Be a friend of BS
DIY: Recycled Tire Belt
May 14, 2009
If you ride any amount you go through tires, for me it is probably half a dozen a year. My local shop recycles tires, but I was thinking of the three R's, and thought how about re-use. Well you can't exactly re-use a tire for the same purpose but I decided to change it up and make a belt. I took an old road tire, that just happened to be a nice orange and black colour, and started cutting away.
I am sure there is a slightly easier way to cut it, but I used simple side cutters. This takes a beating on your hands after awhile. I first cut through the bead and then slowly cut along the length of the tire in a nice straight line. Once at the end I cut across and did the same to the other side. This process probably took about 30 minutes, so not that long really.
There are probably a few ways to make the attachment points on the belt. I am lazy, so I chose good old fashioned velcro. The stuff I used had no adhesive back, so I layed down some rubber cement for stickyness. The attachment of the velcro was actually the tough part, but patience is a virtue with glue. I added a nice point to the one side of the belt and before I new it I had a belt! So save the planet and keep your pants up, or something like that.
