Alt Bike Culture - rubber wrapping

i'm building an old beater/grocery bike and i thought it would be cool to wrap alot of the frame in split open, old rubber tubes. i saw a pic of a guy who did that for a chain stay guard, and he used zip ties. i thought the rubber looked pretty cool.

i would like to do it w/o zip ties and can visualize how to get the wrap started by having the first end underneath the wrapping, but does anyone have suggestions on how to finish the wrap cleanly with no ties or tape?

or maybe some type of knotting that resembles a girl's french braid or something?

any ideas?

thanks.

Rubber cement

Rubber cement

do you think it would hold long term?

I don't know... Contact cement would probably be better on second thought,

Hi

I used to be a cycle courier in London and I did this exact thing to my bike for 2 reasons. To protect the frame and to hide the frame. I simply wrapped the entire frame in tube and used black masking tape to tie off the ends. You will be surprised how well this holds up.

Use tire patches to "tape" down the ends.

Rough up the rubber at the end (and where it will wrap onto) and use vulcanizing solution, yes the same solution that comes in patch kits. Then press in place, and hold until it sets.

At the inside end you may have to start it with a piece of tape if it slips on you.

I need new handlebar tape on my bike. What a great idea :)

electrical tape...

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n305/MUSTASKWIFE/Moped/Seat.jpg

I used inner tubes to cover my seat on my theme bike. I tacked the strips ends to the seat with Super Glue while I was basket weaving the strips. It holds well for a while. Tack it with Super Glue then stretch the rubber and staple it or sew it with thin wire. You can also kind of tuck it back under itself. Or get some of that black sports tape for baseball bat handles and such..matches innertube color well.

It's kind of tricky but you can "weld" the rubber together with a soldering gun. Just put some aluminum foil over the tip of your soldering iron so you don't ruin it. Also I'd do this outside or in a very well ventilated area.

Seems like this might trap some water directly against the frame, causing more harm than good. Maybe it would drain out in practice? Or just don't ride it in the rain :p

You could use rubber tape at the seams. That stuff fuses to itself very well. Good for a lot of miscellaneous repairs, too.