Longevity of rubberware

sgbman

Hi peeps.
At home the other day I came across a box of new tyres and tubes.
The only problem is that they've been in storage since 1994!

Found 4 Vittoria Latex UL tubes seem alright, but a bit discoloured.
And 4 Vittoria Open Tubular 19mm tyres, very nice but slightly tacky sidewalls.

Would these be safe to use after that length of time?
Anyone got any experience of these products, thanks.
:roll:

whyamihere

I don't think I'd be very confident with them. It depends on the conditions they've been stored in, but you may well find that the rubber's degraded over 14 years and cracked.

keef66

Given the pressures they'd be subjected to, I wouldn't risk the tyres. The tubes might be OK inside a new tyre.

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

Nonsense!

The general opinion is that bike tyres improve with age! Belgian cellars are full of tubular tyres maturing like a good wine.

I'll take the tubs off your hands if you don't want them!

Cheers, Andy

ps 'Open' in Vittoria terms means clinchers (as opposed to closed tubulars) - are you sure that's the right name on your tubs?

LangerDan

andrewgturnbull wrote:

Hi there.

Nonsense!

The general opinion is that bike tyres improve with age! Belgian cellars are full of tubular tyres maturing like a good wine.

Cheers, Andy

quote]

It may also be complete cow-flop, I believe possibly a hangover from the days when tyres and tubs may not have been properly UV stabilised. Tubs stored in the dark would last better. In any case I think they tubs were supposed to reach their peak after 12 months, Other factors may come into play after 14 years, particularly perishing where the tread was bonded to the carcass.

IMHO, the Vittoria tyres from the late 80's and early 90's were rubbish, particularly at the narrower sections. I had a set of 19mm Vittorias that would slide down the camber of the road in the wet and certainly wouldn't let you stand out of the saddle without the back heading ditch-wards.

Jez mon

The whole tubular ageing thing is probably IMHO a myth. When rubber ages (depending on conditions) it can start to get really hard and crumbly. This might be good for puncture protection, but is bad for just about everything else

However, depending on the conditions they were stored in they might be fine, just mount them and go for a short ride.

Latex tubes deflate MUCH quicker than butyl ones so watch out for that.

andrewgturnbull

LangerDan wrote:

It may also be complete cow-flop, I believe possibly a hangover from the days when tyres and tubs may not have been properly UV stabilised. Tubs stored in the dark would last better. In any case I think they tubs were supposed to reach their peak after 12 months, Other factors may come into play after 14 years, particularly perishing where the tread was bonded to the carcass.

IMHO, the Vittoria tyres from the late 80's and early 90's were rubbish, particularly at the narrower sections. I had a set of 19mm Vittorias that would slide down the camber of the road in the wet and certainly wouldn't let you stand out of the saddle without the back heading ditch-wards.

Hi there.

This may also be true!

Re old Vittoria tubs: The tubular of choice for TT at the moment are Veloflex Records (unless you can afford Dugasts). My understanding is that Veloflex tyres are handmade in Italy using equipment source from Vittoria when they moved their production to the far east.

Cheers, Andy

System_1

There was a program on TV just recently which had a scene where the owner of the bike shop showed us round the cellar where he was ageing tubs for pro teams. Piles and piles of them neatly stacked on pallets tagged with the riders names. Some had been there for 7 years or more.

redddraggon

Jez mon wrote:

When rubber ages (depending on conditions) it can start to get really hard and crumbly.

It gets hard and crumbly because of UV radiation - ie leave the tyres in the sun and they'll go like you describe eventually. If they've been kept in the dark, away from chemicals and extreme temperature cycles the rubber should still be pretty decent.

andrewgturnbull

Box - the original poster said he came across a box of tyres... Presumably it was dark in the box!

sazzledazzle

System wrote:

There was a program on TV just recently which had a scene where the owner of the bike shop showed us round the cellar where he was ageing tubs for pro teams. Piles and piles of them neatly stacked on pallets tagged with the riders names. Some had been there for 7 years or more.

I saw that - It was 'The Science of Lance Armstrong' I think. Reminded me of a wine cellar.

round-the-bend

Condoms have a use by date.

aracer

redddraggon wrote:

Jez mon wrote:

When rubber ages (depending on conditions) it can start to get really hard and crumbly.

It gets hard and crumbly because of UV radiation - ie leave the tyres in the sun and they'll go like you describe eventually. If they've been kept in the dark, away from chemicals and extreme temperature cycles the rubber should still be pretty decent.

Trouble is, oxygen is a chemical, as are the volatile compounds in the tyres. Other means of degradation are evaporation of the volatile compounds and oxidation - they also need to be kept in airtight containers to prevent these processes.

sgbman

Thanks for the responses.
The tyres are clinchers, but are made similar to tubs, with cotton sidewalls( I think).
These still feel rubbery and soft, not hard or crumberly.
All been stored in original boxes, and inside another box, out of sunlight at room temp, in the house.