Tire belt.
 

Not too long ago I posted a video about a guy in San Francisco that was making belts from bike tires that no longer had road potential. So this got me thinking of trying it out myself.

I had finally gone through a Gator skin in a few spots that were giving me issue on the road, so I felt that it would be a good candidate for belt making material.

How It did it:

It really wasn't all that complicated, as you could imagine. I cut off the metal rim from the outer most part of the tire, and got down to the tire wall and the top of the tire. To do that I used metal shears, and I also used the shears to cut the side wall of the tire away too. Normal scissors wouldn't work, so I needed something with a bit more persuasion.

Then as seen in the Retired belt video, stretched the belt out, so that it wouldn't stretch over time.

I originally was going to use snaps instead of an actual belt buckle, but after searching, I found a clamp buckle that worked perfectly.
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/a...507_113619.jpg
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/a...507_113633.jpg (excuse the crappy cell phone photos)

Overall: It surprisingly works really well. It does a good job of actually holding my pants up, and has enough stretch that it wont hurt you when you ride or just wearing it in general. Like in the video, it also allows enough room to put a U-lock in between the belt and your pants.

Finished product:
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/a...507_115454.jpg

Thats a pretty good use of an old tire. My friend did this a while ago but put eyelets in one side like traditional belts, i guess they last a while too i think he has had his for going on seven years now.

http://www.cycledog.com/images/Belt%...-%20popout.jpg

Cycle Dog is a local company here in Portland that makes Inner Tube Belts... They also have a bottle opener on them as well... I have a dog collar from them for my dog, which I really enjoy...

Props to you for making your own, but couldn't the tire fray and poke you with the metal weave?

Aside from the 1st sample quality, it looks good, keep at it.

Don't worry, it's all nylon and at most some kevlar derivative these days for road tires.

Thanks guys. definetly going to make some more when I get some more used tires.

I was going to do that, but didn't really have a way of securing the belt buckle onto the tire.

Go to a leathercraft store and buy some rivet snaps. Cut a slot near the buckle end of the belt, fold it at the slot with the buckle in between and use the snap(s) to clamp the two sides of the belt together.

I just made a belt from a Gatorskin and an old belt buckle. Happiness is a good sewing machine :)

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/s...a/DSCN1288.jpg

That looks really good! I have a buckle laying around that I got for Christmas and I've putting off finding a belt for it. Maybe I'll just make one out a used tire.