Storing tires.

[Tony]

I have lots of tires, road, mtb, cross, cruisers.. I don't like folding the tires while in storage. Here is something that I do that makes it easy to store while keeping the shape of the tire. I use discarded rims, wire, and spoke nipples to secure the wire. The tire bead hangs inside the rim and holds well. Works great, easy to put away and retrieve.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9SlqSPwfMWoaeqtr1

[Clancy]

Very cool idea.

Is there a problem with storing tires folded? Seeing as that's how they come packaged I would not think it's an issue.

But your idea solves it and is pretty clever.

[Peter P.]

Very cool idea.

Is there a problem with storing tires folded? Seeing as that's how they come packaged I would not think it's an issue.

But your idea solves it and is pretty clever.

If the tires sit too long the rubber will harden, as can folding beads. Manufacturers expect their tires to be used in a certain time frame (what that is, I don't know) so they reason folded packaging is acceptable.

[Mikej]

I toss my old tires, they seem to lose their edge after a few months. Only real rubber tubies should be stored and aged.

[Mark McM]

If the tires sit too long the rubber will harden, as can folding beads. Manufacturers expect their tires to be used in a certain time frame (what that is, I don't know) so they reason folded packaging is acceptable.

Aged (hardened rubber) is a problem, regardless of the tire shape. I don't know why the shape of a stored tire should matter, if it has not yet reached the end of the rubber's useful life.

I have used tires that were stored folded for years, and not found any problem when they were unfolded.

[sparky33]

I wonder how fresh the tires are when we buy them new.

They seem fine when I open the package, and I suppose they've been folded neatly in there for quite some time already. Maybe the long stay in my tire hoard is actually the shorter portion of their existence?

[sparky33]

I toss my old tires, they seem to lose their edge after a few months. Only real rubber tubies should be stored and aged.
months?
sounds like your tires spoil even more quickly than Cavendish's Tarmacs. :)

[Tony]

Aged (hardened rubber) is a problem, regardless of the tire shape. I don't know why the shape of a stored tire should matter, if it has not yet reached the end of the rubber's useful life.

I have used tires that were stored folded for years, and not found any problem when they were unfolded.

I started doing this mainly because of my mtb tires. Some are difficult to fold because of the casing and the old sealant will stick together, difficult to unfold. I have left folded cx and road tires for long periods some develop wear in the fold area, one the bead shape was effected...A tire that mounted perfectly now mounted moved vertically and laterally, tried to inflate the tire half way and use my hands to pull in areas where the tires dips and push in areas where it protrudes, same with the side movement.
This was a simple solution that made it much easier to store my perfectly good tires.

[MattTuck]

Cool solution.

Living in an apartment, I don't really have a ton of space, and tires are an awkward thing to store. I could see this working.

[Mark McM]

I wonder how fresh the tires are when we buy them new.

They seem fine when I open the package, and I suppose they've been folded neatly in there for quite some time already. Maybe the long stay in my tire hoard is actually the shorter portion of their existence?

I don't know about other brands, but Continental tire production date codes are easily found:

https://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/service/faq/tyre-construction

Many tires sold as "new" have manufacturing dates of 1 or 2 years old.