Adding a serial number to steel frame
 

Hello all,

Short version:
Are there any ways to add a (more-or-less) permanant serial number to a steel frame that don't involve tearing through the finish?

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I can't figure out where else to post it. Let me know if there's a better place to ask this.

Details:
I picked up a used and very ratty bike I thought to be a Handsome Devil for a silly low-low price. However, it doesn't have a serial number. I was able to talk to the guys at Handsome and they confirmed it is a Devil frame and based on it's color and not having a serial number, it is one of their first few pre-production samples / prototypes.

The finish was pretty mucked up so I'm getting it powder coated. It just occurred to me that I should have attempted to etch something in before the powder went on, but it's too late and getting done as we speak.

I looked around for ways to do this, but haven't found much. I have used asset tags on machines for work before that have a VERY robust adhesive or rivets. As well as they stay put under normal use, they can still be removed. Any other suggestions? There are too many bike thefts going on where I live for this guy to be naked out there.

A shop I used to work at used to sell a type of bike theft insurance that entailed using acit to etch a small serial number into the paint on the frame.

Of course, a set of letter punches would be the traditional way to do it. This will locally damage the paint, but you could go over it with touch up paint (nail polish, and it is likely no more damaging than super strong adhesive.

A sticker INSIDE the head tube would cause no damage and be unlikely to be found.

You can even put your name and phone number on it.

Great idea! I actually do something like this already. I put an index card "laminated" with clear packing tape rolled up in the seat tube.

What concerns me about the serial number is that if it turns up in a pawn shop or is recovered by the police it's not likely that they will look inside the frame.

Interesting! I hadn't thought of acid etching. We keep Armour Etch on hand in our house for craft projects. I wonder if it has any effect on powder coating?

The problem with stolen bike ID is that the police don't have access to any data other then driver licence, not that providing a unique number on a bike isn't a good idea. Any method that doesn't engage the frame's surface in a non removable way is just as likely to get removed. We saw a high end Scott come through our shop recently with out it's foil decal sticker still opn it. A few calls to the other shops that sell Scotts in our larger area (we do too) met with no one hearing of their customers having lost one. No serial #, no police action has been the rule in every shop I've worked in.

I would suggest accepting some form of paint damage and get a number stamped into it. This usually won't be more then 1/4" by 1" of area. Pick a 6 or more digit number with a letter also if possible. Again your driver's # is the best. And consider stamping the fork steerer too. Placing a note in the HT or the Bb shell with your contact info works to deal with the possibility of a shop "recovering" the bike.

I have come across a few of these notes before and only once was the note maker able to be contacted, it seems he sold the bike and neglected to remove the note. Please understand that if a bike is stolen it's gone. In 40 + years of working the LBS arena I've only been involved with a half dozen recovers that actually worked out. Usually these bikes were either sold by that shop or were a friend of the shop's bike. In today's legal climate a shop has to be very careful how they deal with a customer's bike. I know I've dealt with, worked on, hundreds of stolen bikes. Sometimes it's very assumable but without the system to ID and no time to hunt down the proper owner... Andy.

Could you clarify this? I'm not sure what you mean.

Sounds like this may be one of those "just do it the right way" situations, lol! Is this something an lbs can do? Or am I looking for a metal shop? I REALLY wish I had thought of this before the refinish...


All too well understood. I've unfortunately dealt personally with stolen tools/equipment more often than I'd have liked. In one case where I had asset tags and recorded serial numbers, the gear was recovered because the pawn shops were required to enter serialized items into an automated system the police have. Numbers matched and I got my stuff back. In another case, I wasn't even able to file a police report because I didn't have serial numbers recorded. I'm trying to at least give myself the opportunity to have access to the former situation.

I like the idea of the driver's licence number as a serial.

have the Powdercoater mask off a patch say under the BB .. use steel number stamps

Tempered , theyre harder than the steel you are imprinting . then use touch up paint over that spot

Otherwise.. the powder may flow in and obscure the stamped in numbers when it is melted..

So, just something like this?

1/8" seems kind of small 'font' but that is the right tool type.

If it's stolen it's stolen. Not sure about your city - where I live chances of finding the bike are... slim. Usually stripped for parts, or sold complete in other cities. I wouldn't bother.

Great, thanks! I'll look for something a little larger.