Many of us have all but ditched physical media like CDs and records.But that doesn’t mean your physical media can’t be repurposed, as this creative San Francisco resident, captured by writer and editor (and Wired Angry Nerd) Chris Baker on Instagram, shows.
In addition to potentially revealing the owner’s musical tastes, it looks like the CDs also double as reflectors for added visibility.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/physical-media-photo/?cid=co7759134
Self-power is an interesting form of unconsumption that seems to be the focus of more and more projects these days. Here’s an example:
The Siva Cycle Atom is the first bicycle-mounted generator that lets you power more than just the lights on your bike.
While riding, the device is attached to the rear axle of your bike and can be used to charge your devices while on the move. It’s usefulness doesn’t stop when you do, however. There is a removable battery pack which you can take with you when not using your bike. Provided your device uses a USB connection, the list of what you can charge is only limited by your imagination.
(via Portable Pedal Powered Battery Powers Devices On & Off The Bike - PSFK)
It’s wine o’clock (somewhere), so time to share an adult beverage-related repurposing find.
Today, it’s Champagne corks used as bike handlebar caps. (photo by Jon Heslop)
For earlier items in Unconsumption’s wine o’clock series, check out the archive here.
Cheers!
Nirit Levav Packer via The Telegraph (photos Nirit Levav / Rex Features)
Park Tool's bicycle repair help and education pages | MetaFilter
A MetaFilter post packed with handy links for bike/repair enthusiasts!
Major bicycle tools manufacturer Park Tool maintains a neatly sorted bevy of repair, maintenance and technical information articles. Their lead mechanic Calvin runs a video channel that includes — among many other things — on-the-road bicycle repair tips. Even more bike info (new bike assembly procedures, road and mountain bike positioning charts, thread concepts, drive train troubleshooting, etc.) is available on the miscellaneous topics page. Don’t forget to check out the bicycle mechanics language spreadsheet!
The morning hours at Maya Pedal were filled with the sounds of grinding metal for the bicicuchilladora, a bicycle-powered cutting machine. The simple appliance, powered by a bicycle drivetrain, has at its heart a concrete cylinder, with columns of two-inch-long blades spinning within a plastic tube. Once used to move people, its bicycle parts now mince plastic in preparation for recycling or turning compost.
(via How a Bike-Powered Corn Mill Can Boost Guatemalan Campesinos | Living on GOOD)
Handlebar table.
DIY, inspiration — if you can get your hands on some old bike handlebars!
More uses for old bicycles and bike parts here.
Bicycles are already a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to travel around the city. But creative agency Lola Madrid wanted to make the perfect bike, so they developed a prototype made from components of old junkyard cars.
Cars go to the junkyard and we recycle them to create the most efficient, ecological and healthy mean of transportation.
File under “things I love”: Bike wheel snowman.
(via Recycled Cycles)
Mark Castator
“Heart Lode”
Materials: SRAM parts, used bicycle chains, silicon bronze
This year’s pART Project – sponsored by SRAM, a Chicago-based bicycle-component company – gathered 80 artists to undertake a quixotic task: assemble a vibrant artwork using a box of 100 parts like gears, chains and frame-related miscellany. The objets will be auctioned off on November 29 in New York City, with the proceeds going toward SRAM’s World Bicycle Relief, an organization that has provided bikes and mechanical training to healthcare programs in Africa.
It’s kind of astonishing to see what somebody can conjure from what might as well be the leavings on a fix-it shop’s floor.
More here: Incredible Sculptures Made From Bike Parts - Arts & Lifestyle - The Atlantic Cities
![The repurposing/upcycling of old bicycles or bike parts is a recurring theme here on the Unconsumption Tumblr, and on the Unconsumption Facebook page, we’ve covered the idea that some people might be living “overpropped” lives — you know those people who don’t hunt but whose home decor includes deer antlers hanging on a wall (or whose collections of books are arranged by color)?
Now, here’s a combination of the two ideas: Bicycle Taxidermy, “the loving and lasting solution for your mechanical bereavement.”
Bicycle Taxidermy is a business founded by UK-based Regan Appleton, who gladly mounts the handlebars of customers’ old bikes onto wood bases; each mount includes an epitaph engraved with a customer’s preferred wording.
Example:
“HETCHINS – VADE MECUM [1972-1984] ‘The Yorkshire moors shall she forever roam’”
A bonus: I think the mounts could be used as storage for belts, jewelry, ties, dog leashes, or other items!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdsv0qY3r01qzv12bo1_400.png)
The repurposing/upcycling of old bicycles or bike parts is a recurring theme here on the Unconsumption Tumblr, and on the Unconsumption Facebook page, we’ve covered the idea that some people might be living “overpropped” lives — you know those people who don’t hunt but whose home decor includes deer antlers hanging on a wall (or whose collections of books are arranged by color)?
Now, here’s a combination of the two ideas: Bicycle Taxidermy, “the loving and lasting solution for your mechanical bereavement.”
Bicycle Taxidermy is a business founded by UK-based Regan Appleton, who gladly mounts the handlebars of customers’ old bikes onto wood bases; each mount includes an epitaph engraved with a customer’s preferred wording.
Example:
“HETCHINS – VADE MECUM [1972-1984] ‘The Yorkshire moors shall she forever roam’”
A bonus: I think the mounts could be used as storage for belts, jewelry, ties, dog leashes, or other items!
This how-to video shows how to convert old, unused 10-speeds into fast, fixed gear bikes, giving them a second life. The video shows the whole conversion process from start to finish.
(via GOOD)
