Keep a bike service history, and why it pays when you sell

A bike service history is a list of every job done to your bike. The date, the miles, what was done, who did it, and the receipt. It takes a few minutes after each job. When you sell, it says more than any advert can.

Here's what a good log holds, which paperwork to keep, and why buyers look for one. I'll also show where the free Plus1 Garage helps, and be straight about what it can't do.

What a good service log has

Keep it plain. One line per job is plenty.

What to log	Example	Why it matters
Date	14 March 2026	Shows the bike was looked after all year
Miles	1,240 off the display	Ties every job to how hard the bike was ridden
What was done	New chain and cassette	Tells a buyer what's fresh and what's next
The part	Brand and model	Like for like, or an upgrade
Who did it	You, a shop or the dealer	A buyer knows who to ask
Receipt	Photographed and filed	Proof the job happened

Write the miles down every time. Your e-bike's display, or its app, keeps a lifetime total, so it's easy to read off. On a bike without one, a Strava total or a fair guess will do.

Your own work counts. Log it the same way, and keep the receipt for the part.

The paperwork to keep

The log is your word. The receipts are the proof. Keep them yourself, in one place: a folder in a drawer, or one photo album on your phone.

• The original purchase receipt. Avon and Somerset Police tell buyers to ask for a receipt that proves the seller owns the bike. Expect a careful buyer to ask you.
• The frame number. The same police page says it's usually stamped under the bottom bracket shell. Note it next to the receipt.
• Shop invoices. Every service, and every part someone else fitted.
• Suspension services. Fork and shock work happens inside, where nobody can see it. The invoice is the evidence.
• Receipts for parts you fitted. Chains, pads, tyres, cassettes.

On an e-bike, add three more.

• The drive system dealer service. The Garage suggests one every 1,850 miles or 12 months. That's when a dealer reads the error log and battery data, updates the software, and checks the motor mounts, bearings and wiring. Keep the invoice.
• Battery health. Look it up in your bike's app, or ask for it at the yearly dealer service. Write it down with the date.
• Firmware. Note the version after each update.

Motor bolts and anything inside the drive system are dealer work. Never open a motor or a battery.

Why buyers trust a full history

A buyer can't see inside your fork. They can't see inside your motor or battery either. Paperwork is the next best thing.

BikeRegister's tips for second-hand buyers say an original receipt and service history are "a good sign of a genuine sale". That's the first job a history does. It shows the bike is yours.

The second job is wear. Park Tool warns that a chain run past its wear limit wears out the cogs early. It also points out that a cassette costs far more than a chain (Park Tool). A log of chains changed on time tells a buyer the cassette was looked after too.

On a powerful e-bike, that's where the questions start. I ride a Mondraker Zendit with DJI Avinox, and the drivetrain goes quickly.

"Avinox absolutely kills cassettes. I've been through a chain in 200 miles and a cassette in 700 miles."

Anyone looking at a bike like mine will ask when the chain and cassette were last done. One line answers it.

Then there's the battery. DJI says an Avinox battery keeps up to 80% of its capacity after 500 cycles, measured in a lab at 25 °C (Avinox FAQ). Capacity drops as the cycles add up, so a dated health figure tells a buyer where yours is. The Garage treats 80% or less as getting tired, and 70% or less as worn out. My battery care guide has the rest.

I can't tell you a history adds a set sum to the price. Nobody publishes that number, and I won't invent one. What it does is answer a buyer's questions before they ask them.

That's how it pays.

How the Garage keeps your history

The Garage is a tab in the Plus1 app, on iPhone and Android. It's completely free: no subscription, no paid tier, no ads.

Add your bike from a list of over 900, and type in the miles now and then. Every part gets a bar: fine, coming up or due. When you do a job, tap "Replaced it", "Serviced it" or "Checked it". A replacement asks why: worn out, changed early, or damaged. The Garage saves the job with the bike's miles at the time, and restarts that part's clock. Each part then shows how far and how long since you last did it.

That record is yours alone. Service history is always private, and no other rider sees it. There's more on how the Garage works.

Here's what it can't do.

• No history screen. It keeps the record, but you can't scroll back through it as a list.
• No PDF or export. There's nothing to hand a buyer.
• No receipts, costs or names. It doesn't store invoices, photos or who did the work.
• Removing a bike removes its history. The button says so.
• It only knows the miles you give it. Your rides don't feed it.

So let the Garage keep the bars right and remind you on the day a job's due. Keep the folder of receipts alongside it. More is on the way.

Between the two, you have the whole story.

Other apps that keep a service history, and what they charge

If you need a history to hand a buyer today, other apps keep one. Some charge for it; some don't. These are UK App Store prices, checked October 2026.

App	Service history	What you pay for	UK price
Velo Buddy	Service history, free for one bike	PDF service log, unlimited bikes	£4.99 a month, £24.99 a year or £29.99 lifetime
PedalCare	Free for up to 2 bikes, with core tracking	Full service history, unlimited bikes	£2.99 a month or £29.99 a year
BikeHealth	History with costs, dates and who did the work	Plain-language logging (Pro)	£4.99 (Pro) or £49.99 (Annual)
Cogbook (iPhone and iPad)	Service log never paywalled	CSV and PDF export, full e-bike support	£3.99 a month, £19.99 a year or £39.99 lifetime
My Bikes (iPhone)	Maintenance history, PDF export pitched for resale	The listing doesn't say which features are PRO	£9.99 a year or £24.99 lifetime
ProBikeGarage	Component history: swaps, services, notes	Up to 10GB of photos and documents (Premium)	£3.99 to buy on iPhone, then £2.99 a month or £24.99 a year
Plus1 Garage	Private record of each job; distance and time since, per part	Nothing	Free

To be fair to them, some of this is free. Cogbook keeps its service log free. BikeHealth's history, with costs and who did the work, isn't part of Pro. Velo Buddy's free tier keeps a history for one bike. For a PDF to hand a buyer, Velo Buddy and Cogbook charge, and My Bikes offers one alongside a PRO tier.

I built the Garage to remember what's due on a muddy e-bike, for nothing. It sits in the same app as the rides and the riders you go out with. It does that job. It doesn't print a history. There's a wider look at how it compares with the other apps.

Start your history today

1. Find the original receipt. Photograph it.
2. Make one album or folder for every invoice from now on.
3. Write down today's miles and the jobs you remember, with rough dates. Mark the ones you're guessing.
4. Add your bike to the Garage and set where each part is in its life.
5. After every job: one line, one receipt.

For when each job comes round, use my e-MTB maintenance schedule.