A good read about tires

[Brian A]

Car tires specifically, but the same holds true for motorcycle tires.
We are lucky today to have so many good options available.

The one bad one: very old tires.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/truth-behind-caused-paul-walkers-195132892.html

[mojo1]

Good read. I have in the past bought some tires where they have them on closeout at a good price. One tire was 4 years old & another liked a couple months being 6 years old. I look for a good deal but I don't buy any that is on closeout anymore.

[Nice Goat]

That was a good read.  Nice find, Brian.

I know that the article was about aged tires, not worn tires, but worn tires might be a more serious problem for the average person.  With aged tires, everything appears fine.  Rich actors and collectors could easily put on new tires, but there doesn't appear to be any risk.  But with worn tires, regular people often try to squeeze the last of the life out of them.  Average Joe needs to stretch his income, so he discounts the risk, even though he recognizes it.

I know... there is also Below-Average Joe who thinks bald tires are fine ... doesn't recognize the risk at all....

[mojo1]

/quote]

[SpeedyR]

just a little comment on the age of the tires. The softer the rubber is to start with (i.e. race tires, sport tires, etc) the shorter the shelf life.

so a 4 year old DOT race tire would not be good to buy. a 6-7 year old touring tire, IMHO would be OK, just don't expect it to perform like it was new.

I know rain race tires (about the stickiest tires you can find) typically have a 1 year shelf life for optimum performance. Can you use them 2 to 3 years later? sure but they won't work as well as a newer set.

my personal ideals:
off road tires- up to 4-5 years  (older tires will chunk knobs quicker if used in rocky terrain)
sport tires- 3-4 years
touring tires- 5-6 years