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15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?



 
 
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  #21  
Old July 9th 08, 11:24 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Kunich
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Posts: 6,456
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
...
Tom Kunich wrote:

FYI - When I pumped Continental GP's to their label limit, about 1/3rd of
them failed by the casing pulling apart. Another reason I fled using
them. Now I always pump tires below their label limits. And I'm a 200 lb
rider as well.


Casing failures, especially sidewall, are a common problem with
Continentals. But it's the brand, not a generic thing. I pump my current
tires well under their limit, too, but their label limit is 175psi, which
is way more than I want.


I was pumping them to the limit of 125 (from memory) psi and indeed it was
always in the sidewall where the failures occurred. And I remember reading
the tire pressure limits were set by making it half the failure pressure.

At one time I had this stack of almost new Continental Gran Prix tires all
with failed sidewalls and the like. I finally grew perturbed and threw the
large stack away (perhaps a dozen tires with almost new tread still on
them).

I pulled one out of the stack that was only one ride old. It had a 3" long
sidewall cut. I got out my sail repair kit and sewed that sidewall closed,
ran a slightly lower pressure and ran that tire about 3000 miles on the BACK
of a bike. And you should have seen that crude sewing job that I used
because I didn't expect it to work.

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  #22  
Old July 10th 08, 03:20 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
John Thompson
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Posts: 503
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.bicycles.misc.]
On 2008-07-09, still just me wrote:

And running at high pressure is going to make those cracks look even
more ominous.

I'd change them too. You can ride them, but the risk of a blowout or
puncture is higher with that old hard rubber. Plus, that dry rubber is
going to wear out rapidly... you'll be replacing them soon anyway.


Seems to me the best tubulars were always aged for a several years
before being sold. I suspect storage conditions are more important than
just age.

--

John )
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
  #23  
Old July 10th 08, 03:29 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Davo
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Posts: 100
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

Tom Kunich wrote:
"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
...
Tom Kunich wrote:

FYI - When I pumped Continental GP's to their label limit, about
1/3rd of them failed by the casing pulling apart. Another reason I
fled using them. Now I always pump tires below their label limits.
And I'm a 200 lb rider as well.


Casing failures, especially sidewall, are a common problem with
Continentals. But it's the brand, not a generic thing. I pump my
current tires well under their limit, too, but their label limit is
175psi, which is way more than I want.


I was pumping them to the limit of 125 (from memory) psi and indeed it
was always in the sidewall where the failures occurred. And I remember
reading the tire pressure limits were set by making it half the failure
pressure.

At one time I had this stack of almost new Continental Gran Prix tires
all with failed sidewalls and the like. I finally grew perturbed and
threw the large stack away (perhaps a dozen tires with almost new tread
still on them).

I pulled one out of the stack that was only one ride old. It had a 3"
long sidewall cut. I got out my sail repair kit and sewed that sidewall
closed, ran a slightly lower pressure and ran that tire about 3000 miles
on the BACK of a bike. And you should have seen that crude sewing job
that I used because I didn't expect it to work.


Hi Tom

Just curious and off topic, do you ride mountain bikes at all? I get the
impression you're a pure roady. If you do ride MTB, how long are your
rides and what type of riding? Lastly, I like reading your posts.
  #24  
Old July 10th 08, 03:40 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Kunich
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Posts: 6,456
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"Davo" wrote in message
...

Just curious and off topic, do you ride mountain bikes at all? I get the
impression you're a pure roady. If you do ride MTB, how long are your
rides and what type of riding? Lastly, I like reading your posts.


I do all sorts of riding. I mostly do road rides of about 30-40 miles though
last weekend I did a hilly 60 miler.

I used to mountain bike with a lot of friends but they slowly all moved out
of the super expensive bay area. I just sold my full suspension bike since
riding it required no skill beyond having a lot of guts to try anything. You
could almost ride the mountain rides around here blindfolded on a FS bike.
So I do those rides in the winter now on my cyclocross bike. I miss the MTB
group. I think we rode every trail in the SF bay area.

I also have a touring bike and do a few tours each year. Though the longest
has only been 350 miles.

Thanks for reading. One of the problems with the groups is that without
facial and tonal voice impressions people tend to take emotions incorrectly.

  #25  
Old July 10th 08, 01:21 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Art Harris
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Posts: 577
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

Tom Kunich wrote:
I was pumping them to the limit of 125 (from memory) psi and indeed it was
always in the sidewall where the failures occurred. And I remember reading
the tire pressure limits were set by making it half the failure pressure.


I recall hearing that, but I think it referred to half the blow-off
pressure.

Optimum pressure should be based on tire width, load, and personal
preference (performance vs. comfort), but definitely high enough to
avoid pinch flats at a given weight load. 125 psi sounds too high for
anything but a 700x20. Riders over 200 lbs should probably be on
700x25 at least.

Art Harris
  #26  
Old July 10th 08, 03:06 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Kunich
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Posts: 6,456
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"Art Harris" wrote in message
...

Optimum pressure should be based on tire width, load, and personal
preference (performance vs. comfort), but definitely high enough to
avoid pinch flats at a given weight load. 125 psi sounds too high for
anything but a 700x20. Riders over 200 lbs should probably be on
700x25 at least.


I agree with your tire sizes but it is a whole lot easier to obtain 23's
instead of 25's.

  #27  
Old July 10th 08, 05:33 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
A Muzi
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Posts: 4,551
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"Art Harris" wrote
Optimum pressure should be based on tire width, load, and personal
preference (performance vs. comfort), but definitely high enough to
avoid pinch flats at a given weight load. 125 psi sounds too high for
anything but a 700x20. Riders over 200 lbs should probably be on
700x25 at least.


Tom Kunich wrote:
I agree with your tire sizes but it is a whole lot easier to obtain 23's
instead of 25's.


That's true.
And size 37 shoes are often available at reduced price, too.
I'm with Art here.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
  #28  
Old July 10th 08, 10:49 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Kunich
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Posts: 6,456
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"A Muzi" wrote in message
...
"Art Harris" wrote
Optimum pressure should be based on tire width, load, and personal
preference (performance vs. comfort), but definitely high enough to
avoid pinch flats at a given weight load. 125 psi sounds too high for
anything but a 700x20. Riders over 200 lbs should probably be on
700x25 at least.


Tom Kunich wrote:
I agree with your tire sizes but it is a whole lot easier to obtain 23's
instead of 25's.


That's true.
And size 37 shoes are often available at reduced price, too.
I'm with Art here.


The difference here is that the 23 tires will work fine with 120 psi whereas
the size 37 shoes don't even hold my cutoff toe.

  #29  
Old July 11th 08, 01:16 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
John Thompson
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Posts: 503
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

On 2008-07-10, Tom Kunich cyclintom@yahoo wrote:
"A Muzi" wrote in message
Tom Kunich wrote:

I agree with your tire sizes but it is a whole lot easier to obtain 23's
instead of 25's.


That's true.
And size 37 shoes are often available at reduced price, too.
I'm with Art here.


The difference here is that the 23 tires will work fine with 120 psi whereas
the size 37 shoes don't even hold my cutoff toe.


I think that was Andy's point: buy the tire that matches your size. Just
because it's cheaper or more readily available doesn't mean it's the
right tire for you.

--

John )
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
  #30  
Old July 11th 08, 02:13 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Tom Kunich
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Posts: 6,456
Default 15 year old tires - any life left in 'em?

"John Thompson" wrote in message
...
On 2008-07-10, Tom Kunich cyclintom@yahoo wrote:
"A Muzi" wrote in message
Tom Kunich wrote:

I agree with your tire sizes but it is a whole lot easier to obtain
23's
instead of 25's.


That's true.
And size 37 shoes are often available at reduced price, too.
I'm with Art here.


The difference here is that the 23 tires will work fine with 120 psi
whereas
the size 37 shoes don't even hold my cutoff toe.


I think that was Andy's point: buy the tire that matches your size. Just
because it's cheaper or more readily available doesn't mean it's the
right tire for you.


How much difference do you think there is between a 23 and a 25?

 




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