Tire shelf life?...

[tdrcomm]

Got a question:

What's the shelf life of a tire?
I'm thinking of buying a couple sets at a time if I run across a good deal and store them in the garage. What's the shelf life? Is there any special technique for storage?

[loudnlow7484]

At the rate you ride, you could probably buy 5 sets and be fine! I wouldn't probably mount up a tire that's more than 4-5 years old, but everybody has their own opinions on this. It really depends on how it's stored, too. If the tire is sitting out in the sun all the time, it will wreck it in a hurry.

[tdrcomm]

At the rate you ride, you could probably buy 5 sets and be fine!

That's kinda what I figured.

If I go through 3 sets a year (4 if I do a cross-country summer trip) I could make a big purchase during a killer sale at the beginning of the year and be golden, but I'm concerned about tires that go on sale.

Are they just overstocks or inventory that's been sitting in the warehouse for forever and they need the space?

[HS2020]

Shelf life is no more than 4 years Tom. After that the rubber starts to get brittle. That is also on how you store them as well.

[tdrcomm]

Shelf life is no more than 4 years Tom. After that the rubber starts to get brittle. That is also on how you store them as well.

Isn't there a code on the tires that tells manufacture date?

[diavolo]

Tom, based on running through 3 sets in a years' time, why not wrangle an arrangement with a tire company to send you a set every 4 months. Pretty sure you could get them to give you a discounted price, especially if you are going to replace both skins every time.

[Cheriff]

Isn't there a code on the tires that tells manufacture date?

Don't know if this is exactly how it is on bike tires, but here it is anyway,

Wha Cha! http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11

[tone]

Date code is on the tyre & most makers reccomend a shelf life of not more than 3 years

tone

[teddy]

tone nailed it, 3 years, and store them in a dry place out of light, preferrably(sp?) in a black plastic trash bag...

[dragoncutlery]

get some of those vac bags but fill them with shielding gas no ox should give you some more shelf time

[thetable]

British Rubber Manufacturers Association says don't mount tires that are older than 6 years. (Well actually they said tyres, but that's beside the point.)

Bag them with as little extra air in the container as possible to help keep the volatile components from evaporating as quickly. Store away from brushed motors, Ozone might be good in the atmosphere, but it is bad down low. (You already knew that though being in SoCal.) Store them somewhere temperature controlled because they don't react well to fluctuating temperatures.

Oh yeah, let us know when you find that smoking deal on tires. I'm going through too many sets (4+ sets in 10 months on the oil leaker) to not find the absolute best deals out there.

[Katat33]

On the tire itslef there is a DOT number...the last four of the number are the week and year of manufacture of that tire. For an example...if the last for ar 0207...then the tire was built the 2nd week of 2007

Hope it hleps...BTW, that goes for ALL DOT tires including cars and trucks

[thetable]

And just out of curiosity, Marc said 5 years. http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/moto.../mc_tires.html

Additionally, all motorcycle tires are normally marked with three or four digit code on their sidewalls, which represent the date of manufacture (the first two digits are the week of the year, the last digit is the year of the decade it was manufacturered in). Since modern cycle tires are only good for about five years from the date of their manufacture (the time period it takes the various compounds that keep the tire pliable and strong to evaporate out), knowing which year of a decade it was manufacturered is normally enough. Example: 011 would be a tire manufactured in January (1st week) of 2001. 118 would be a tire manufacturerd in the 11th week (between the 13th and 19th of March) of 1998 (since 2008 hasn't arrived yet, as I write this). As a general rule, newer tires are better, and we recommend you buy tires manufactured within the past 12 months whenever possible (obviously, if you have a flat away from home, you will take whatever you can get). Do not buy a four or five year old tire -- and if you buy an old bike, immediately check the tire age before riding it!