# Tire Shelf Life?



## catfishnribs (Jul 12, 2004)

Just wanted to know what's the shelf life of tires when not on the bike? I'm thinking about stocking up on some extra tires since they're on sale---I seem to replace my tires maybe every 12-16 months---will new tires go bad if they're just hanging around the house for that long?


----------



## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

If you store them in a dry place away from air pollution sources (not in a smoggy garage), they should last a few years on the shelf.


----------



## CLTRD (May 3, 2004)

I wouldn't store them for more than 2 years, 3 years max


----------



## russw19 (Nov 27, 2002)

CLTRD said:


> I wouldn't store them for more than 2 years, 3 years max



Why not?


----------



## Nate Haler (Jul 14, 2004)

*he wouldn't maybe, but some of us would (and have)*

I had some new tires in the original shipping box in the garage, on a shelf about 7' above the ground. Gets warm up there, not to mention little humidity.

Stuck one on my road bike which had been overhauled after hanging in the same garage for quite some time. Now have almost 700 miles in the past 7 weeks on that tire, and not a single problem. FWIW, the tire was purchased in '95!

Also FWIW, this was a wire-bead tire. Maybe a foldable would have suffered cracked sidewalls during that storage, or maybe not. Older tires, in my narrow research, can be identified by the rub test -- rub the sidewall and if it feels sort of crumbly/sandy vs. just rubbery, then you have a tire that needs to be used quick before it really starts to deteriorate.

If I were to purposely buy tires and store them, I'd put them in heavyish zip-lock bags, and press the excess air out of them and stick them in a box or cupboard. The real trick is to remember that you have them.


----------



## AJS (Aug 7, 2003)

I used to get nuts and store extra folding clinchers in a mop pail of water in the garage, thinking that at least they wouldn't dry rot with age. (Mostly with Geax MTB tires. They seemed to be the most suceptible to dry rot with their rubber compound) Hell it works, except they're kind of hard to get out in the winter!

You gotta be either a True Cycling Disciple or a Phred and 1/2 to do sh!t like that.



But then I'd stretch my sew-up's on some ancient rims, and leave them hanging in the cellar until I needed them. I guess that's not _too_ wack, so it musta been the MTBing that was making me crazy...

Thank Gawd for road boiks!


----------



## russw19 (Nov 27, 2002)

AJS said:


> I used to get nuts and store extra folding clinchers in a mop pail of water in the garage, thinking that at least they wouldn't dry rot with age. (Mostly with Geax MTB tires. They seemed to be the most suceptible to dry rot with their rubber compound) Hell it works, except they're kind of hard to get out in the winter!
> 
> You gotta be either a True Cycling Disciple or a Phred and 1/2 to do sh!t like that.
> 
> ...


Never heard of the mop bucket idea, but some old school riders swear by the ideal that you should age a tubular for at least a year before mounting it. 

That's kinda why I asked above why someone would say they wouldn't store a tire for 2 years... in all my years of cycling, the only thing I have ever heard of would suggest that unless the tire dry rots, it would be fine to be stored for that period of time. But if someone knows something I don't, I am open to new things.


----------



## tarwheel (May 22, 2004)

*old tires*

I tend to buy extra tires when they're on sale and stockpile them. In early December last year, I swapped my tires to install some older green Michelin Axial Pros on my red bike for the Christmas season. Kind of a pointless thing to do, but seemed like a good idea at the time. The green APs had hung on the peg rack in my garage for a couple years. Five miles into the ride, my bike slides out on a corner that I've ridden through hundreds of times with no problems. There was no sand, gravel or oil slicks on the road. I am convinced it was a problem with the tire. The green tread on the AP's had developed sort of a glaze or sheen on the surface while sitting un-used for such a long time and seemed to have lost some of their tackiness. Anyway, I am more cautious now about using old tires. If I install some older tires on my bikes again, I will lightly sand the tread surface before riding them.


----------



## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*The garage is the problem*

I've stored tires for a couple of years with no problems, but I wouldn't leave them hanging in the garage, where they are going to be covered with dust, subject to very hot temperatures, and possibly getting other junk on them. Things hung in my garage seem to develop a scummy coating. Add that to the fact that new tires tend to be a bit slippery in any case, and it's easy to understand your traction problem. Stored in a cool spot, in or out of a bag, tires will last a long time - many years. Back in the day, we used to age tubulars for at least a year, and stories from my mentors talked about hoarding tires all through WWII when the supplies from Italy and France were cut off.


----------



## AJS (Aug 7, 2003)

This is why we all love cycling so much - the history, the tradition, and sometimes the lunacy!


----------



## -bob (Aug 26, 2003)

*Since '94 in my attic.*

Yep, I stored a pair for almost ten years in my south Florida attic. In 1994 I quit road biking and put my Centurion Iron Man up in the attic with almost new Continental tires on it. I hadn't been on the thing in years and it was taking up space. Last year I decided to start riding again and got the bike down. I took the tubes and tires off to inspect them and to my suprise they were in good shape and held air just fine. I'm not saying I'd rely on them twenty miles away from home but they appeared fine (no dry rot or cracks) and held 120 lbs of air.

So what did I do with the tires? Nothing. I decided the bike was a heavy relic, put it back in the attic, and bought a new bike.


----------



## marron (Nov 25, 2002)

*Indefinitely?*

I've got a pair of Conti Supersonic clinchers that I use as special event tires. They're too light and fragile for regular use. I've had them for about 4 years and put about 1,000 miles on them, including 150 last week. They're stored in a cabinet in my basement and feel just like new. BTW, they've never been cut or flatted, go figure.


----------

