Do you inventory your parts or just bin them?
 

As the title suggests, do you keep a record of your inventory of parts? If so, is it paper or digital? Keeping track of what I have is getting a little more challenging. Surprises are nice but having to hunt can be frustrating.

I once wrote out a few things on a little cheat-sheet notebook page, but I realized I was just putting numbers next to each item in Campy's Nuovo and Super Record gruppos :)

I have almost all my spares in a custom-built carrying box made by whatwolf. They're all protected by Ziploc bags. All my spare/small parts are similarly bagged and reside in an old metal two-compartment file box.

DD

No inventory.

Just lots of shelves and hooks.

No. But I do sort them by group. Heck, even my complete bike inventory (which I need) is woefully out of date.

I use metal card file cabinets for parts. You can find them occasionally at a low price at thrift stores or wherever. The drawers are heavy duty. I use a regular file cabinet for large items (cranksets).

No inventory kept.
Like parts are just grouped & stored together.

1 Rubbermaid (tm) bin for spares per bike.
1 hook per bike on basement joist.
1 hook per rim with/and/or tire under the basement steps.

I just leave them lying randomly about and happen upon them later.

I had to compromise, keeping an accurate inventory was too much work. Now using plastic bins organized by area or function with parts in appropriate containers, from plastic bags, smaller boxes to new packages. Other C&V and/or bike flipper guys I ride with do this and it works for me as well. Examples:

Saddles bin- loose saddles, bagged posts, bag of loose post/saddle parts, bag of clamps and clamp bolts, etc.
Shifter bin- shifters in bags, bagged repair parts (hoods, levers, etc.), new packages of parts like Campy G spring 4 pack, etc.
Cassette bin- loose clean cassettes, bagged dirty cassettes that I think I will never use but may use a sprocket or two, bags of cogs, loose spacers, etc.
I maintain bikes for three daughters, two sons-inlaws, and a granddaughter, as well as my wife and my fleet, almost all C&V.

No inventory, its not pleasurable to do a spreadsheet on a hobby, that kind of stuff is for work for me. I have found I remember Most of the stuff I have, but on occasion get a surprise, especially when I bought a "lot" of parts for a specific item and a bunch of other stuff came with it. I am now reorganizing the storage to do a better job of placing like parts in one drawer or bin. There are a few things that I need to do that are specific and specialized like a handlebar rack.

Those of you may want to reconsider if you have a large quantity of high quality parts. It may be a good idea to have photos and an inventory record in case of theft, fire or natural disaster. Without records the insurance company usually never pays out on your word alone.

I keep most parts on the bike frame until needed for another.

When I get a new frame, I get to scrounge around, mix and match all the stuff I forgot I had. Sometimes it's just like Christmas.

Once a year I sell all my remaining parts that are not designated for a specific project, excluding universal things like tubes, etc. Once in a while I wish I hadn't, but more often than not if just saves me more frustration and frees up more money for the next project.

This is my system too. I once attempted to put together an Excel sheet, but I got bored doing so. Besides, it's always a little bit like Christmas when I go digging through my stuff in search of a part (which, ultimately I won't locate) and stumble across a gem that I'd completely forgotten I had.

Then I stow it away, to be re-discovered a year from now. And that, my friends, is how some parts remain NOS. :)

I've just sort of recently started getting "spare" things. Stuff that's like "oooh that would be nice for... something... sometime" instead of "I need this for this, now."

Depends on the parts. If I am stripping down a bike for scrap the usable parts go in a stacking bin for spares for whatever/whenever. Bikes that are getting stripped down for an overhaul the parts go in a box/bin to be worked over as needed. If I am doing and upgrade or build parts go in a bin for that specific bike. Otherwise they are more or less in a pile by type. I started a bike inventory list a while back it kind of fell by the wayside. I guess I am not OCD enough, as in not at all.

Aaron :)

Somebody gave me a Next MTB from WallyMart last fall. Danged if I cant find anything worth keeping and it is highly unlikely I would ever do a build on such a frame. I'll be setting it on the roadside for pickers.

I tried to keep an inventory list of about 20-30 spare freewheels but it kept getting out of date when I would buy a new one or give one to my son. Most of my good parts are on good bikes. Any parts not on bikes are spares, kept in a few boxes. My general policy is to not collect or hoard. Keeping and updating inventory lists is too much like the job I retired from.

BTW, I really got a kick out of reading the other posts in this thread. :lol:

My parts are generally sorted (box of pedals, box of seatposts and saddles, bin of freewheels and cassettes, fishing tackle boxes full of small parts, etc.) but not inventoried.

I did take a partial inventory this past fall in preparation for selling some things at Veloswap and that was handy for keeping track of sales, but I don't see much reason to keep a running inventory of everything since most of the time I only sell complete bikes.

Two 5 shelf wire racks from Target, Rubbermaid totes, 18 gallon. Don't buy the clear ones, they shatter when you drop them.
2 for saddles
1 for handlebars
1 for brakes/levers
1 for derailleurs
1 for pedals
1 for cranks, chainrings
1 for high value components, individually bagged
1 for new parts in boxes
Couple of old kitchen cabinet drawer boxes for seat posts, reflectors, kickstands, etc.
Cables bought in bulk boxes.


http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=363371

I have a large chalkboard which I picked off the street, to keep track of my rims, hubs, tires, and complete wheels. Why I keep so many is anybody's guess (not really--lack of availability is why). Otherwise I have drawers that I built with the intention of building a cabinet around. Have yet to get around to the cabinet. Mostly I have trouble keeping track of which tubes are ready to go and which are in need of patches.

A hybrid solution might work for me. It would be fund to set up a Access DB but it would be out of date the next day or I wouldn't have everything recorded before the change happened! Bin the like parts makes good sense. @wrk101 system looks pretty good for those few who have seen it. I suppose the best for me would be to bin and take inventory of stuff I am likely to want to trade, sell or use in the BOC.

Fun set of responses!

I have bins sorted by part type (hubs, RD, FD, seat posts) for general stuff. Some higher level stuff is all in the same bin (e.g. Dura Ace, "Itallian", 'French") Specialty stuff gets its own box like Heliocromatic hubs/freewheels (Should just store that stuff in the trash can). Groups are in separate boxes. I sort the "working" from the "for parts" bins. I have to go through and clean them out from time to time.

I just had a nice house visit with a forum member from a British bicycle forum.

He literally bought two shelving units worth of parts from me this morning.

I just brought the empty shelves out to the garage as I have been boxing the goodies for the last four hours.

Paypal received, mission accomplished.:)

Inventory well under control.

I guess I am the outlier...I inventory everything! Keep extensive records...and even consider it to be fun! My wife thinks I am obsessive...which I probably am!