Have you ever heard of car tire bicycles? Well, it turns out that they are not just a clever name. High school students build these bikes from scrap materials like old tires and other pieces they find in junkyards and trash piles. This is a great way to create something new for the environment and get back some of the money spent on buying things like bike tires!
Did you know that car tire bicycles can go up to 50 miles without having to be re-inflated? The tires are filled with air, so the rubber is flexible enough to not lose its shape and become flat. This also means they are much easier on your hands when used as brakes than metal brake pads!
The bike makers use any materials they can find around them in their community – like scrap wood from a lumberyard or old pieces of plastic tubing from an industrial plant. Some junkyards will even allow people in if they let someone else know about it beforehand, which helps keep waste out of places where animals might get into it.
This way, you’re getting rid of something that’s no longer wanted and creating something that someone else might need. These amazing students turned junk materials into a working bicycle with unique features. They prove that when you are patient and working towards a goal, you create possibilities.
These two high school students turned an old car tire into a working bike, and when they were successful, managed to turn their ingenuity into a business. They would purchase $5 to $7 in materials and sell these futuristically styled bikes for $150 per sale.
Unique bicycle with functionality
The bikes are designed and sold by two clever Turkish students whose dads gave a car tire. It turns out that they were bored because of going to school online during the pandemic and decided to turn the car tire into a new bike.
The unique feature about the bike is that the car tire is located on the back. They visited their local scrap dealer to create this wonder where they purchased a bike frame for just $7.
They did struggle with the bicycle’s creation because it was not easy to design and create it. The kids did have the intelligence, diligence, and skill set to get the job done. They worked to cut the car tire to fit the bicycle’s rim.
They also widened the back portion of the bike so that the tire would fit and provide more balance. One of the kid’s uncles had a welding shop and provided welding equipment so that they could perfect the bike and get the tire to fit.
The teens also extended the pedals to fit the bike’s design with the welding and the tire. The bike was then painted and decorated with the original design of the wheels to be a unique type of bicycle in its way.
Each student had their personal line on how they wanted to do this project, which is why there are variations between what each person created for themselves and how much time they spent on it.
It took about two months to complete these bikes from start to finish because, of course, school work and other commitments interfering with things. The pedal extensions were done at home by using welding equipment when not in class or working elsewhere but outside hours allowed them room for quality progress during those times.
This experiment has given some kids an opportunity to learn new skillsets through trial and error. When they finally completed the project, the kids got to ride the bike around town, attracting attention from the townspeople who all wanted to take pictures with the bike.
Some wanted to buy the bicycle, and others wanted to buy one when they made more of them. Together, the kids sold about twelve bikes in total.
