This clock now hangs proudly in my den.
It was a birthday gift from my son several years ago. We hung it in the bike shop. That was appropriate. Right? Well, I don’t spend that much time there, particularly this time of year. What a shame. So, I moved it into the house, and hung it on the wall I face mostly while relaxing in the den.
I love this clock. You see, my son made it using chainrings – Suntour 52/42 – from one of my first road bikes. Back in the 80’s, Suntour was a popular brand used on mid-priced bikes. The company no longer exists, but in it’s prime produced quality derailleurs, and chainrings 😂at a reasonable price.
The clock got me thinking … 🤔
I have a lot of left over bike parts. Handlebars. Chains. Derailleurs. Wheels. Inner tubes. Tires. Cranks. What do I do with it all? Apparently, I can recycle the tires. That’s a good idea. I’ve seen sculptures made from chains, coat hangers from handlebars, and chairs from inner tubes. And, I see all of these components listed on eBay being offered up for someone else to enjoy.
At the moment, I have 3 SLK stems and Dura-Ace cranks with racing chainrings sitting on my TV stand. I’m trying to decide what to do with them. What better way than to have them in constant view. A constant reminder to do something with them. The stems are too long, and I no longer use them. And the Dura-Ace chainrings are too large for these parts. I have converted my road bikes to compact setups.
I could hang them on the wall as art. I love looking at them. Or, I could sell them. They are worth a lot of money. Then again, I could build another bike … 😂
Do you have other suggestions?
PedalWORKS 
Ah good question. I’d say try to move them on to someone who can use them for what they were designed to do on a bike. They are splendid things, perfectly blending form and function and deserve to be preserved for what they are while they are still fit for purpose. But make your own arrangement and photograph them before they go up for sale. So, that’s what I think: thanks for posing the question. 🙂
Yeah. Thanks Norman. I have always tried to pass my unused parts on to others, mostly other family members and friends. But after 4 decades of building and upgrading bikes, I have a lot of spare components. Some are worth a lot of money. I have ~ $1,000 of parts sitting on my TV stand right now and think someone would enjoy the parts on their bike. The less marketable items like used inner tubes, I’d like to repurpose in some imaginative way like the clock on my wall.
What a great clock,very imaginative use of stuff that would otherwise be trash👍
Trash was the wrong word..obsolete parts is what I meant😉
Yeah it was a great gift for a guy who likes his bikes!
I have seen a few good examples of art from bikes on the GCN show. The one that was most stunning to me is the fruit bowl made from a chain. It probably took a lot of welding, but it looked really cool.
Search on google “bowl made from chains” or recycled bike chain bowl. Apparently they are popular and sell for 60 Australian dollars at the Oxfam shop.
Thanks Anthony. I’ll take a look. I keep my old chains and would like to do something with them.
I think chains would be easy to work with. They make nice inlays for tables and bar tops–if that is too hard, they can be acrylic covered.
Great ideas! We ask folks where I work to create (recycle) things like this for Earth Day. 🙂
That’s a good idea.
Beautiful clock! And so creative! I love it! 🙂
Thanks you. The fact the chainrings have so many great memories for me, it makes the clock even more special.