Links to products featured on RecycleScene are affiliate links. Make a purchase of recommended products on our site, and we get a small percentage of affiliate commission to maintain our site. Riding a bike is more eco-friendly than driving a car, but what do you do after those tires wear out, and you’re not able to patch them up? Many people and manufacturers realize the value of recycled rubber. Tires can be shredded and ground into various sizes of powders, crumbs and nuggets and made into new products. While it’s possible for an auto place to accept and process bike tires and tubes (the rubber is the same either way), the charge for that service is greater than the costs of landfilling. The business model works for auto tire recycling because there are laws against putting auto tires in landfills in most U.S. states. This is not the case for bicycle tires. So if you are willing to pay a fee, then find an auto tire recycler and they should have no problems processing your bike tires and tubes.

Some tire processors will take bike tires for free, some charge, and some don’t take them at all. The charge can be something nominal, like ten cents per tire, and sometimes processors will accept the tubing as well, as long as it’s off the rim. Moving Out Of State PoemsCheck out our article on recycling car tires for tips on finding an auto tire recycler.Cats For Sale In Hamilton Ohio Besides having some seriously cool furniture made out of recycled bikes, Bike Furniture Design will accept your old bike parts. Scream Car Seat CoversTake a look at the types of bike parts they’re asking for, which include inner tubes, and where to send them on their recycling page. In addition, they’ll give you a discount for mailing in bike parts for them to use.

Getting tired of your current accessories? Try these intiresting recycled goods. A small amount of your purchase through any of these links goes to us to keep the site going and continue to promote recycled products and provide recycling information. Start a tread tend with a bike tire belt. Each belt is handmade from a different tire, so each one has a distinct pattern to its tread. Totally Tubular: Recycled Bicycle Inner Tubes Old bike inner tubes can be upcycled into some seriously cool and functional items. This laptop case is Durable water-resistant and made from inner tubes collected from bike shops. Alchemy Goods recycles tire inner tubes into sweet bags and wallets out of Seattle, Washington. to find out if there’s a bike shop near you that recycles with them. This handy wallet is hand-crafted and produced in a 100 percent waste-free process in which all leftover materials are either reused or recycled. Reclaimed bike tubes are super soft for your hands, and when your dog bounds along in the water, this leash is also quick-drying and won’t start to smell!

Moving a little further north to Toronto, Mariclaro Canada is a small design collective that uses not only recycled inner tubes, but incorporates seat belts as well to create bags that are 99% recycled (everything but the label and thread). According to Sven Schlegel at their store, “By re-using industrial materials headed for landfill, we are significantly increasing their life cycle. This reduces the need for energy-intensive resource extraction and minimizes the harmful emissions created by manufacturers in producing new materials. “We redefine the function of materials that are at the end of their original lifetime and give them another life. To be at the end of the lifetime doesn’t influence the quality of the materials. a car seat from a car involved in an accident still has amazingly strong and aesthetically appealing upholstery. We think it is important to demonstrate that it is possible to create functional and aesthetically appealing goods from waste material.

And it means fun!” Green Guru Gear provides stylish bike and urban gear made from recycled and upcycled materials such as bike tubes, wetsuits, banners, climbing ropes, tents and more. These excellent products are made in USA and help to save thousands of pounds of items from going to landfills. Check out this Clutch Saddle Bag below, made with 100% recycled PETE materials and bicycle inner tubes, perfect for your bike commute. Browse tons more great products on their website! Recycle old bike inner tubes by sending them into Green Guru Gear’s recycling program. Send in your old bike inner tubes (as well as old tents, yoga mats and more) by following guidelines found on their recycling page and mailing them or looking for their recycling bin at participating bike shops, outfitters, climbing gyms, surf shops and other community partners. Links to products featured on RecycleScene are affiliate links. We try and only feature products that close the recycling loop. Read more in the Terms of Use & Disclosure link in footer.

Someone pointed out that it may be risky, and it might not have the right kind of nozzle, but I don't have a bike pump at the moment. Does anyone else ever do this? The answer, in short is: Can you? In some cases, yes. In most cases, no. The long answer: The reason you can sometimes use an automotive air-pump on a bicycle tire/tube is because they share an identical valve. (See: Schrader valve/Schrader tube in the Terminology Index). If you have this type, you will definitely be able to get air into your tubes in a pinch. However, air hoses from gas stations are usually unregulated, high-pressure & high-volume, and lack a pressure gauge. Therefore, it is much easier to over-inflate and even blow out your bicycle tire, if you were to use one. An investment in a bicycle pump is one of the best you can make as a cyclist. Not only will it get you out of situations like this, but it will make it easier to keep your tires at the recommended pressure rating, which in turn will make it easier for you to be a more efficient (read: faster) bicyclist.

You can do this in a pinch if you're careful, but I don't recommend it. Your tires need to have Schraeder valves (similar to car tires) or you'll need an adapter for a Presta valve. Fill the tire in very short bursts, checking the pressure in between. Err on the side of underfilling your tires -- put too much air in and you may blow the tire off the rim, which is worse than having a flat in the first place! I used to do this 20 years ago before I realized that there were small pumps you can take with you. In addition to the risks, the problem with gas station pumps is that they're never there when you need them. The one repair kit you should have with you at all times is a pump + patch kit (or spare tube). Trust me, it can be a long, long walk home without them! It is possible, but there are a few factors to consider: Valve Type, obviously it is easiest with a schraeder valve, as these are the type that cars use. You can get adapters for presta valves that screw on and allow you to use the service station pumps.

Tyre Volume, as noted in some other answers, the air supply at service stations is often unregulated. The smaller your tyre, the faster the pressure increases - so you run more risk of over-inflation for narrow road tyres than for large mountain bike tyres. Pressure, road bike tyres are generally inflated to 110 - 130 PSI, which is much higher than the 30-40 PSI used for car tyres, or the 30-60 PSI used for mountain bike tyres. The service station pump may not be able to achieve this pressure, particularly if it is one of those automatic inflation types. So, in short, if you've got a mountain bike, there is probably not much of an issue using the service station pump. If you've got a road bike, do yourself a favour and buy a decent track pump. That way you'll be able to top up the tyres quickly each time you go out, and enjoy the benefits of nicely inflated tyres. I would say it depends - here in the UK the air pumps at petrol stations all have pressure gauges of some sort, but many aren't suitable.

The digital ones where you select the pressure to which you want your tyre inflated often max out at 60psi* but that's not the problem - the problem is that they inflate for a bit then let a bit out to test and correct. And they assume a car tyre. So to get a car tyre from say 30psi to 34, they might hit 46 and then let some out. To get a bike tyre from say 55psi to 60 they will put enough air in to make a car tyre inflate by a few psi - meaning your bike tyre will get rather too hard. I don't fancy measuring the peak pressure they'll do. That's why they say not to use them for bikes. The older sort with a proper pressure gauge also generally have a trigger that you can press lightly, and should be OK. I'm assuming you're sorted for valve compatibility here. *not even high enough for my van, resulting in some hard work with my track pump to finish the job. Can you use gas station air pumps on a bike : Most likely especially for mountain bikes and BMX bikes (unless your tubes use a different valve type), Is it a good idea : Probably not, unless your very careful and have no other way to pump up a tire.

I've never had much of an issue using gas station air pumps with mountain bikes and BMX bikes, as most bike tyres I've seen use Pressures from 40-50 PSI, but I rarely go to the max to prevent a blow out which I've done a few times pushing the pressure to the max. Most gas stations in Canada have pumps which have a built in pressure gauge on the handle, which works a lot like a tire pressure checker. Its probably not as accurate as other means but this is another reason why I wouldn't risk pumping a bike tire to max pressure. Either way, since I'm a poor person who usually forgets to get things like tools and pumps when they have money, this is usually my only way of pumping up a bike tire when I don't have a pump at home. Though its so much better when you do have one at home so you don't have issues like having a soft/flat tire before you head out for work on bike or just want to run down to the store to get something.Browse other questions tagged tire pump or ask your own question.