How It's Made

How are Kaden & Kai Bicycle Tube Bracelets Made?

Kaden & Kai Bicycle Tube Bracelets take approximately 5 days to make once you have the material, software, equipment and supplies.  

First, Kaden & Kai bracelets are designed in Photoshop. We use plants, flowers, tattoos and modern art sculptures and paintings as inspiration for our designs.

Next, we cut and clean bicycle tubes we have collected from local bike shops. These discarded, unrepairable tubes cannot be recycled. They were on there way to the local landfill.

 

Special thanks goes out to the CycleLoft in Burlington, Massachusetts. They have been saving tubes for us since January 2020!

 

We then heat the tubes at approximately 220 degrees (outside or with the door open and with a mask on) under wax paper. Note: Do not heat tubes over 220 degrees if doing this on your own.

 

The heated tubes are then stacked for several days under 10-30 pounds of weight to ensure that they are as flat as possible before cutting.

We then use our knife cutting machine to transfer our design from the software to the tube.  The bracelets usually require weeding by hand in order to get the clean lines you see the final product. 

To ensure that the bracelets are easy to get on and stay on, we apply an industrial strength harder to the T clasp. This makes it easy for the T to pull through the holes. It also keeps it from falling off even if pulled.

To get off the bracelet, just twist and dip. First you twist the T sideways, then dip it through the hole it is in and it should pop right off! 

Once dry, we apply a rubber protectant to give it a clean, polished look. That's it!