Re-purposing old bicycle tubes

Here's my girl, just so she doesn't get jealous.

I admit that I'm not sure how this year will evolve, now that the Honda Ruckus is on the scene. I'm having a bit of an identity crisis, so I'm taking it slow--not doing anything drastic like changing my blog title/email address etc. That would be too sudden. I mean, look at this:

I've got a shovel, a long-handle pole-pruner, a collapsible leaf-rake, a garden fork, loppers, shears...under the seat. I'm Mary flipping* Poppins.

Part of this is the sheer beauty of "re-purposing." Who knew that a scooter without panels (originally intended as a quirky design aesthetic appealing to...the Tim Burton fan club ;) would be an ideal one-person garden-gear transport system?

I'm supposed to be talking about bicycle tubes.

Re-Purposing Old Bicycle Tubes:

Did you know that Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has a drop-box by the front door where people drop off blown-out bicycle tubes? And you (too) can go grab a big dangly armload for your re-purposing purposes.

Here are some of mine:

This is my side-pannier: in itself an engineering marvel. This particular version, made by Jando, seems to be currently unavailable--I don't know why.


It's quick-release, so I attached an old Adidas bag shoulder strap and can carry it into a garden as my tool bag. It is extremely durable, with a fibreglass bottom, metal frame, and heavy canvas everything, but as you can imagine, I have crammed it beyond capacity for years. Often with sharp metal objects, like shears and loppers.

So, in despair of ever finding another, I've reinforced all the edges with bicycle tubes. Twice.

And here (below) are the sad yet comfortable remains of my bicycle seat. Honestly, this bicycle is nearly new (in my books) and some of the components are so cheap. I refused to buy a new seat...

So a little upholstering was in order...

Bicycle tubes have gripping power. What's that called? High-friction? Something that makes them stay where they are put. This is why they make tires in general out of rubber, Sherlock. (*Tendency towards obvious observations*)

And here's my last bicycle-gardening-related re-purposing of bicycle tubes:

I don't have a before shot of my Helly Hansen raingear cuffs, but believe me, they were raggedy. In fact, I was considering throwing them out, tops and bottoms.

Who knew old bicycle tubes would blend in so well...? I just slit the tube up one side and fit the crease over the cuff. I have a spool of heavy nylon twine and a monster needle to match--both of which I got in Ghana, where fishermen get their net-mending gear. That may be a problem for you.



Happy Spring. Happy Re-Purposing!