vintage tyres and degrading rubber - your thoughts?

[konahed]

I think it depends on storage and also I expect the thickness of the sidewalls and tread belt will have a big say in how many years a tyre will last.

 

[Uncle Monty]

NOS green Wild-gripper rear tyre - knobs tearing off after first ride. Pretty much trashed after three outings. An expensive mistake that I won't repeat. I won't buy a 15 year old tyre from a hot place like ooh say- California again either. I have my moments :roll: Front specific one from a UK seller was fine and still feels soft, so as has been said above, storage is critical. The signs were all there on the bad one. Dry feeling, cracking visible when inflated. NOS Richey duro K and those Alpha bite WCS fronts that were on eBay UK a year or two back have been fine. Just my opinion, but if you have any doubts about a tyre, don't use it. Especially on the front.

 

[Ductape]

Agreed. Waited two years to find the proper Uniroyal Knobby for a project. Tickled when a nos one came my way. One ride and cracks everywhere.

 

[unclechet]

If the tread or sidewall develop cracks I become very suspect of the tire. I like to ride as fast as conditions and my fitness allow and I don't like having blowouts at speed (even bicycle speed) or in sketchy conditions. I had a front tire blowout on my Merlin a couple of years ago at speed (28-30 mph) and dang near lost it. The tire was a 2.3 and when those blow you've got a wobbly mess in a hurry! My advice is don't push old rubber. Even a cheap new tire is better than an old hard, cracked expensive tire.

 

[jonnymcenroe]

Definitely for photos I also would not push old tyres (who am I trying to kid ) however I did ride Glentress and the Pentlands and the City hard last summer on 1995 dry cracked and split rubber and only suffered a pinch on serious rocky stuff - about to fir some IRCs to my bike which look in better condition than the Wildgrippers. :thumbs:

I have a 1-2 ride old pair of Team Master Controls in the cupboard rescued from a garage which are still "wet" looking

 

[Woz]

Mmmh. Just mounted 1992 black walled Panaracer Smoke and Dart - they look top-notch condition but not ridden them yet.

 

[Silvergoat]

Sadly, my 1992 Smoke n Dart were going brittle – even after safe storage – fraying/shredding all along the beading and developing cracks in the casing – just not worth the risk of riding. My 2011 WTB Prowlers wore out in 3-4 months. My 2nd pair of Continental Race Kings are starting to wear after 6 months. Decades old tyres are either best in a skip or kept as museum pieces. May be they could be mounted on the wall in a 'moose's head' kind of tribute to days of exhilarating riding gone by.

Good to see the link to Mombat with their new rubber vintage tyres out of original Panaracer molds – imagine Retrobike securing a similar deal for other iconic tyres...

 

[Raging_Bulls]

May be they could be mounted on the wall in a 'moose's head' kind of tribute to days of exhilarating riding gone by.

I have a few old Smokes etc. I plan on hanging them on the wall together with the broken mechs, snapped bars, cracked frames etc.
Above them I'll put a sign that says "Offerings to the God of Speed"

 

[Silvergoat]

May be they could be mounted on the wall in a 'moose's head' kind of tribute to days of exhilarating riding gone by.

I have a few old Smokes etc. I plan on hanging them on the wall together with the broken mechs, snapped bars, cracked frames etc.
Above them I'll put a sign that says "Offerings to the God of Speed"

Yeah! I've a box of bits that could be the basis of some grand mechanical installation homage. I Just recently snapped the rails on my Vetta, after taking some air too enthusiastically over one of London's many speed bumps.

 

[biglev]

Anyone tried any of the old methods such as:
- lemon oil
-Tyre conditioner http://www.bearswaxfactory.co.uk/dr-bea ... -345-p.asp
-Tyre softeners?
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... e-softener