Opinions/experience on aged tyres

[kiwikrasher]

So on the weekend I picked up the freebie Racetec's. They have only done one day at the 'Creek so have more life than ones currently on my bike.

Only problem is when I got them home, I checked the date stamp and they are both a late 2008 batch. They have been stored well and away from sunlight or contaminants, and they feel as soft as my current ones (less than 2 years old), so my tight arse half reckons they be fine, my OCD side is a bit dubious, especially after the effort with my Pathfinder tyres falling apart the day I bought it.

[Deegee]

I can't see how a tyre couldn't degrade over 8yrs simply by exposure to airborne contaminants,

However, just remember whatever else you do to a bike it still depends on that credit card sized patch of tyre....

Tyres=Confidence

[Cav]

I never take a tyres grip for granted... regardless of date of manufacture I always start slow and build my way up to max. This has done me well so far and the only time I had a slip (although I didn't spill) with tyres that I deemed almost a crash was with a brand new rear I'd scrubbed in 2 sessions before.

Use it and start slow

[Blade]

I think I read somewhere Michelin quoting tyres have no definitive life span as too many variables involved and you should inspect for cracks etc as signs of aging. Saying that I think they did make a recommendation that replacing tyres when 10 years old if for no other reason than age would be there advice.

If they are in good condition and still feel soft I can't see why there not worth a try. If you then have no confidence take them off and you've lost nothing.

[Rossgo]

Think everyone has pretty much covered it. Won't harm you if you give them a try and take it very easy to scrub them in and get your confidence up on them. You may find that are are crap and like Blade has said you haven't lost anything as they were free! I've never tried old tyres so can't comment on any experience I've had

[Kwacky]

Spank 'em. If they fail you know for next time

[D41]

The lad/lass who used them at The Creek had no problems, right??

On a racetrack. Spanking the Bejesus out of them??

I'd reckon they'd be OK.

[rocket]

No problem at all i had this with a 10 year old + super corsa and it was fine. spoke to the tyre man and he said its sunlight that draws out out the oils in the tryre and they go hard if its not like that USE it i had no issues with that tyre at all

[Cav]

I'm not 100% convinved on the sunlight thing... There was no blue on my tyre after Rockingham then when I went out to the garage a few weeks later (bike hadn't seen sunlight since then) the tyres were bright blue. I think it's after 2-3 heat cycles the oil comes out

[D41]

I've never had an issue with sunlight drawing out the oils either...and I get a LOT of sunlight. The heat from the sun isn't even remotely close to the temps. generated when the bike is ridden.

[kiwikrasher]

Concerning storage, we recommend storing our tires away from lights (especially UV rays), in a place with low humidity between 5 °C and 35°C. We do not advise to use any chemical products to clean or store our tires. We do not have any age limit of use, since the performances of a tire strongly depends on how it has been used and/or stored.

This is advice I've heard more than once, and confirmed on research.

The problem is oxidation, which is caused by ozone. Unless you vacuum pack them you can't avoid it. But UV accelerates oxidation, so by keeping them in the dark during storage you extend their life.

I'll give them a go if I ever get enough TD's in to wear out the current ones. (Single parenting has massively reduced my ability to get to the track)

[kiwikrasher]

Spank 'em. If they fail you know for next time

You know me too well Kwacky

[Cav]

Concerning storage, we recommend storing our tires away from lights (especially UV rays), in a place with low humidity between 5 °C and 35°C. We do not advise to use any chemical products to clean or store our tires. We do not have any age limit of use, since the performances of a tire strongly depends on how it has been used and/or stored.

This is advice I've heard more than once, and confirmed on research.

The problem is oxidation, which is caused by ozone. Unless you vacuum pack them you can't avoid it. But UV accelerates oxidation, so by keeping them in the dark during storage you extend their life.

I'll give them a go if I ever get enough TD's in to wear out the current ones. (Single parenting has massively reduced my ability to get to the track)

Oxidation is caused by oxygen in the air in general (O2), not necessarily ozone. Ozone attacks polymers though and breaks them down but the concentrations at ground level are very low therefore it is likely to be purely down to oxygen.

UV will prematurely end the life of a tyre though as this is what causes cracking on tyre sidewalls etc and it will draw almost every bit of oil out of a tyre. For anyone that stores their bike/tyres in a garage the UV 'wear' is way less likely to have an impact.

Back to the point though - start slow and get a feel for those tyres, all scrubs are different due to the setup of the bike it was on previous, the tyre pressures previous, the heat in the tyre previous, the weight of the previous rider and the subsequent stresses, etc, etc, etc... the list goes on. Get a feel for them and push on as you would any other time

[kiwikrasher]

Your right Cav, by definition oxidisation is caused by oxygen. It's been used generically to describe the breaking down of the polymers, incorrectly and I've not twigged when I repeated it.

Yup will give them a go. But my ability to feel tyre behaviour is limited to

A. Good it's gripping
B. Oh.. Think that slid a bit
C. Bugger I crashed again

[Cav]

Haha.. Just wind it back a little when it slips and build back up again !!

[Blade]

Your right Cav, by definition oxidisation is caused by oxygen. It's been used generically to describe the breaking down of the polymers, incorrectly and I've not twigged when I repeated it.

Yup will give them a go. But my ability to feel tyre behaviour is limited to

A. Good it's gripping
B. Oh.. Think that slid a bit
C. Bugger I crashed again

Just stick to A and B then

[kiwikrasher]

Unfortunately, I generally skip B getting to C, or have its duration that short I don't acknowledge it.

Experiencing B usually gets me back to A.

The exception is in the wet. I'm like Ant West, I have no problem with sliding it about in the wet and seem to keep a must faster pace than guys I ride with when it rains. Mind you Aussies in general have no idea how to deal with wet roads in cars or on bikes.

Growing up in NZ and years of trail riding (greenlaning) have abviously given me some skill.