High Tech Vintage

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     Ever since we have started building our collection of old bicycles, it was evident early on to keep an accurate inventory.  I may be a little obsessive on the matter, but there are better reasons than my own quirks to keeping good record.  Hours of listing serial numbers, taking pictures, descriptions (things not evident from pictures), and detailed accounts of where they were obtained into an Excel spreadsheet.  At first I thought I was taking it a little to far and my OCD nature had gotten the best of me, but in hind sight, it was well worth it.  Having made it detailed in sections, not just a flat list, each bike receives a profile of it's own.  This way the specifics of a bikes components can be listed for reference for either sale, replacement, or salvage.  Tracking exchanged components can be made easier as well.  

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     At the time I started all this, we invested in a laptop.  It came installed with Evernote, but my need to upgrade my  Microsoft office components introduced me to Onenote.  Besides the split camps on each of those note organizers I found for my purposes, Onenote worked best.  I use Evernote for on the fly clips and notes from my smart phone, then flip it into Onenote on the laptop.  Using both is only necessary because of Microsoft's lack of developing an app for Android phones.  Evernote has some neat features, but Onenote's layout is much easier to organize when using actual notebooks and binders to build from.

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     With a massive notebook of information on the bicycle inventory, anything not covered by the Excel spreadsheet was allocated to linked pages in the notebook. This added the ability to tag each bikes profile with location maps of where they were purchased, website clips with info about the model or copies of ads that led us to the bike.  Incorporate all this together, and it makes for a bulletproof system.

   
Since bicycle theft is an issue, we always avoid anything suspect.  Instinct is an asset when pursuing anything outside the normal sphere of sales and trade.  It isn't always foolproof.  With accurate records, if any inquiry comes upon us about the origins of a bike, we can supply it.  It is always best to cover ones butt.  In the shop we keep a printed catalog on the shelf for reference and making changes or updates.  When enough scribbles or notes show up on a profile, we remove it and update the inventory and reprint.  Even my youngest at 10 years old can work with it.


     With the kids armed with cellphones, and the things cell phones can do, it is getting easier to not just get a call about a bike, but a Geo-tagged pic with a link to a craigslist ad.   There is a kind of irony to it all.  A love for old bikes, blended with the modern tech to keep track of it all.  You know, like blogging about a bike that is smaller than a calculator made the same year.