Bike fenders from recycled bike tires

If you hate to throw stuff away, then you will loves this Instructable. As a pack rat, you must have a number of worn out bike tires with no way to use them and no way to get rid of them. The answer is to use them as fenders on your road or other narrow tired bike. Besides the tire all you will need are some zip-ties (or wire or string), some steel rod or tubing, and some ingenuity. The result will keep your face and blaster dry while splashing through puddles on your bike. Read on!

Step 1 Materials

You don't need many materials for this project. The basic materials are an old bike tire, preferrably a wider mountain bike tire with wire bead, some steel rod or tubing (copper or other metal OK as well), and a refusal to throw anything away and pay $15 for a set of Chinese made fenders.

Materials:

Bicycle that you want to put fenders on
One worn out wire bead bike tire wider than those on your bike
Some steel (or other metal) rod or tubing
A welder or torch to solder with
Some zip ties
Some scrap steel or copper sheet (20 Ga or so)
A power drill
A metal file
Some spray paint
A method to cut your tire
Misc bolts and nuts to mount your fenders.

Preparation:
To start with, take your scrap tire and cut it into sections that cover the desired portions of your bike wheels. See below for an idea of how much coverage is needed to keep you dry.

Comments

[starplayer]

The zip tie itself is held in place only by friction? Won't it fall down with vibration?

[jmengel]

The zip tie is held in place by friction. Pulled tight, the zip ties presses the bead of the tire against the seat stay. If the zip tie is not tight enough, it can slide down over time and the tire fender will start to rub on the tire. If in doubt, pull tighter.

[criggie]

I did that a couple weeks ago.. the lightweight cable tie broke and I punched myself in the face.

Not the best outcome.

[azimmerman2]

Thanks, after two weeks of debatin on whether or not to buy fenders I turned to Instructables to help, I had these on within 40 minuites of finding them (including dinner).

[jmengel]

Great! Hope they keep you on the road in all weather.

[oazhar]

haha...very good idea!

[frogmeetcog]

The ends of the steel rods can also be pounded very flat and wide, then drilled (my preferred method, especially when using the wires left over from campaign signs) or bent into an eyelet with sturdy pliers. Either solution eliminates soldering.

[jmengel]

Hey, good idea. I guess when you have a welder, everything looks like it is ready to be welded. Thanks for sharing.

[bikebum1975]

Excellent idea I just happen to have a pair of old mountain bike tires I could mod for this. Cheers

[orisj]

Cool! Indeed a great idea!

[BtheBike]

this is a great idea for refurbing those old bent and rusted metal fenders .

[f3rg]

If you run 25c tires, I could see this being done very stealthily using 38c tires w/ wire beads. Very cool.

[JerryMopar]

what an excellent idea!!! I really do like it. SImple, cheap, uses what would be normally junk, perfect!

[Yerboogieman]

I would be honored if you would join my group "Featured".

[jmengel]

Will do.

[green67]

BRILLIANT!!..I' want more than the "mudflap" I have.

[rimar2000]

Excellent idea, congratulations. The earth needs more people as you!! This things seems simples, but they have a great environmentally friendly charge.

[killerjackalope]

Hmm this could be what I'm looking for, I want fenders on my bike but I need something that'll fit in well with it and be fairly rugged, I tend to make sure all my bikes get used to their potential, then see how much further they go...

[jmengel]

Well in that case you may want to try better mounting methods at a couple of points. I have found that the zip ties and wires do tend to break under hard use. Not often, but if you crash or if you have to cram the bike into a full public rack you may find one of the wire/zipties have sprung. The good news is they are easily repaired. I have had to scrounge around for wire or twist-ties in parking lots to reattach.

[killerjackalope]

I have the distinct advantage of having trousers sewn together with wire, I just wiggle a bit to break off when needed, usually because I ripped them somehow, one pair are nearing and equal weight of copper and denim... On the other hand I'd probably use stubby bolts and put them through the tyres as fenders, simply to make it both sturdier and less effort to take off for whatever reason, they'll look similar but be quite differently built I'd say...

[Chicken2209]

Good Idea I always hate it when I scape up my backpack

[RemBrandNL]

Excellent idea!! Great c2c spinoff. I just love these simple idea's that reuse materials without further processing.

[Ezza]

Fantastic idea! "Why didn't I think of that?". I'll make some of these when I wear out a tyre.