DIY Strap Keepers for Voile Straps
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| Strap keepers from an old intertube. |
The other day, it felt like everything was working against me on my attempt to squeeze in an hour's ride after a full day of yard work. First, I noticed my front tire was a little low and needed air before I could hit the road. After pumping it up, my Presta valve stem snapped—but surprisingly, it still held air. Sweet! I figured I'd roll with it and fix the tube when I got back.
Then, just four miles from home, I heard a sharp pop—the seat rail on my saddle had snapped. Not my first time dealing with this, but no big deal; I was close enough to make it home. What else could go wrong? Of course, the valve on my water bottle broke too. Despite all the setbacks, I managed to finish my ride.
Things break—that’s just part of it. But I can’t stand the idea of tossing perfectly good parts in the trash. In my area, there’s no easy way to recycle bicycle components, and it feels wasteful to throw away a tube or tire. There has to be a better way.
While replacing the tube, I glanced over at my workbench and spotted a Voile strap. That’s when it hit me: I could repurpose the old tube to make strap keepers for my Voile straps. I’m still relatively new to the Voile strap world, but I love them—they’re incredibly versatile and easy to use. The only problem? The tail of the strap always ends up flapping around. That’s when I figured I could finally solve that annoyance with a little creativity.
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| A simple solution to two different problems. |
A 700cc x 18-23mm tube is the perfect size for creating a strap keeper for a Voile strap. As shown in the picture above, I cut 3/8-inch bands from the inner tube. Simply slide the band onto the strap, and when you wrap the strap around whatever you’re securing, you can pull the band over the tail of the strap, just like I did in the photo.
And there you have it! A simple solution to two problems: recycling a tube and keeping the tail of a Voile strap neatly secured. This trick should help me get a few more miles out of that tube!
Now It's Your Turn-
Leave a comment on how you find solutions to problems using old Intertubes. I would like to hear about your ideas.
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