Recycled Bike Bits – make the most of old kit

Most mountain bikers I know are hoarders, and they’re all pretty handy with tinkering too.

One of the guys I know wanted to recycle a bunch of bike bits in to furniture for a bar he has recently opened. With a few phone calls I managed to source him some old transit damaged frames, which he cut up and turned in to wall mounted lamps in his Bath based bar – Juno.

Making a lamp from a bike frame is pretty simple – it’s just a case of finding an old crash damaged frame worthy of hanging on the wall, cutting the back end off and running a light fitting through the frame. If you or your friends don’t have anything, you’ll be surprised what you’ll find lurking in the workshop at your local bike shop. It’s also worth scouring eBay…

Off the back of helping with the lights for Juno, I have started a Factory Jackson Pinterest account as there’s a lot of cool stuff out there. And I spent a bit of time researching what others have created from old bike gear and set up a board specifically for it (check out the whole lot right here)

Here’s some of my favourite recycled bike bits…

I love these old retro mountain bike forks that have been made in to lamps. I have a set of old Pace RC35 forks that might see some action as a desk top lamp – I love the idea of recycled bike bits. All images sourced via our Pinterest page – check the link at the bottom of the page.

Vintage filament bulbs are really popular at the moment, and go perfectly with recycled bike bits – in this case a few cassette sprockets. Minimal and effective. All images sourced via our Pinterest page – check the link at the bottom of the page.

I love the use of presta valve stems to make zip pullers – perfect for bags and jackets where you use gloves. Drinks coasters are quite effective too – as are book ends.

Bike jewellery is becoming more popular, and it’s possible to make some nice bits – though we’re not sure about using a KMC chain. It’s got to be XTR or Dura Ace to have that nice shiny look!

Rubber is something that’s important to recycle in one way or another. Although I wouldn’t wear a rubber belt myself, I love that people are re-using bike stuff to good effect. The inner tube wallets are pretty cool though – definitely more useful for holding cash than air…

Old rims can be re-used to make shelf brackets. I can feel a few new shelves in the Factory Jackson office coming on!

If being creative with recycled bike bits doesn’t flick your switch – how about making something funny instead?

Check this video out by Fairdale Bikes, where they find a bunch of better uses for the sad old front mech!

Check out our Pinterest page on Recycled bike bits – you can see more by the folk that added the creations above, and you might get some ideas! OUR PINTEREST PAGE IS HERE

Have you recycled bike bits to make anything random and cool?

We’d love to see what you have made – let us know below! 

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