Bicycle Tires That Shouldn't Last But Do and Bicycle Tires ThatShould Last But Don't

I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work,
but it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the
original tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This
tire is crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore
out pretty fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two
days before needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for
two weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:
http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.


--
A website is a place, where, when you go there, it does everything
possible to distract you, from finding the information you came there
to see.- E.W.

Erness Wild wrote:
I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work, but
it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the original
tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This tire is
crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore out pretty
fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two days before
needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for two
weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:
http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.



troll mode
and aged tubulars don't last longer than fresh ones...

Erness Wild wrote:

I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work,
but it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the
original tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This
tire is crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore
out pretty fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two
days before needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for
two weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.

Some tires and tubes hold air better than others, and some rims hold
air better than others. The rim in your photo looks like a steel
single-walled rim, so it probably has a rubber rim strip that
functions as a gasket when the tire is inflated. A double-walled rim
with fabric rim tape is generally much more permeable.

Likewise, an old gumwall tire may have much more rubber in the
sidewall, even on just one side of the casing cords, than a newer
skinwall, and may therefore be slower to lose pressure.

Many folks use tire, tube and rim combinations that obligate them to
top up before every ride (although this is much less common since the
decline of sewup tires). I have seen others that can hold acceptable
pressure for more than a month.

Chalo

Chalo wrote:
Erness Wild wrote:
I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work,
but it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the
original tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This
tire is crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore
out pretty fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two
days before needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for
two weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.

Some tires and tubes hold air better than others, and some rims hold
air better than others.

eh? rims hold air? are these u.s.t???


The rim in your photo looks like a steel
single-walled rim, so it probably has a rubber rim strip that
functions as a gasket when the tire is inflated. A double-walled rim
with fabric rim tape is generally much more permeable.

say what???



Likewise, an old gumwall tire may have much more rubber in the
sidewall, even on just one side of the casing cords, than a newer
skinwall, and may therefore be slower to lose pressure.

tire sidewall makes a difference???



Many folks use tire, tube and rim combinations that obligate them to
top up before every ride (although this is much less common since the
decline of sewup tires). I have seen others that can hold acceptable
pressure for more than a month.

dude, please please please stop.

go back to your old school, find your old science teachers and give them
a good hard slapping. they have failed you and damaged you for life.

Erness Wild wrote:
I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work, but
it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the original
tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This tire is
crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore out pretty
fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two days before
needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for two
weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:
http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.

That is a nylon casing tire; the latex sidewall has crumbled
but it may still be safely ridden as nylon fabric doesn't rot.

A generation before that, most tires were cotton so a
damaged sidewall cover meant a blowout after the cotton
threads were wet.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

I'm still riding the same set of tires that came with my GT Outpost mountain
bike in 1996. This bike must have a billion miles on it, including three
trips up the NY/Connecticut coast into Rhode Island. For whatever reason,
these tires will not show signs of wear. I was thinking maybe the trick is
to use mtb tires for road riding, but then I realized that the first
three-four years I had this bike was almost all off-road riding.

I never fully understood why it's a good idea to always mount your tires so
they spin in the same direction, but perhaps that has something to do with
hyper longevity?

Anyway, the bottom line is that I have some other bikes I use for errand
runs and for day rides with my wife in a place out here called Fire Island.
This riding is very low impact, to say the least. If you look at the tires
on those relatively new, barely-used bikes, you'd think I'd been practicing
skids with them on top of an all sandpaper course.

My apology. I missed the point of this thread until I looked at the photo.
My tire doesn't look like that at all.

jim beam wrote:

Chalo wrote:

Erness Wild wrote:

I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work,
but it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the
original tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This
tire is crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore
out pretty fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two
days before needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for
two weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.

Some tires and tubes hold air better than others, and some rims hold
air better than others.

eh? *rims hold air? *are these u.s.t???

Steel is less permeable than rubber, jackass.

The rim in your photo looks like a steel
single-walled rim, so it probably has a rubber rim strip that
functions as a gasket when the tire is inflated. *A double-walled rim
with fabric rim tape is generally much more permeable.

say what???

Rubber over steel is less permeable than cloth over nothing,
jackass.

Likewise, an old gumwall tire may have much more rubber in the
sidewall, even on just one side of the casing cords, than a newer
skinwall, and may therefore be slower to lose pressure.

tire sidewall makes a difference???

The tire sidewall is the thinnest surface between pressurized and
ambient air, jackass.

Many folks use tire, tube and rim combinations that obligate them to
top up before every ride (although this is much less common since the
decline of sewup tires). *I have seen others that can hold acceptable
pressure for more than a month.

dude, please please please stop.

go back to your old school, find your old science teachers and give them
a good hard slapping. *they have failed you and damaged you for life.

You are oblivious, ignorant, thick-headed, uncivil, and a completely
unpleasant mother****er to boot-- impossible to learn from and utterly
unwilling to learn. I'm done talking to you, but if anyone else would
like to talk about the diffusion of pressurized air through the rubber
bladder we call a tire, I'll happily oblige.

Jackass.

Chalo

On 26 Apr, 16:03, Erness Wild wrote:
I'm using a tire on my "daily use" bicycle that just shouldn't work,
but it does. I exchanged wheels from another old bicycle when the
original tire gave out, as a temporary fix. That was last spring. This
tire is crumbling on the side wall and very old. The newer tire wore
out pretty fast and the tube never held air pressure for more than two
days before needing topping up.
This old tire and tube just won't give out and hold air pressure for
two weeks. Go figure.
Here's a photo of how bad this tire is:http://i44.tinypic.com/30clma9.jpg
and I'm not complaining, really, just a bit puzzled over what makes a
good tire (many of which don't seem to last anymore) and this old tire
that keeps going even when falling apart.


Looks like you've raided my stash.

On 26 Apr, 17:39, wrote:

The hardened and flaking rubber does little for the tire structure
except keep the cords dry and clean. *If you don't ride them wet, they
should last until the cords fail from oxidation and UV.

My tyres cords are cotton, they'll rot if I leave em wet, they'll
abrade and weaken with dirt, but UV damage, c'mon?