08 February 2024

Putting His Spin On It

 We’ve all seen sprockets and other small bike parts turned into pendants and charms that dangle from necklaces and bracelets made from bike cables and chains.

Some components, however, better lend themselves to what people in India call “jugaad:” creating a unique solution to a day-to-day problem. You probably have have used blown-out inner tubes to tie things down—in essence, turned them into hookless bungee cords. And Pedro’s turned trashed tubes into “Blowout” tool bags and other bike accessories and tools.

Now a video of a man using a major bicycle component as a piece of furniture is making the rounds. I’m not talking about the Brooks saddles turned into bar stools that had a moment about 15 years ago.  Rather, the man—considerably less bourgie, it seems, than anyone who would’ve bought one of those bar stools—is using a major part of a bicycle as a major home furnishing.

I have to say that man certainly has ingenuity.  Not only did he turn (pun intended) a bicycle wheel into a rotating table.  He is exploiting its qualities In service of the particular qualities of an Indian meal. Small bowls and plates containing dal, sabzi, curry, chilies and other foods and spices are balanced on the spokes. 

Because the wheel is balanced on an axle, he can rotate the table and not have to leave his seat or stretch across the table to reach any of those plates or bowls. I would guess that he left the tire on the wheel because it’s easier to grip and turn than the metal rim.


I would love to see something like that the next time I go to an Indian restaurant. I wonder whether the man realizes there is a market for his innovations. Who knows: Maybe he’ll make enough money to buy his next table at Sotheby’s!

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