Rubber -- old vs. new vs new-old-stock
04-04-20, 05:25 AM
#26
Junior Member
Thread Starter
for some reason I kept two pairs of tires from the mid 80's; the one set is made by Silver Star, but I'm not sure if that was the real manufacture of just some brand they slapped on the tire, these tires are in excellent condition with no cracking even starting, I could ride on those today without a problem; the other set is so badly cracked I can no longer make out the branding label and I don't remember either, that set I wouldn't dare ride on. Both sets were stored exactly the same, so why did one set crack up and the other is fine? I don't know unless there was something different in the compositions of the two sets, maybe one set was more on the nature side and the other more on the synthetic side?.
04-04-20, 10:44 AM
#27
Senior Member
I still have my seventh birthday bike, a 1959 Schwinn. The front tire is OEM Goodyear. Can’t be sure the inner tubes are original but they are both Goodyear and much patched. And they match. Generations of family and neighborhood kids grew up on that bike. Still holds air and rides well. Now used only on my birthday, cautiously.
A friend who collects has large stocks of singletube tire eighty to one hundred twenty years old. He rides them. Obviously he does not push those old tires too hard, but they still work.
Another friend recently found a 1950s Continental tubular while sorting through his boxes of Ochsner memorabilia. That tire is currently in use and has done over a thousand miles.
When comparing old and new bear in mind that the quality of everything has been in freefall a long time. Some, not all, new tires are “better” because at higher price points there is a limit to how cheap you can go. Current high end tires really are quite good. Tires from twenty thirty or forty years back are mostly pretty horrible and were when new.
A friend who collects has large stocks of singletube tire eighty to one hundred twenty years old. He rides them. Obviously he does not push those old tires too hard, but they still work.
Another friend recently found a 1950s Continental tubular while sorting through his boxes of Ochsner memorabilia. That tire is currently in use and has done over a thousand miles.
When comparing old and new bear in mind that the quality of everything has been in freefall a long time. Some, not all, new tires are “better” because at higher price points there is a limit to how cheap you can go. Current high end tires really are quite good. Tires from twenty thirty or forty years back are mostly pretty horrible and were when new.
04-04-20, 11:36 AM
#28
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Well before this thread I felt sketched out using tires that came stock on my 2017 bike 3-4 years later. But if people are talking about decade old tires, it looks like I’m in the green.
If it means anything, I have not noticed much degradation in terms of performance with these tires.
If it means anything, I have not noticed much degradation in terms of performance with these tires.
04-04-20, 11:40 AM
#29
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Well before this thread I felt sketched out using tires that came stock on my 2017 bike 3-4 years later. But if people are talking about decade old tires, it looks like I’m in the green.
If it means anything, I have not noticed much degradation in terms of performance with these tires.
If it means anything, I have not noticed much degradation in terms of performance with these tires.
04-04-20, 12:41 PM
#30
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You’re right. But mine came with Specialized Turbo Pro tires, which I think are better than many tires on the market right now. Race compound, training carcass. The reason I haven’t worn through them yet is because I thought the same thing and tried a few different tires. But none of them were as good as these.
04-05-20, 03:31 PM
#31
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Kinda like OEM saddles. They're 'good enough' for the typical owner, given the price range; and since tires are a consumable, they're most likely going to be replaced sooner than later.
You've also been around BF long enough to know that we're not 'typical' owners, here.
You've also been around BF long enough to know that we're not 'typical' owners, here.
04-05-20, 07:37 PM
#32
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I just checked on some little-used mtn tires I have stored. Moab Sweetroll (26"x1.95") purch'd in 1999, used less than 80 miles, then put into storage in mid 2004 (room temp, dark).
They look and FEEL like new. No cracking, peeling, etc. I may just put them into use again!
BTW: Anyone with experience with rubber conditioners? Armor All, etc.?
They look and FEEL like new. No cracking, peeling, etc. I may just put them into use again!
BTW: Anyone with experience with rubber conditioners? Armor All, etc.?
Last edited by elcyc; 04-05-20 at 07:42 PM.
