ridecache.jpg

RideCache

Posted by 141drew Posted onSep 16, 2016 at 12:29 PM and filed under News & Editorial


So this isn’t spam. By that, I mean that I have no stake in RideCache and I’m not getting paid to post this. The man behind the idea, Gary Bixler, is a friend of mine. A few weeks back he took me to lunch and pitched his  idea and I found it pretty intriguing. So much so, that I agreed to feature RideCache on The Garage Journal with two purposes in mind:




  1. Introduce you guys to a web app that has the potential to be pretty valuable.

  2. Get some feedback for Gary from you guys on how the app can be improved, if it’s worth a ****, etc…


But, what is RideCache? On the shorts, it’s a web app that allows you to organize and manage the history of your car. You know those guys that keep a really thick  binder of their hot rod or custom that  features old progress photos, receipts, and other documents that kind of detail the car’s life and times? Well, in a nut shell that is kind of what RideCache does – only it’s digital and the idea is to make the process as simple and as painless as possible. Here’s a quick video that Gary made to illustrate the process:



That car looks familiar right? We featured the historical little roadster on The Jalopy Journal back in 2010 and that feature is actually an entry in the current owner’s RideCache page that you can see here. If you click around a bit and explore the Dale Shaw page, you can get a pretty good idea of just what the app does and how it may help you organize your life. To me, it’s intriguing…

BUT, I’m not all that important. You guys, however, are… What do you fellas think? You can create your own RideCache page for free here. Click around, create a page, detail your car, test it out, and come at us  with some feedback.  Constructive criticism is encouraged. So are props to Gary – I know he’s worked his *** off on this.


See Comments on the forum.

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LegacyIndustrial

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Very cool. Wish I has something like this when I was building my vette. Would have been a great feature to show the new owner vs. a thumb drive full of pics.
 
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Ign

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Why does the Gen Garage forum show ryan as the poster but post #1 is from banzaitoyota?
 
C

chruler

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Very cool.
The vintage/custom motorcycle world would benefit from something like that too.
 
G

gbixler

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chruler said:
Very cool.
The vintage/custom motorcycle world would benefit from something like that too.
Click to expand...

Chruler - thanks. We agree, the bikes have all the same needs. We are planning to spin a cycle specific version in the future, but the main differences will be that the drop down lists for year, make, model and some parts categories and sub-cats would be bike specific. Otherwise, it will all be the same. And since you can always over-ride those fields with your own values, you can use RideCache for your motorcycles today if you like. In fact, we would love that - and would love to hear about how it works for you and what you would need to make the tool "dead on" for your motorcycles.

- Gary
 
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gbixler

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E_braker said:
Great work Gary! I would like to provide some feedback regarding the experience.
...

Thank you again, I love this concept and am 100% in!! I would be happy to provide feedback in the future as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement. I provided a detailed response to you through our official feedback tool (thanks for using the feedback mechanism in the app - that really helps us track things), but I wanted to also reply here.

I am really sorry our initial registration and adding your first car tripped you up. We are definitely working to make that as easy as possible - clearly we have a ways to go. You should now see the green "+Add Vehicle" button when you log back in, hopefully that will get you on your way.

Keep the feedback coming!

Thanks,
Gary
 
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gbixler

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Scotty - never too late. Many of our initial clients are using RideCache specifically to go back and document prior builds and restorations - basically taking that big, stuffed 3" binder and moving that into RideCache to create a protected digital record that can be preserved, shared (optional) and ultimately transferred to a new owner with a single click.
 
R

Ryan

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Ign said:
Why does the Gen Garage forum show ryan as the poster but post #1 is from banzaitoyota?
Click to expand...

This was a scheduled post... Something I've never done before... So I guess it has a bug in the system... No, I don't own a Toyota. :)

I would though.
 
G

gbixler

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Thanks Ryan for the shout out!

We have built RideCache to be a serious tool for those that invest a lot in their vehicles and want to better organize, manage and preserve all the work. Think of it as a clean, digital version of all the detail behind your build thread - fully secure and privacy controlled. Not just for the history either, it is a great way to manage all of your to-do and wish lists. Hit me up if you have questions!
 
G

gbixler

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OutLore said:
What's the difference between this and Wheelwell.com?
Click to expand...

I can't speak specifically to wheelwell, but what we found with other car sites - and the reason we created RideCache - is that most are either covered with ads or are focused primarily on social and sharing. We felt there was a need for a professionally developed software tool that was focused on organizing, managing and preserving the value in our cars.

One of the best ways to see the difference is to look at what you see when you log in on most other car sites - what you usually see is other peoples cars. On RideCache - you see your own cars. You can share some things if you choose (and with very fine grain privacy control), but that is not the focus - and there are no "likes" and no comments. Over a third of our customers choose not to share anything - all of their cars, projects, parts and papers are kept fully private. That is the way we designed the tool.

We definitely didn't need another car or social site, but we believe RideCache delivers a much needed tool to help us organize, manage and preserve all of our car projects.
 
O

OutLore

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I get the lack of the social side - but that might just bite you in the ***. Despite what some people want to think, right now social media is the king among millennials. Don't just push your appeal to a generation, make it optional. If you want it great, if you don't - great. Older generations who are not interested in the sharing side I would also think are likely to not want to use a PC for this either, so you might be limiting your audience.

I'd also look at doing a multi-car trial, so we can see how the app works with more than 1 vehicle.

Tie yourself in with brand/model specific forums - give them an offer, allow the app to create signature strips (basically free advertising for you).

Mobile app. Not vastly important in the early days, but if it were me, I'd be planning for it - thinking about what benefits it can offer users and you.

I'm still playing around with the interface, looks nice from what I have uncovered so far.
 
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OutLore

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Oh - and this is nit-picking in all honesty.... The Octo-head wrench logo was the first thing that jumped out at me - basically saying to me that there is little actual knowledge about tools/cars/engines etc.
 
L

LXCam

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Very interesting. I'll just get in line here so I can thoroughly check this out later.
 
G

gbixler

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OutLore said:
I get the lack of the social side - but that might just bite you in the ***. Despite what some people want to think, right now social media is the king among millennials. Don't just push your appeal to a generation, make it optional. If you want it great, if you don't - great. Older generations who are not interested in the sharing side I would also think are likely to not want to use a PC for this either, so you might be limiting your audience.

I'd also look at doing a multi-car trial, so we can see how the app works with more than 1 vehicle.

Tie yourself in with brand/model specific forums - give them an offer, allow the app to create signature strips (basically free advertising for you).

Mobile app. Not vastly important in the early days, but if it were me, I'd be planning for it - thinking about what benefits it can offer users and you.

I'm still playing around with the interface, looks nice from what I have uncovered so far.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the great feedback - it is really appreciated.

Your points about social are well taken. For us it is about priority and focus - especially early in the development of the service. We want to make sure we are primarily focused on delivering the absolute best tool for enthusiasts to manage their rides - whether they want to share or not - then provide a very strong set of privacy controls to enable those who do want to share.

If we were focused on social - our priority would have to be on maximizing the number of users and the social interaction "eyeballs" - to drive advertising or data based revenue. So the product would have to be optimized for getting you to sign up and talk about your rides, not necessarily the best for helping you manage them. Those are design trade-offs we are not willing to make at this point.

Ultimately, our business is built on the belief that serious enthusiasts will pay a reasonable fee for a professionally developed tool that is purpose built to help them be more effective in managing their vehicles. We may grow the social feature set over time, but that will always be second priority to the functionality of the tool for enthusiasts.

On the promotion side, we are definitely working to spread the word about RideCache through social. You can find us on facebook, twitter, instagram and youtube. Yes, the older generation is sometimes reluctant to embrace new web applications like RideCache, but we are finding that many of them appreciate the fact that the next generation of car enthusiasts - and the next caretakers of the special cars they love - are the up coming millennials who will appreciate (and in many cases expect) robust digital tools like RideCache.

We are starting to be involved in the brand/model specific forums and providing promotions there as you suggest - but we are just getting started. You can easily include the link to any vehicle's RideCache page in your signature - and we encourage that. We even offer vanity URL's for people that want those customized.

We do have a native mobile app on the list for possible future development, but the current app is highly mobile optimized and works so well on mobile that we have had little demand for it so far.

Finally, for those that would like to try the Enthusiast Level of RideCache (manage up to 8 vehicles, normally $50/year), I will see if Ryan will allow me to provide a discount code for 50% off the first year via PM for those that request it.

Thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed feedback - and for trying RideCache - it is very much appreciated!
 
E

emohn

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Cool concept. I'll take it for a spin this evening when I'm home. In the meantime, I agree with OutLore - that logo is seriously making me twitch. It seems like a minor thing, but it somehow undermines the "by us, for us" shtick.
 
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engineer2

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Cool concept. Signed up for the free one-car deal. Entered my vehicle info. Signed back in and everything I entered is gone. Is it still a work-in-progress?
 
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gbixler

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engineer2 said:
Cool concept. Signed up for the free one-car deal. Entered my vehicle info. Signed back in and everything I entered is gone. Is it still a work-in-progress?
Click to expand...

No, RideCache is a fully released product, you certainly should not have lost anything. I can help you, but I will need to know your username or email address. If you want to PM those to me I will see what is going on with your account and respond.

One possibility - for your first vehicle after you sign up, we automatically take you to a page to add your first vehicle. There are a few pages of information you are able to fill out. Almost all of the information is optional, but you need to fill out a few things on the first page (color, year, make, model) and click "Next" to have your vehicle initially created. Then there is some additional optional info on the second page. Clicking Next on page 2 takes you to a final page that allows you to choose a picture for your vehicle or upload some of your own. Let me know how far you got and I will help in any way I can.
 
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onewheat

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What about a selection for Custom or Other instead of a specific listed Manufacturer or model?? For example, a Volkswagen-based dune buggy, or a home built rat rod or similar.
 
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engineer2

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and click "Next" to have your vehicle initially created.
Click to expand...
That is the issue. After the "Extended Information" page, there was no "next" button, only "back". The reason is if you do not follow the EXACT date format required, you will lose everything if you hit the back button.

Another issue: I don't see a way to add photos from a web URL.
 
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gbixler

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engineer2 said:
That is the issue. After the "Extended Information" page, there was no "next" button, only "back". The reason is if you do not follow the EXACT date format required, you will lose everything if you hit the back button.

Another issue: I don't see a way to add photos from a web URL.
Click to expand...

OK, glad you got past this, but sorry it tripped you up. We are working all the time to try and make things as easy as possible and remove obstacles like this one you hit.

We support a wide variety of upload sources, but don't currently upload directly from a URL. I will add that capability to our feature request list and see if we can't get that turned on soon.
 
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gbixler

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onewheat said:
What about a selection for Custom or Other instead of a specific listed Manufacturer or model?? For example, a Volkswagen-based dune buggy, or a home built rat rod or similar.
Click to expand...

onewheat - for most of the fields where we provide preset drop down lists (make, model, part categories, etc) - if you don't find what you are looking for in the list, you can type your own entry into the field below.

So for the rat rod example you could pick a year (I know even that is probably a little ambiguous for something like a rat rod, but we need you to pick one!), then you could use "Joe's" for the Make and "Rat" for the Model and it will accept that just fine.

Hope this helps!

Gary
 
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engineer2

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OK, glad you got past this, but sorry it tripped you up. We are working all the time to try and make things as easy as possible and remove obstacles like this one you hit.
Click to expand...
It would help to be more flexible on entering the purchase date. Most people will remember the year and maybe the month, but the exact date is often forgotten. I bought my car about 35 years ago and scrolling back through that calendar would be tedious.
 
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gbixler

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engineer2 said:
It would help to be more flexible on entering the purchase date. Most people will remember the year and maybe the month, but the exact date is often forgotten. I bought my car about 35 years ago and scrolling back through that calendar would be tedious.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback and I agree. I personally prefer to just type my dates in rather than use the calendar date picker, but some like the calendar so we offer both. Our intent is to have the calendar only appear if you click on the little calendar button next to the field, but in the instance you point out the calendar pops up immediately and you have to click back into the field if you want to just type a date in the mm/dd/yyyy format (but you can do that and avoid using the calendar altogether).

I have submitted a ticket to have this fixed so they all work the same. I will also see if we can accept dates in the format mm/yyyy as well.

Good suggestions - keep them coming!
 
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gbixler

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Dennis - good job on the FB page - really nice. I originally tried documenting my car builds on FB, but just on my main page. My 15 car friends really liked it, but it annoyed all the rest. Doing a dedicated page like you did is definitely the way to go if you are going to do this on FB.

RideCache would be a nice supplement to this to allow you to organize and archive all of the pictures and documents, including the more private things. Would love to have you give it a try and let us know what you think!
 
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Dennis Cavallino

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I tried, but there are not many makes. Trabant is not one of them at least. So I can't go further after entering details about my car.

* indicates required field

I see car brands like Yugo and Laforza. This database you used is well known, but it's very incomplete. I've seen it before for many years. Actually I was part of a start-up here in Holland and we decided not to use that database and to build on of our own. But that was in 1999 or something. We made it possible to enter other in the fill-in forms. Maybe that can help you?
 
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engineer2

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This database you used is well known, but it's very incomplete.
Click to expand...
It would be impossible to have a drop-down list with all makes because there are so many obscure ones. In the early 1900's alone there were hundreds of companies that made cars for a short time and disappeared. For example, my grandfather worked for Dürkopp (sometimes spelled Durkopp or Duerkopp) and they briefly made cars. You'll never find that on any drop-down list.
 
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gbixler

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Yes, we looked very hard for a complete international year/make/model database and this is the best we have found so far. You can find fairly complete US versions or European versions, but none that cover both well (and that is before you even start thinking about Eastern Europe and Asia).

So for all the drop down lists in RideCache we allow you to enter your own values in the fields below if you do not find what you need in the lists. And if you ever find something specific you would like to see added to the standard lists just drop us a note and we will see if we can get it added.
 
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frozen-stitches

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why not use Evernote? You are not limited to notebooks. can add different pages for different projects of a vehicle. can add pictures, and just about anything you need and it keeps it all organized really well.
 
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gbixler

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frozen-stitches said:
why not use Evernote? You are not limited to notebooks. can add different pages for different projects of a vehicle. can add pictures, and just about anything you need and it keeps it all organized really well.
Click to expand...

I am an Evernote Premium subscriber and use it daily for many things. Before RideCache, a combination of EN and spreadsheets was how I tried to manage my collection. In my experience, the effort it took to try and customize EN to meet my needs was a lot of work and left me wishing there was a purpose-built tool for car enthusiasts - so I built RideCache.

I have written a blog post that summarizes 10 ways RideCache beats papers and spreadsheets. Many of the points in that blog apply to general purpose tools like Evernote as well. Here are a few of the places we believe RideCache is better than a tool like Evernote for managing your vehicles:

  • Purpose built organization and feature set for vehicles. Yes, you can create notebooks, tags and other things to approach this with EN, but with RideCache it is ready to use.
  • Easy to associate records of different types (ex: this paper is for this part that is associated with this task - all viewable from within the task)
  • Easily searchable across multiple vehicles (ex: show me all of my batteries across all vehicles – boom, instant answer with info, receipts, pictures, etc).
  • Sophisticated Notifications by time and/or distance provide red/yellow/green status for all your key tasks, parts and papers - with automated email summaries
  • Easy to transfer the complete RideCache record to a new owner when the time comes
  • A system that gets better over time as new features and functions are developed
  • Although it is not the focus of RideCache, it is easy to share some or all of your RideCache with others if you choose – with fine grain privacy controls over who sees what

I know you can duplicate some of this functionality in general purpose tools like Evernote and Excel if you know how to do the customization and spend the time to design and set up your system. RideCache gets you everything you can do with those tools and more, all in low cost, purpose-built tool made just for car enthusiasts and collectors.
 
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gbixler

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For those of you who were (justifiably) bothered by the "stylized" version of our wrench icon, we are working on a more accurate version. Here is a preview, let me know what you think!

RC_stacked_color3 - small.jpg
 
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