NoWhammies

With the pandemic causing bike part shortages I am debating how many reserve gear to keep on hand. One of the items I'm struggling with is tyres. I am not blowing through tyres at a fast rate, but I want to have some on hand in case of a tear/blowout/whatever that I cannot repair.

Currently I have one set/pair of tyres on hand. I keep thinking I need another set though, for a total of four tyres. But if I don't use them this season, then I'll hold on to them until next season. Although I am concerned holding on to tyres for what might be a year to a year and a half will lead to rubber degradation in the tyre.

Thoughts? Thank you.

big john

I like to keep at least 1 tire on hand in case I damage one, but I have 2 road bikes so I could rob one bike to ride the other. I haven't had trouble finding tires recently.

10 Wheels

I buy ahead of time on Sale. 10 right now.

datlas 

I stocked up on Conti GP4000s a few years ago so still have a few left. No harm in having a year's supply in the closet especially if kept in a cool area away from sunlight.

Back in the day they used to age tubulars before using.

MinnMan

Is this a trick question?

Different tire types on different bikes and different wheels, old "new" 23s that didn't get used before I switched to 25s, different tread types for different conditions (mostly true for gravel bikes, but also for road bikes- GP5000s for summer, Conti 4 seasons for early spring or late fall. A few Gatorskins, just because.

So - quite a few total, but not too many of any particular kind. Though I do tend to stock up on GP5000s when ProBikeKit has one of their many sales

WhyFi

I usually get three each year in the late winter/early spring. That lets me keep one on the front while wearing through the other two on the rear (I don't rotate New->F, F->R).

This year, I'm thinking about picking up another triplet (different tire/manufacturer). I'm telling myself that it's insurance against the potential of higher prices down the line... but it's really just that I want more, different tires to try out.

As datlas says, storing them for a year or two shouldn't be an issue unless you plan on storing them in a sunny window.

Rage

This might sound nuts but I am sitting on a huge stockpile of tires. Maybe fifteen or twenty pair.
I might also have that many used.
I went buck-wild when IRO was clearing out their inventory. Then did the same when a string of local NYC bike shops went belly-up one after the other.
Wish I could go back now and pick up a lot of the stuff I passed on back then. Oh well, coulda woulda shoulda, I guess.
I’ll know better next time.
“Now you know. And knowing is half the battle” lol.

Clyde1820

I've got one spare set on hand. In the next few months, I might order a second set. I do have several pairs of tubes, and a good repair kit.

The way things are going, who knows how long fulfillment might take on various products. Took me the better part of a year to find and acquire all of the replacement parts for a single Trek 970 upgrade project. Awful year to be starting such a thing, particularly considering I didn't start with a stash of various parts already.

phrantic09

When you find a decent gumwall tubeless in 28 let me know

WhyFi

Still haven't. Goodyear Eagle F1 are the only performance road tubeless tires that I've come across lately, but rolling resistance tests haven't been terribly kind to them (relatively, of course).

mercator

I've got one new tire left on the shelf, but five wheelsets with good rubber on them.
I think I can hold out till the fall sales to stock up again, but someone will probably post a great deal on the sticky thread and I'll be getting my credit card out again.

Iride01 

It really depends on how often you encounter road hazards that tear up your tire with big punctures or cuts. And whether or not you ride that bike say maybe 12,000 miles a year or more.

One new tire per bike would be good enough for me. Though right now I do have two extra new tires per bike. Bike Closet just has too good a price on GP 5000's and some other brands of tires to not stock up. Or at least they did when I last stocked up.


For storage... keep them well away from electric motors and other stuff that produces ozone.

colnago62

I keep a lot in stock because I buy them when there are crazy deals on them.

woodcraft

6 clinchers, which I don't use, 6 or 7 tubulars, plus some used/spares, and I think 8 wheelsets w/ tires mounted (besides those on the bikes).

delbiker1 

I have a lot of tires and tubes on hand right now. The four bikes I regularly ride will all need new tires by mid spring. Recently, it seems to me, there have been numerous sales that have included various brands for very low prices. Tubes are one of the items that I might choose to spend a few more dollars to get free shipping on an order. I also have numerous used tires that were changed out for whatever reason.

veganbikes

I don't rightly now. I know I have 4 29er tires a bunch of 650b gravel stuff and various 700c road stuff and maybe some gravel stuff. Nothing panic bought during pandemic I just tend to have tires around as I swap around to try different stuff or the 29ers for my mountain bike and they gave me a second set for free plus the ones I ordered because the order got screwed up. I don't want to consider myself a tire hoarder I just have gone wider as time goes on so have some skinnier stuff or some stuff that I wanted to work but is too wide for the old frame.

Beach Bob

I buy in 4's (3 for the rear and 1 for the front)... think I'm holding 6 on the shelf right now... but this reminds me that I should be ordering in some spares for the gravel bike....

mstateglfr 

For road I have a couple spares, but never more because I rum 25, 28, and 32mm road tires. No interest in sitting on half a dozen tires or more(we have 3 other road bikes in the family too).

If I destroy a tire beyond repair, I'll just use a different bike while waiting for a new tire or pair come to me.
Tires won't run out of stock on the internet any time soon.

Russ Roth

I've always got a small stock pile, new bikes typically come with lower end tires then I prefer to ride so I usually upgrade shortly after getting the bike. So if I need a spare I can have one laying around.

Nachoman

Five to ten. But I've got a bunch of different bikes with different size tires and a few that are using 700x25c.
But in general I like to have three backups for my main road bike.

Inusuit

-0-

JohnDThompson 

I dunno. A few, I guess.

seedsbelize 

I have probably six extrs tires, for four road bikes. I'm extraordinarily flush in tubes at the moment too. I recently completed n-4. Thus the extra tubes.

diphthong

that "flash sale" e-mail for conti gp5k's always seems to come thru at just the right time...hmmm.

diphthong

anywhere from zero to one set. four road bikes and 3 of 4 have newish tires. have taken to keeping a single tire in the car trunk
(and a full-size, standing pump) for those out of town rides that i'll drive to in case there's a catastrophic tire failure.
only happened once before but someone i ride with had an issue as well several years ago