WaxOn
How it works
The short version: bikes hold chains, chains count kilometres, and you tap a button when you've treated one. Everything else is detail.
The symbols
WaxOn leans on a small set of symbols so you can read a screen at a glance instead of reading sentences. These are the ones worth knowing.
The colour tells you how bad it is: amber for due soon, orange for due, red for overdue. On a person's row it also carries a number — how many of their bikes are in that state.
Only shows when everything is clear: chain fine, no issues flagged, no reminders due. If any one of those isn't true, you get that symbol instead.
An issue someone flagged on that bike: "rode through rain", "shifting's off". It sticks around until someone marks it resolved.
Brake pads, tyre wear, tubeless sealant or a battery check has hit the distance you set for it.
Blue when the chain currently on that bike is oiled, amber when it's waxed, grey when there's no chain fitted. Same colour language as the buttons.
Each chain gets a card. One is "On the bike", the rest are "On the shelf" and don't collect distance.
Its own counter, because degreasing is its own job. It only ticks up while an oiled chain is fitted — wax doesn't contaminate a drivetrain, so those kilometres don't dirty it.
Anything to do with letting someone else help: the share button, your list of service people, the screen you land on after scanning a code.
On each person in "Bikes I service". Muted means their bikes stop sending you notifications. You still see every symbol on their cards — it just goes quiet.
Two little chips
On a chain card you'll see On the bike or On the shelf, and next to it either Wax or Oil. The first says whether it's collecting distance; the second says what it's treated with.
The things you'll actually do
Add a bike
Tap + next to "My bikes". Import from Strava and its rides count automatically, or add one by hand and log distance yourself. Every new bike starts with one chain fitted.
Log a wax or a lube
- Tap Waxed (or Lubed — the button follows the chain).
- Pick which product you used, if you've saved presets. Your default for that type comes pre-selected, and choosing one sets the chain's next interval to whatever that product lasts.
- Add a note if you want. "Second dunk", "did it in the rain", whatever you'll want to read in three months.
- Save. The counter goes back to zero and the clock restarts.
"Same as last time" keeps whatever interval the chain already had, and carries the previous product's name into the history.
Save your waxes and lubes as presets
Settings → Wax & lube presets. Give it a name, say whether it's a wax or a lube, and how far it lasts. A waxed chain is only ever offered wax presets, an oiled one only lubes — so the list stays short and you can't pick the wrong thing by accident. Whichever you mark as default is pre-selected next time.
Add distance by hand
Bikes that aren't linked to Strava get a small box and a + Ride button on the chain that's fitted. Type the distance, tap it, done.
Rotate chains
Add as many chains as you run. Put on bike moves one out of the shelf and into service; the one it replaces stops counting. If you're putting a waxed chain onto a bike that's been running an oiled one, WaxOn stops to remind you to degrease first — wax won't bond to a contaminated drivetrain. You can turn that warning off in Settings once you're tired of it.
Edit a chain
Edit on a chain card opens its name, the Oiled ⟷ Waxed toggle, how far it should go between treatments, and how much warning you want beforehand.
Set up service reminders
Bike settings → Service reminders. Switch on brake pads, tyre wear, tubeless sealant or battery check and give each one a distance. They count that bike's total riding, not a single chain. When one comes due you get a notification and a line in the history; Checked on the bike screen puts it back to zero.
Degrease works the same way but has its own card, since it only counts oiled kilometres.
Flag a problem
Flag an issue near the top of a bike screen. Short note, that's it. It shows as a red flag anywhere that bike appears, including for whoever else has access, until someone hits Resolved.
Share a bike with someone
- Bike settings, or the link button in the bike's top row.
- Create share code — you get a six-character code and a QR.
- They scan it with their phone camera, or type the code into the + under "Bikes I service".
Codes work once and expire after seven days. From then on they see that bike, get its alerts, and can log work on it. Anything they do is recorded with their name. Remove them any time with the ✕ next to their name in bike settings.
Look after someone else's bikes
Shared bikes live under "Bikes I service", grouped by person. Each name tallies what's going on across their bikes, so you can tell at a glance whether anything needs you before you open anything. If one person is noisier than you'd like, tap the bell on their row to mute their notifications.
Read (and fix) the history
Every bike keeps a timeline: waxes, degreases, reminder checks, flags. Each entry says who did it and at what distance. Logged something by mistake? The ✕ removes it — and if it was the most recent one, the counter it reset is put back where it was.
Kilometres or miles
Settings → Distance Unit. It only changes what you see; everything is stored in kilometres underneath. That's deliberate — it means you and a friend can share a bike while reading different units and neither of you sees the wrong number.
About the notifications
WaxOn works out how fast you're getting through a chain's interval and schedules its warnings from that, so alerts arrive even when the app's closed. Ride more, they move closer; take a week off, they slide out. Chains sitting on the shelf never alert.
Still stuck?
Email [email protected] and describe what you were doing. Screenshots help a lot.