. mainTrack: As usage figures the provider names only distance, hours, rides and time ("how many hours your race wheel have"). Watts, kilojoules or a power meter appear in neither the full App Store description (English and Portuguese) nor the website. Not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| Tyre pressure calculator | available | not stated |
Tyre pressure calculator (front/rear width, tube/tubeless/hookless, ETRTO limit) BikeCare: BikeCare derives the pressure from system weight, front and rear tyre width and the tyre system, and on hookless rims caps it hard at the ISO/ETRTO maximum. mainTrack: Tyres appear in the provider's sources only as a part to be serviced ("when was the last time you replaced your tyres"), not as a calculator. Neither the home page, the support page nor the App Store description mentions tyre pressure, bar/psi, tubeless or hookless. Not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| AI assistant and bike setup | available | not stated |
AI assistant and AI bike setup BikeCare: AI auto-setup creates the bike from make and model including its parts list (live web search), and the Copilot answers questions about your specific bike. Free of charge: the AI parts recommendation with checked shop links (40 requests a month) plus one AI bike setup and one Copilot question a month to try them out; Pro gives you more. mainTrack: No provider source mentions AI or automatic bike recognition, and the description presents setup as manual ("Create Components ... Assign Components to Bikes"). The release notes for the current version 1.7.54 of 4 September 2026 read only "Minor bug fixes and performance improvements." Not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| Chain care per lube method | available | limited |
Chain care intervals per lubrication method (hot wax, drip wax, dry lube, wet lube) BikeCare: BikeCare stores its own interval for each method. mainTrack: Intervals are freely definable ("Plan your bikes maintenance periodically based on period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time"), so a wax or oil interval can be set up by hand. Preset intervals that differ by lubrication method are not stated on any provider source. | ||
| Costs per year and per km | available | not stated |
Cost analysis per year and per kilometre BikeCare: BikeCare converts the recorded costs into a figure per year and per kilometre ridden, per bike and across all bikes. mainTrack: The provider's description names a service history, but neither cost fields nor an analysis per year or per kilometre, and the five pages of the website say nothing about costs. Outside the provider's own sources there are indications that workshop costs can be recorded, but that cannot be evidenced from the provider's own statements. Not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| Service book and export | available | limited |
Service book with costs and warranty, export as CSV and PDF BikeCare: BikeCare exports your recorded entries as CSV and each bike's service record as a PDF. mainTrack: The service log itself is clearly documented: "record all serviced parts and components" and "Keep track of all services, so you know when you last serviced a part or component." Cost fields, warranty details and an export as CSV or PDF are not stated on any provider source. | ||
| Push and email reminders | available | limited |
Push and email reminders with separately adjustable frequency BikeCare: In BikeCare the push frequency and the email digest are configurable independently of each other, and reminders can be snoozed individually. mainTrack: Push is documented: "Receive timely notifications upon completing a ride or when a service is due." Email reminders and separately adjustable intervals are not stated anywhere; the only email function on the website is a newsletter list (page "subscription-confirmation"). | ||
| Friends, challenges, ranking | available | not stated |
Friend comparison, challenges and leaderboard BikeCare: In BikeCare this is voluntary and switched off by default. Private groups with their own challenges are available. mainTrack: Neither the full App Store description nor the website shows a social, challenge or leaderboard function. The provider places the social side expressly outside the app, in a Strava club ("Join our mainTrack.app club and share your rides.", 947 members). Whether there are in-app leaderboards is not stated on the provider's own pages. | ||
| Sync sources | limited | limited |
Where the rides come from (sync sources) BikeCare: This is where BikeCare is weakest: it syncs via Strava only, by webhook shortly after the upload. Without a Strava account there is no automatic import. mainTrack: Exactly two routes are documented: "Keep track of your bikes and components usage by connecting to Strava or manually recording activities." Garmin, Wahoo, Komoot or further sources are not stated on any provider source; apart from Strava, no third-party service is named anywhere on the website. | ||
| Operating hours as metric | available | limited |
Operating hours as an interval metric of its own (suspension fork, shock) BikeCare: For fork and shock, operating hours are the technically correct yardstick: Fox and RockShox publish their service intervals in exactly that unit. BikeCare keeps them as a metric of its own alongside kilometres and calendar time, preset to 50 h for fork and shock and 100 h for the dropper post. mainTrack: Hours are demonstrably kept as a usage figure in their own right ("how many hours your race wheel have"), and the provider names suspension expressly as a use case ("Or when you need to service your suspension?"). Whether an interval can be set directly in operating hours is not clear from the provider's sources; the interval bases named there are "period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time". | ||
| EU provider, GDPR, legal notice | available | limited |
EU provider under the GDPR, public legal notice BikeCare: BikeCare is a sole trader based in Germany, and the legal notice gives a postal address. Uploaded document files are stored in the EU; hosting and database run on Cloudflare, and some features, such as the AI, also process data in the USA; the privacy policy has the details. mainTrack: GDPR rights are named in the privacy policy (withdrawal of consent, erasure, portability "in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format", objection). There is no legal notice, no controller with a postal address and no server location; on transfers it says only that "data transfers may involve transferring and storing your information in a country other than your own". The German App Store notes expressly that the developer has not identified itself as a trader for this app. | ||
- available
- limited
- not available
- not stated on the provider's own pages
In context
mainTrack has been in the App Store since January 2019 and is genuinely free: Apple's lookup API reports a price of 0.00, and the only in-app purchases are tip tiers named Coffee, Snack, Lunch and Dinner. It counts kilometres and hours per component, lets you set service intervals and tells you when one is due, and its component model is a strong one: a wheelset or a chain can move between bikes and keeps its own usage. BikeCare is a different trade-off: a free core with an optional subscription, running on the web, iOS and Android. And it goes further wherever the arithmetic gets specific: remaining life per part, wear weighted by wet weather, surface and elevation, a tyre pressure calculator, cost per kilometre.
Where mainTrack is stronger
- Genuinely free, with no paywall. Apple's official lookup API reported price 0.00 and formattedPrice "Free" on 22 September 2026, and no subscription or Pro version is advertised on any primary source. The only in-app purchases are four tip tiers named Coffee, Snack, Lunch and Dinner: a donation model, not a feature unlock. If you don't want a recurring bill and mainTrack's scope covers you, it is simply cheaper than any subscription product, BikeCare included.
- Seven years in the store and still maintained. First released on 3 January 2019, current version 1.7.54 dated 4 September 2026, rated 4.6 out of 5 from 59 ratings in the US store. That is a run of continuity BikeCare cannot match: we are new, and we have a handful of users.
- A very strong component model across several bikes. The provider explicitly describes creating components you use "occasionally or in multiple bikes" and assigning one to a bike for a period, while its usage keeps running separately from the bike itself. If you rotate wheelsets, power meters or chains between bikes, that is exactly the right way to think about it.
- Hours count as a first-class metric alongside kilometres. The provider's own examples are "how many hours your race wheel have or mileage on your chain", and suspension servicing is named outright: "Or when you need to service your suspension?" For mountain bikers and anyone who services by operating hours rather than distance, that is the better fit.
- Deliberately lean and focused. mainTrack does one thing: count usage, set an interval, remind, log the service. The provider's five-page website advertises nothing beyond that: no calculators, no AI, no social feed. For riders who want a quiet tool rather than a dashboard, less surface is a feature, not a gap.
- Deep in the Apple ecosystem, device sync included. The store listing names "Synchronize data across multiple devices" and lists iPhone and iPad plus Apple Silicon Macs (macOS 12 and later) and Vision Pro as supported; for a household entirely on Apple hardware that fits well.
What BikeCare is built for
Remaining life, not only a counter
mainTrack counts usage against an interval you set: "based on period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time", in the provider's own words. BikeCare estimates how much further a part will actually go: remaining life in kilometres and in days for chain, tyres, brake pads, cassette and over 20 further parts, derived from a wear rate rather than a fixed target. A remaining-life forecast of that kind is not described in mainTrack's primary sources.
Wet rides count more than dry ones
Every ride is weighted by its conditions: wet weather and surface on the drivetrain, elevation gain on the brakes. A rainy gravel ride eats more chain than the same distance dry and flat, and BikeCare bills it that way. Drivetrain parts are additionally weighted by the work done in kilojoules, but only where the power was genuinely measured with a power meter; without one the calculation stays exactly as it is. mainTrack lists time, usage, rides and elapsed time as its interval bases; wet weather, surface, elevation, watts and kilojoules do not appear on its pages.
Tyre pressure is calculated, not looked up
BikeCare takes system weight, tyre width front and rear and the tyre system (tube, tubeless or hookless), and on hookless rims caps the result hard at the ISO/ETRTO maximum, because on a hookless rim that limit is a safety matter, not a suggestion. In mainTrack's primary sources tyres show up only as a part to be serviced ("when was the last time you replaced your tyres"); tyre pressure, bar, psi, tubeless or hookless are not mentioned on the home page, the support page or the store description.
Chain care by the method you actually use
Hot wax, drip wax, dry lube and wet lube each get their own interval, and a wet ride flags chain care as due straight away: someone who hot-waxes gets different dates from someone running wet lube through the winter. mainTrack's intervals are freely definable, so you can build a wax or oil interval yourself; ready-made intervals that distinguish the lubrication method are not advertised on its pages.
An AI that looks up your model
Type in make and model and the AI researches the bike live on the web, then creates the parts list and spec sheet; the maintenance intervals come from BikeCare's reference values. The Copilot answers questions about your particular bike. The AI parts recommendation with checked shop links is free at 40 requests a month; without Pro you can also try one AI bike setup and one Copilot question a month, and Pro gives you more. Neither mainTrack's website nor its store description nor its release notes mention AI or automatic bike recognition.
Android and the browser, not iOS only
mainTrack's home page has carried "Coming Soon!" for Android for years, and its store listing covers iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Macs and Vision Pro. BikeCare runs in any browser and as an app on both iOS and Android, works offline and syncs the changes later, so the phone in your pocket doesn't decide whether you can see your maintenance data.
A service book that knows what things cost
Workshop visits, part prices and warranty dates are recorded and export as CSV or PDF, and BikeCare turns them into cost per year and cost per kilometre, per bike and across every bike you own. mainTrack clearly documents the service history itself ("Keep track of all services, so you know when you last serviced a part or component"), while cost fields, warranty data, a CSV or PDF export and any cost analysis are not disclosed on its pages.
An imprint and reminders you control
BikeCare is run by a sole trader in Germany with an imprint naming a contact, and uploaded document files are stored in the EU; push notices and the email digest have separate intervals, so you can switch email off and keep push. mainTrack's privacy policy does name GDPR rights including portability "in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format", but no controller with an address and no server location; the German App Store notes that the developer has not identified as a trader, and its push notifications are documented while email reminders are not: the only email function on the site is a newsletter list.
Common questions
Is mainTrack free?
Yes. Apple's official lookup API reported price 0.00 and formattedPrice "Free" on 22 September 2026, and no subscription or Pro version is advertised on any of the provider's own pages. The only in-app purchases in the German App Store are four tip tiers named Coffee, Snack, Lunch and Dinner: a donation model rather than a feature unlock. The page maintrack.app/subscription-confirmation refers to a newsletter list ("Your subscription to our list has been confirmed."), not a paid plan. BikeCare's maintenance core is free too, for one bike; Pro adds unlimited bikes and more of the generative AI features, which free accounts can try once a month.
Is mainTrack available on Android?
Not as things stand on 22 September 2026. mainTrack's home page has listed Android as "Coming Soon!" for years, and the App Store listing covers iPhone and iPad plus Apple Silicon Macs (macOS 12 and later) and Vision Pro. If you ride with an Android phone, you cannot use it today. BikeCare runs in any browser and as an app on both iOS and Android, so a household on mixed hardware still sees the same maintenance data.
Is mainTrack enough to track component wear?
For a lot of riders, yes. The provider describes planning maintenance "based on period of time, usage, rides or elapsed time", checking "your bike's parts usage since you last serviced them" and being notified "when a service is due", so it counts against a target rather than only accumulating a total, and hours count alongside kilometres. What its primary sources do not describe is a wear rate: weighting a wet gravel ride more heavily than a dry flat one, or projecting the date a part will be worn out. That is the gap BikeCare is built to fill (as of 22 September 2026).
Does mainTrack have a tyre pressure calculator?
None is disclosed. Tyres appear in mainTrack's primary sources only as a part to be serviced ("when was the last time you replaced your tyres"), and neither the home page, the support page nor the App Store description mentions tyre pressure, bar, psi, tubeless or hookless. BikeCare derives a pressure from system weight, tyre width front and rear and the tyre system (tube, tubeless, hookless), and on hookless rims it caps hard at the ISO/ETRTO maximum; front and rear tyres are separate parts with their own distance ridden and their own pressure (as of 22 September 2026).
Can mainTrack import my rides automatically?
Yes, from Strava. The provider writes: "Keep track of your bikes and components usage by connecting to Strava or manually recording activities." Those two routes are documented; Garmin, Wahoo, Komoot or any other service are not named anywhere on the provider's pages. BikeCare also syncs exclusively through Strava, by webhook, so rides land in the app shortly after upload. On this point the two apps sit in the same place: without a Strava account there is no automatic import in either.
Does mainTrack send email reminders?
Push notifications are documented: "Receive timely notifications upon completing a ride or when a service is due." Email reminders and separately configurable rhythms are not disclosed anywhere on the provider's pages; the only email function on the website is a newsletter list. BikeCare sends push notices and an email digest, each on an interval you set yourself, so you can turn email off entirely and keep the push reminders (as of 22 September 2026).
Where is mainTrack's data stored, and who is responsible for it?
Not disclosed. The privacy policy names GDPR rights (withdrawal of consent, deletion, portability "in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format" and objection), but there is no imprint, no controller with a postal address and no server location; on transfers it says only that "data transfers may involve transferring and storing your information in a country other than your own". The German App Store adds that the developer has not identified as a trader for this app. The one location to be found anywhere is Wellington, New Zealand, on the provider's official Strava club. BikeCare is run by a sole trader in Germany with an imprint on the site; uploaded document files are stored in the EU, and the privacy policy names the service providers.
Is there a mainTrack alternative for Android?
BikeCare is one. It runs in the browser and as an app on iOS and Android, and the maintenance core is free for one bike: wear with remaining life per part, Strava sync, push and email reminders, the tyre pressure calculator, and a service book with CSV and PDF export. Pro adds unlimited bikes, the 90-day maintenance plan and more AI auto-setups and Copilot questions than the one of each a month that is free. There are other options in this category too, and if what you want is a free iOS-only tool, mainTrack itself remains a good one.
How we compared
Sources (10)
- mainTrack home page (feature description, positioning, "Coming Soon!" for Android), accessed 22 September 2026
- mainTrack support page (contact form only, no FAQ or help content), accessed 22 September 2026
- mainTrack privacy policy (GDPR rights named; no controller, no server location), accessed 22 September 2026
- mainTrack sitemap: evidence that the whole provider website consists of exactly five pages (no features, pricing or comparison page)
- mainTrack newsletter confirmation page ("subscription" = mailing list, not a paid plan)
- App Store US: full description, feature list, in-app purchases, version 1.7.54 (4 September 2026)
- App Store DE: note that the developer has not identified as a trader for this app; in-app purchases Coffee €1.99, Snack €3.99, Lunch €8.99, Dinner €14.99
- Apple iTunes Lookup API: price 0.00 / "Free", version 1.7.54, first released 3 January 2019, 4.6 stars from 59 ratings (US)
- Apple's customer review feed for the app (no entries on 22 September 2026; the tip model is shown by the in-app purchase list in the German App Store)
- Official mainTrack Strava club run by the provider (947 members, location given as Wellington, New Zealand)