Handlebar Cushion From Old Mountain Bike Tire 07 20 2010
The sidewall of my mountain bike blew out two days ago. So I got on my other horse a Trek Mountain bike from the early 1980’s. The problems I had with my old road bike I mostly abated by buying a new rim for the front tire. The old one had a slight bend in it, that always caused an ever so slightly wobbly tire. And I put an extension on the front handlebars that raised it up higher. The seat was replaced by a double pad model to alleviate unnatural pressure on the prostate.
But the one problem I still noticed while riding it the other day was that it had no cushion for the wrists in the handlebars. The ready to be discarded front tire from my mountain bike provided the answer. I took some sesame or sunflower oil that never tasted well and I now use to oil tools and oiled up my metal shears, at the hinge and blade and went about cutting myself a strip of tire for a handlebar cushion. In the picture you see me wrapping the strip around and fastening it in temporary place with quick ties, which may become permanent. I took this for a test drive and it worked fine. I usually wear cycling gloves to provide some resistance to inflammation at the wrist; with these knobby pads I don’t know that I need them.
By all means if you have a blown knobby mountain bike tire like this, do the same. The ends have to be cut at the appropriate angle for a flush wrap. To make it more permanent and durable to resist “peeling” I would think of using Liquid Nails small projects clear glue and maybe double quick ties on the ends. I might even use black colored quick ties.
Arthritis is an injury that we need to guard against as we live our lives to the fullest, to use appropriate safety measures in your everyday life to prevent and mitigate it as you age.
God Bless Those Who Save The Earth By Reusing Things
Thomas Paul Murphy
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
