Old tires. How do I know if they are still rideable?

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Thxcuz

Thxcuz

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When I got my Conti I swapped the wheels with my alloy rims. I had new tires on them so I stuck with them. My next build will consist of only parts I already have (except chain and tubes) I'm wondering if I can use these tires. They look ok and don't seem to be cracking at all. If I understand correctly schwinn 27" were the same as everyone else's. they may be original (76) and hadn't been ridden in decades but stored indoors. What should I be looking for as far as far as damage due to age?
Thanks
 
Fully deflate them and bend/roll it between your fingers look for separations, inflate fully check for diagonal stretch marks as well as separations. If there are no cracks or bulges, it probably won't blow up, but old dry road tires that have lost their "tack"will never work anywhere near as well as 15 bucks a pop at the local bike shop.
 
I guess that makes sense. But I was hoping to only use stuff I had. I guess another 30 bucks won't kill me. While I'm at it, anyone have 27 or 700c alloy rims taking up space in their shop? I want to try wheelbuilding
 
I always just air them up and ride on them. If you make it they are good if not then replace them. I normally try to keep good good tires on my bikes though. Especially the trike.
 
What I do is if they are off the rim Ill pull on the beads and see if i hear any fibers ripping. if their on a rim I will just over air them up some and check for bulging areas or where it may be splitting. When I got my sons x24 it had the original gum walls on it from 81 and the gum walls was so dried out from being stored in a barn for so long they had pieces falling off of them and he rode it like that for a week while we waited for his new ones to come in. The day we got the new ones we tried everything we could to blow out the old tires and finally gave up.
 
dragnusa said:
What I do is if they are off the rim Ill pull on the beads and see if i hear any fibers ripping. if their on a rim I will just over air them up some and check for bulging areas or where it may be splitting. When I got my sons x24 it had the original gum walls on it from 81 and the gum walls was so dried out from being stored in a barn for so long they had pieces falling off of them and he rode it like that for a week while we waited for his new ones to come in. The day we got the new ones we tried everything we could to blow out the old tires and finally gave up.
Click to expand...

The rubber is not structural, the cloth or nylon cords are what holds it together... did you see The World's Fastest Indian? :)
 
Usually they will bulge where the cords are damaged when you inflate them. They will finally split, the tube will pop and the sound will scare the mess out of you when you least expect it.
 
You certainly can use old tires for casual riding, I've got some early Duro mtb types I've used on several different bikes. 27" tires are a special case, due to a very small contact patch and narrow profile. New high pressure gumwalls are dirt cheap compared to dented rims or chin stitches.
 

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