Evan Hawkins, a North Carolina-based artist, describes himself as an “upcycler upcycling.” His latest project is a great example of the upcycler upcycling cycling parts. The range of colors and shapes available in these bike fork bottle openers make each one unique.
Each Bike Fork Bottle Opener was created by repurposing an old bike fork drop-out and the handle is wrapped with high strength para-cord.
iPhone speaker made from a vintage bicycle horn.
Fun fact: Do you remember this bike rack made from two shipping pallets? The person who made the bike rack also made the horn-speaker.
Old and/or bent bicycle wheels can make great trellises for plants.
(via The Kirksville Permaculture Education Center; spotted on Pinterest here)
If you like this upcycling example, check out other bike-related posts here and garden-related items here.
Belgium-based company We-Watt has created a communal table called WeBike, which features three seats with pedals that converts cycling action into energy, allowing small groups to chat or hold a meeting while exercising and generating electricity.
My take: Anything likely to make meetings shorter is good for everyone.
(via Pedal-Powered Meeting Table Generates Electricity - PSFK)
Old bike helmets = new planters
(via Ask Umbra: What should I do with my old bike helmet? | Grist. Photo source here.)
Related: From the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute: Answers to “When should I replace my helmet?” here.
Two pallets = instant bike rack
This DIY “pallet bike rack” photo has been making the blogosphere and Pinterest rounds over the past several months. I’ve seen it so many times that I thought we’d already featured it in our extensive group of pallet-related posts; turns out we had not … until now!
Find more Unconsumption bike-related posts here.
(photo via lowtechatmo on Flickr)
It can be said that we Texans definitely like to find creative new uses for old bikes.
So far, I’ve come across four fences — that’s four in the state of Texas alone — made from bicycles.
1. A bicycle-embellished fence in the town of Salado, located between Austin and Waco, is a destination for visitors. Of course, there are other things to see in Salado, such as this old garage, but we’ll save that for another day.
Here’s another shot of the Salado fence, taken by Cara of the SchmittHouse blog:
2. In Dallas, there’s this fence made from repurposed frames:
3. In Golden:
4. In Rockport:
(Photo credits: 1. Salado: top, bummrr01 on Flickr; bottom, SchmittHouse blog. 2. Dallas: Pedallas. 3. Golden: The Painted House blog. 4. Rockport: JayPhagan on Flickr.)
Are there others? If so, let us know!
How’s this for upcycling?
A bicycle made into a gate.
The gate’s installed along the sculpture trail of the English village of Bergh Apton.
(Photo by Moominpappa06 on Flickr)
We’ve come across examples of bicycle tire inner tubes upcycled into a variety of items: jewelry, wallets, furniture, door mats (see a mix of earlier Unconsumption posts here).
Now here are some different uses: seat covering (bench, pictured above, from RetreadDesign on Etsy) and backpacks, duffel bags, pouches, and other accessories from Green Guru Gear (thx, Gabi, for the tip!).
From housing oil to housing bikes
While browsing online, I’ve come across a good amount of bike-related repurposing, and have spotted a couple of new uses for oil barrels, but this is the first instance of bike racks made from barrels that I can remember seeing.
In areas where bikes don’t need to be secured, use of racks like these could be good.
(“bike park” designed by Roberto Volpe; via rifUSE)
Old bike tires made into unisex cuffs, by Oye Modern (mentioned previously on Unconsumption here).
