Sprocket & innertube belt

Comfortable, functional, and entirely badass belt made from recycled bike parts.

The original belt in these photos was made by my friend Fjord, and he deserves credit for the idea and for making a number of these belts. He used thin strips of innertube rubber to attach the pieces of chain to the belt, though, and after a year of heavy wear those started to give out -- hence the repair work I'm doing now, and the photos for this instructable. The punched holes for fastening the belt are also starting to show wear, but I haven't figured out how to fix that yet. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Step 1 Gather supplies.

What you need:

- old bike innertube(s)
- clean bike chain & chainbreaker tool
- old bike sprocket, ~2" ID
- 4 small flathead screws, with matching tiny nuts
- ~2 yd thin elastic cord (I had a fair bit left over.)
- scissors
- heavy-duty holepunch
- measuring tape

Comments

[melvingoo]

I made this for a friend, it takes a while but the result is really good.

[ilpug]

Sexy! I want it.

[kenbob]

I love the use of the valve stem as the peg in the buckle. that is inspired.

[ATTILAtheHUNgry]

My parents bought me an innertube belt the other week, made by a local artist. It is great. This one looks good too.

[Leon Close]

I like the idea. For the buckle holes, you could use two washers and a short piece of metal tubing. Put a washer on each side of the hole and pass the tubing through. Then use a ball pein hammer to flare the tubing and lock the whole thing together. Sort of like a hollow rivet.

[Don Quioxte]

So, a grommet? (like on a tarp)

Your local hardware store might not have them, but a larger store should.

[reno_dakota]

Unfortunately, grommets tend to tear or pull out of the rubber fairly fast. I haven't tried using them on the belt-buckle holes, though; it might be worth testing.

[badideasrus]

what about metal rings? like a d-loop or something? heck, you could probably get away with bent hanger......

that way, the chain is holding the belt together, not the rubber..... could work.... maybe.....................

or, if you can find more chain, what about chain on....... oooo.... nevermind, would provide no flexability.

the easyest way would probably be to take a strip of canvas and sew it onto the backside, then rivet or gromet them togeter...... i don't know... i'm a failure.

[UltraDawn]

Hi there, i think you can put a layer of something inside the belt-tube, or on the back, this may require sewing? Maybe not, i will fiddle with it sometime and see... Check out the belts made by Splaff (www.splaff.com) . They are selling them at REI for spendy (!). Anyway that should help the grommets not pull out- and hey grommets are shiny bits too; even come in copper for that "steampunk" look.

[Jake-off]

how the heck do you get the sprocket off of the bike

[reno_dakota]

Off the bike, or off the cassette? Unfortunately, I don't have first-hand experience with either one, since Fjord was the original maker of this belt. Try asking at a bike-repair shop for how to get the cassette off the bike; they might have advice on how to separate the individual sprockets, too.

I asked the internet, and found this site that looks like it's got useful advice on getting the cassette off the bike and separating the sprockets:
http://www.bikeradar.com/beginners/gear/article/workshop-cassette-fitting-12127

[Jake-off]

ok i got the cassette off and now i just need to find out how i get them apart

[carpe_noctem]

check sheldon brown. org, he's got a ton of bike repair info

[servion]

Damn! I love your style!

[double ott]

could I get a heavy duty hole punch like yours at your average hardware store?

[Madmonkeyrtu]

another idea for strengthening the holes is some duct tape. it might be abit fidly to put on but its easily available and also easily replaced.

[jward92]

"It does tend to leave that sticky residue when it pulls out, too." HAHAHAHA...thats what she said

[reno_dakota]

That could work, but I'd think the duct tape would pull off of the rubber when it stretches. It does tend to leave that sticky residue when it pulls off, too. Thanks!

[WurdBendur]

This will be the...um...the little loop that you thread the tail of the belt through after it goes through the buckle. (Is there a word for that? If I poked the internet to dig up the proper word for that, would anyone know what I was talking about?)

That little loop is called a keeper, because it keeps the tail of the belt in place. I'm not sure how many people will know this word.

[reno_dakota]

Aha! Thank you. I think I'll leave my description as is, but I'm glad to know what the word is.

[TheScientist]

really cool! i like it, and might do it next time i kill an inner tube :) an idea for your belt holes to give them more strength: either attach some washers somehow (for a more industrial look, to fit with the belt) or get some metal grommets from a sewing shop... i reckon that'd see you through until the tube itself falls apart!

[reno_dakota]

Awesome, let me know how it turns out if you make one of your own. :) The grommets I've seen used on innertube belts tend to pull out or tear the rubber fairly quickly, unfortunately, because the rubber stretches so much.

[quicumque]

similar to minemine, but a different design

[reno_dakota]

Neat! How exactly are the little flat bits of chain attached? Rivets, or something else?

And yeah, it looks something similar to the "Bicycle Parts Belt" (http://www.instructables.com/id/ERLGDAGZHCEP286M2A/) with the D-ring design. Less holes to punch that way, certainly.

[reeding]

OGA BOOGA