The Way It Works

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I take the junk out the back door of the LBS. Consume it with my new
hobby. Then I walk back in the front door with $600 loose bike jingle
to drop. (That's after blowing $200 on tools and some supplies for
making 500 more belts)

Belts could get boring if I ever get it worked out so any fool can cut
them. Sew-ups are for making braces rather than belts. Some tires
aren't meant to be belts so they're turning into handbags to die for.
Lots more design opportunities and detail in bags is going to keep it
more interesting.

The creative thought and skilled work that went into the design,
fabrication and marketing of the tires I use as raw material cost
unknowable millions of dollars. The people involved laboured hard on
every different tread pattern. We use bike tires in their intended
design purpose until we throw them away. We're throwing away all that
skill, inspiration, perspiration and talent that went into every tire.

It's old, it's worn. Our consumer society doesn't appreciate the wear
of ages. The wear on the tire adds character to the belt and virtually
guaranties its uniqueness. You've got to figure that no more than two
tires got to me by anywhere near the same route. Every belt tells its
own different story.
--

If you missed the earlier thread, Zoot's posting might be obscure.

Zoot's making belts:
http://bikebling.blogspot.com/2005/12/high-zut-street-gear.html

Looks like a bunch of Asian tires, what have you and Zoot got against
Gommitalia and Veloflex ?

On 1 Jan 2006 20:03:20 -0800, "Fabrizio Mazzoleni" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Looks like a bunch of Asian tires, what have you and Zoot got against
Gommitalia and Veloflex ?

'cuz you guys who ride those are so cheap you'll ride 'em 'til the
casing is peaking through the rubber. They then look lousy as belts.
OTOH, I'll take any you've got with good tread and blown sidewalls.
Got any Silk sew ups or titanium chain you're tossing out?

Not pictured was a Firestone - Strato Streak, Made In Canada. It made
a cool looking belt as the branding was molded right into the shoulder
of the tire. It went to a person who appreciates vintage rubber.

Pictured was a Kevlar belted Metzler, I've cut up some Michilens and a
Nokian or two. Some of the nicest belts were cut from "Swallow"
branded tires. Their flimsy casing makes them supple. I'm holding on
to a Nokian Gazz Jr. that looks all the world like the perimeter of a
notebook pannier. Visualise it with pneumatic padding inside. Presta
valve, of course.

When I could only see belts in the tires that's all I was looking for.
After some experience working with the material, other uses present
themselves. There's the whole fetish gear market to exploit too. Vegan
kinks appreciate not being tied down and hung up with cow hide.

The display stands I made for the belts are clever, attractive and
practical though they're also hacked from old bike parts and garbage.
I'm certain the belts will sell when I get them into the right places.
--
zk