Shelf life of tyres...

[andyoxon]

What's the rough shelf life of tyres off the bike, new/used, stored inside house/shed, folding/wired?  Or to rephrase, what factors will cause increased degradation of tyres, off the bike?

[trekker12]

Rubber is a natural product and over time returns to it's original state so it degrades. All rubber products do have a shelf life. I know that you shouldn't use a car tyre if it is older than ten years old no matter how much tread it has. Bike tyres have less loads and speeds put through them so in a degraded state are less likely to cause an accident - that doesn't mean you should use them though.

Increased degredation are caused by UV radiation - so store them in doors out of direct sunlight and away from chemicals such as paint, thinners etc in the shed.

[Brucey]

if you want to store tyres, the recipe is simple; cool, dry, dark.

Whether tyres deteriorate in good storage conditions  is almost exclusively dependant on whether the rubber had the right things in it when the tyres were made.

cheers

[T42]

Folded vs unfolded?  I've just put on a Bontrager Race tyre that's been folded in a cupboard for 4 years.

ETA if I peel back the rubber hull of a shifter and leave it a few days there's usually liquid at the fold site when I roll it forward again.  I'd half expect tyres to do the same but the one I just fitted didn't.

[giropaul]

I’m using Clement tubulars that were supplied in the 80s. Best to keep tyres round ( not folded)., and as above, cool, dark and away from sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

[Kim]

sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

Also laser printers.

[Jurek]

sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

Also laser printers.

Every day is a school day.

[Kim]

sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

Also laser printers.

Every day is a school day.

Corona discharge, innit.

[orienteer]

I heard that professional cyclists store tyres in the dark for a few years before using them, as they improve, but I can't recall in what respect.

[Kim]

I heard that professional cyclists store tyres in the dark for a few years before using them, as they improve, but I can't recall in what respect.

They get discontinued in favour of more puncture-resistant but slower rolling ones? 

[giropaul]

I heard that professional cyclists store tyres in the dark for a few years before using them, as they improve, but I can't recall in what respect.

More in the past than now. The theory was that the rubber hardened and therefore became more puncture resistant.
The opposite is the case for tyres for steep indoor velodromes, where some “tackiness “ is needed.

[rafletcher]

sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

Also laser printers.

Every day is a school day.

Did you never smell it??

[Paul]

Does it depend on the type of shelf?

[andyoxon]

Thanks all.  For my unused folded tyres I can do coolish, dry and dark.  Currently re-using some Paselas 32C wired which were in the shed for 2-3yrs, rubber surrounding the wire is slightly 'flakey' when sorting out punctures.

[rogerzilla]

Older tyres often resist punctures better.  They're not as sticky so they don't pick stuff up, and the outer surface is harder.  I had some pretty dried-out NOS Spesh Turbo S 20mm a few years ago which were brilliant.  One succumbed to a broken bottle which ripped out an inch of sidewall, but never a puncture through the tread.

[Jurek]

sources of ozone ( I’m told that electric motors produce this).

Also laser printers.

Every day is a school day.

Did you never smell it??

Yes, I could smell it from leccy motors.
Its a nice smell.
Laser printers, not so much.

[Kim]

AIUI big workhorse lasers that do lots of printing have ?activated carbon filters to limit the emissions.  Consumer-grade ones don't, but print slower and tend not to be used as heavily.  Big print jobs on small printers in confined spaces are therefore a recipe for ozone.

(It's the high voltage used to charge the drum that generates ozone.)

[Jurek]

I'll have to look into this as we recently bought a new laser printer at work.
It is 50m in length and can print at the rate of 70 linear metres per minute.
It's a bit of a beast.

[Kim]

I bet that makes for spectacular paper jams...

[Jurek]

Board, rather than paper.

[Kim]

Getting spectacular already... 

[quixoticgeek]

If you have a laser printer at home, or in a small office, consider some well placed plants. Specifically, some of the plants from this list:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

There's more than just ozone coming out...

J