Ask the Editors: Tire Shelf Life
Cracked up.
When it comes to tires – we are all somewhat aware of the one way of wear: Friction from making contact with the ground results in the loss of material. Over time we lose enough material to where the tread begins to disappear and eventually (sometimes quicker than others depending upon riding habits), your meats are bald enough to require replacement.
However, our tires are also wearing due to the hand of time even when not in use. This is because rubber contains oil and oil eventually dries out thanks to the ozone in the air. We call the end result dry rot. It stands to reason that your 15-year old tires have developed micro cracks just large enough to allow air molecules to escape.
However, there are a few alternatives to throwing them away – products like Fix-A-Flat and Slime can be injected into the carcass to form a seal but were it us, we’d just install tubes to keep the air in place so that you can get some mileage out of those old knobs before replacement.
