How long can you store tyres before they go off?

[mercalia]

Another quickie. I bet some people here buy tyres in bulk if they find one they like that is now discontinued. I have a few of the old Schwalbe HS368. How long have people stored tyres for before they notice that they start to perish or deteriorate? On the bike walls crack etc. So looking for some hard facts.

[Tangled Metal]

Last time I looked at my road bike (out of action) the front tyre was still ok. It is about 25 years old. The rear tyre got replaced after 7 years I think (gatorskins IIRC or gatorskin ultras bought after a mag recommended them as best buy) and they are still on the bike. It was last ridden about 2 years ago now and the tyres were the least of the problems (brakes were non-existent down steeeeppppp hills and the steerer was a bit loose shall we say which made for interesting ride).

Not sure this is relevent really.

[gaz]

I had three Schwalbe HS360 in storage for between 7-10 years (minimum, might have been 10-13 years), simply hanging up in the shed/garage. The first two were fine, the third failed extremely quickly with the wire bead erupting through the sidewall.

That's not an unheard of failure mode for Schwalbe. There's no way for me to tell if it was linked to storage.

[Rhodrich]

I've got 'Dunlop Special Tandem' tyres from the 1960's on my pre-war Hobbs tandem that still seem perfectly serviceable. That said, I'm not sure I'd trust them on a long tour!

The only problem is that they are 26 x 1 1/4 sized, which are virtually unobtainable these days (I should have bought some Schwalbe HS130 ones when they were in stock at Spa)

[Brucey]

How long have people stored tyres for before they notice that they start to perish or deteriorate? On the bike walls crack etc. So looking for some hard facts.

hard facts about soft tyres? Hmmm....

Considering that the storage conditions are not specified and that tyre manufacturers clearly struggle to produce a consistent product anyway, I think that hard facts will be few and far between and that you may have to settle for anecdote.

Anecdotally, I'd expect some schwalbe tyres to deteriorate even when stored well.

In general if you have a tyre with any cracks in it you should try and find out what the carcass is made of. If it is anything that rots (or decomposes in UV light) then either use the tyre like it was a silk tub (I.e. in the dry only, stored in the dark) or bin the tyre. If the tyre has a nylon carcass you may get away with it (for a while, anyway). If in doubt, bin the tyre.

cheers

[reohn2]

I hope my Hypers don't go off(I do keep having a sniff at them)as I've got six pair stored in a dark place
Rubber fetish,me?
Never

[CREPELLO]

Question - should folding tyres be stored long term folded up

[gaz]

Now there's a question.

I'd not thought about folding tyres. I have two Michelin Hi-Lites, 700x35 that I bought 1989/90. One's been on and off various bikes over that time and looks somewhat worse for wear. It's been retired to a corner of the shed but not thrown away yet.

The other's still in near mint condition and travels in the saddlebag, handy for times like when my Marathon self-destructed.

Both most definitely stored folded.

[mig]

are tyres ever sold with a 'best before' date?

(semi related anecdote - i bought a pair of ex army boots many years ago. they were great until the day that huge chunks of the soles came away whilst walking to a friend's house. that friend worked near the store in which they were bought so popped in one lunchtime to enquire about this to be told "oh yes the rubber in those soles have a 5 year life expectancy then they crack wide open.")

[mercalia]

By hard facts I really meant experiences of storing tyres. I have an old Schwalbe CIty Marathon that was bought when Bohle and Co were the distributor here. These tyres were the original type that came on the Dawes 1-Down, so I bought a couple must be 10+ years ago. The one I have left still seems good after that time.

[beardy]

The only tyres which I find unrideable through age are the amber walled ones. The rubber crumbles away and then the inner tube can bulge its way between the fibres and pop.

I have plenty of old cheap tyres from BSOs abandoned outdoors where the rubber is cracked all over, they may lose chunks out of them but the carcass is sound and they are rideable (well as rideable as they were when new).

[CREPELLO]

Tyre integrity may be sound after a number of years, but if the rubber goes harder with age, would wet weather grip also reduce? On the plus side, the tyre may become harder wearing.

[Erudin]

The Vittoria website says their bicycle tyres last 10 years without deteriorating.

From Schwalbe website:

"How long can a tire be stored?

SCHWALBE tires can be stored for up to 5 years without problem, but to attain this they should be stored in a cool, dry, and, most importantly, dark place. When stored properly, even longer storage times may be possible.

If fitted on a rim, tires should always be inflated or the wheel hung up for storage. A bicycle left on flat tires for an extended period may damage the tires sidewalls."

Schwalbe print their production date code (see: http://www.schwalbetires.com/company/warranty_policy and http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=16661) on the inside of the tyre, I guess from my own tyres and examples I've seen online that the first two number are weeks and second two the year.

From Continental website: "Anti-aging agents have been added to the rubber in the tyres; however, tyres will still become brittle over time and eventually crack. Very brittle tyres should be replaced for your safety. Therefore, always avoid leaving the bicycle or tyres and tubes in direct sunlight or close to radiators. If not used for a longer period, e.g. in winter, ensure that the tyres are pumped up adequately and that you store the bicycle in a dark but not damp room."

As with car tyres I'd assume it is best to avoid buy NOS (new old stock) tyres that are more than a year or two old if possible.

Found the production date codes for Continental bicycle tyres at http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/service_en/faq/tyreconstruction4.html.

Looking at my Grand Prix tyres 700x24c they were made October 2010, and my Sport Contact tyres 26x1.6" were made in March 2013. I bought them both about a year after they were manufactured.

[reohn2]

Erudin
Thanks for that,though it's an obvious place to look for the information I'd never thought to

On the subject of tyres cracking/deteriorating(in use).
I've always found Schwalbe tyres,mainly Marathons,to develope small cracks on their side walls,and the rubber always seemed a bit plasticy,similarly so Racers thought they didn't crack the same,an exception were Kojaks which felt very rubbery and 'grippy'
I've found Paselas amber sidewall deteriorate in short order,compared to black.
I've not had and problems with Vittorias yet,though I've only been using them for about 3years.
Never had problems with Conti's either.

[Brucey]

IIRC Vittoria tyres usually have the manufacturing date marked on the inside of the tyre along with a serial number. Schwalbe tyres usually have markings on them too, but I don't know what they mean, or how to extract the manufacturing date from them.

[edit BTW the Continental system is similar in content to that used on car tyres. I didn't know that any cycle tyre manufacturer used it, and I certainly wouldn't be able to tell by looking at any conti tyre I've owned with amber sidewalls, because they have all disintegrated...]

cheers