Long term tire storage.

Braulio said:

Hi.

My question concerns how long you can store tires that aren't being used - and the best way to store either folded or normal mountain bike tires.

I occasionally run in to used tires at garage sales or ebay or such that I really don't need at the moment but sure would be nice to put on in a couple or 3 years - or to just keep around as backups.

For example I recently picked up a couple continental folded ties for a couple bucks each. Should I store these tires folded or spread out?

Would it add anything to their storage life if I coated them with armorall or some tire protectant and stuck them in a bag?

Any other thoughts about long term tire storage in general?

I hope this isn't a topic that's already been covered - I searched it and found nothing.

Thanks.

General recommendations for storage of rubber products: Keep dark and cool.
More specific: keep away from ozone.
Nice overkill: store in dry nitrogen atmosphere.

My guess: flat is better than folded.

Tire protectant: Don't know, don't think it can hurt.

where might ozone found? just so I can stay away from it??

bdmtb said:

where might ozone found? just so I can stay away from it??

Any electric motor - refrigerators, washing machines - you name it, it produces ozone.

My recommendations based on some experience and some conjecture:

1) Keep it round - if you're storing for anything more than a year or two, you don't want to weaken the rubber at the folds. Note that I don't have evidence any for this, but it makes sense empirically, and doesn't waste too much space.

2) Stay away from armourall. It is thought to draw away natural oils in the rubber compound if a tyre is stored, accelerating cracking (this isn't a problem if the tyre casing is being used and flexes regularly, since this redistributes the oils). Just make sure the tyre is clean and DRY.

3) Wrap in a plastic cling wrap - glad wrap here (I think you yanks call it saran), and put it in a cool, darl, dry place.

Voila - instant tyre storage.

n

bdmtb said:

where might ozone found? just so I can stay away from it??

Them 'mountain breeze' machines. Know someone who put one in their garage because of a damp smell. Not tires, but a bag of rubber bands next to it were ruined within days. Got rid of the smell though.

Remember the discussion here that Lance Armstrong's ex-mechanic used to age tubular tyres for a number of years in a wine cellar.

bdmtb said:

where might ozone found? just so I can stay away from it??

If you're riding in city traffic there's only so much you can do, as you'll find elevated levels of ozone at ground level along just about any road with heavy traffic, left there by the passing vehicles. Otherwise try to keep away from electrical machinery, particulary those who cause arcing.