# tire's rotting,what to do?



## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

anyone know of a way to bring old gumwalls back to life?i remember having this conversation with rumpfy a while back,just dont remember the answer. ive got piles of tires but all the sidewalls are very dry:madman:


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

I've not heard of any solution to this problem. Myself, I'm careful when tires start to have problems. It's asking for a serious problem.

The conversation I recall about a tire once was Rumpfy said he just rode with it. Then he he flatted in a race and decided it wasn't such a good idea or so I remember.

'Guin


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## mwr (Jul 17, 2004)

pinguwin said:


> The conversation I recall about a tire once was Rumpfy said he just rode with it. Then he he flatted in a race and decided it wasn't such a good idea or so I remember.


Yes I think it was pretty much exactly like that.


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## 82Sidewinder (Jun 28, 2006)

hollister said:


> anyone know of a way to bring old gumwalls back to life?i remember having this conversation with rumpfy a while back,just dont remember the answer. ive got piles of tires but all the sidewalls are very dry:madman:


 I don't think there is a way to bring them back. Armorall will make them look good temporarily, but it will evenutally make the cracks and dryness even worse. A friend of mine gave me a set of Kenda gumwall tires about 8 years ago, and coated them with Armorall. Today, the rubber is cracked and dry, while other tires that were stored with them (and weren't Armorall-ed) are fine. Keep Armorall away from your tires!

All tires should be stored in a cool, dark area to prevent dry rotting. My father bought a 3-speed with gumwalls back in 1980 and barely rode it. After sitting in the basement for 26 years, the tires have no cracks or rot, and look brandnew.

Craig


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

82Sidewinder said:


> I don't think there is a way to bring them back. Armorall will make them look good temporarily, but it will evenutally make the cracks and dryness even worse. A friend of mine gave me a set of Kenda gumwall tires about 8 years ago, and coated them with Armorall. Today, the rubber is cracked and dry, while other tires that were stored with them (and weren't Armorall-ed) are fine. Keep Armorall away from your tires!
> 
> All tires should be stored in a cool, dark area to prevent dry rotting. My father bought a 3-speed with gumwalls back in 1980 and barely rode it. After sitting in the basement for 26 years, the tires have no cracks or rot, and look brandnew.
> 
> Craig


Most of the newer (Kenda) tires will not last very long. We have had new tires that look like crap in a year and become unsellable. On the other hand, we have good ole thick made in USA tires that are 50 years old and still look great.

We use Meguiars on our display bikes which will protect them a little longer but in the long run, it will be a losing battle either way. Most of the protectants use silicone, or something similar, and make the tires basically unsafe to ride since they get real slippery.

This is why we had the Panarcer Timbuk II's remade so we had good looking gum wall tires that can be ridden. If Special ed gets off their butts and remakes a Stumpie tire, there will be 2 alternatives.


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## Fred Smedley (Feb 28, 2006)

liquid latex, sold as tire saver or the cheap route can be found at flooring stores parabond M4263 solvant free universal carpet seam sealer. I use it to reglue the rim strips on sew ups.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

*Saving tires*

Every fall I take the time to remove all the tires from my collector bikes and rub them down with a moisterizing lotion like vasoline intensive care. From the inside out and let them dry for a day or two then reinstall them and the tires look great and have moisture in them. Hope this helps.01retro


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

mwr said:


> Yes I think it was pretty much exactly like that.


Thats how I remember it too...now I just ride slightly newer old tires.  I'm a slow learner.


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## wilecoyote (Jul 17, 2006)

Throw them out, they are dangerous:nono:


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

wilecoyote said:


> Throw them out, they are dangerous:nono:


Black walls on old bikes don't look good IMO...but yeah, if the tire is rotted, dump it.

The tan wall tire needs to make a come back in a major way.


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> but yeah, if the tire is rotted, dump it.


Yeah, dump it, but it isn't nice having to dump a Ground Control like you have there.

'Guin


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

pinguwin said:


> Yeah, dump it, but it isn't nice having to dump a Ground Control like you have there.
> 
> 'Guin


I cried a little bit....but then I remembered...I keep stock.


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> I keep stock


I'm down to one last original ground control/S in the grey compound, only one and it's in perfect shape. Stored in a cool, dry basement no rot or whatever, but alas, it's the last that I have.

Did you hear whether Specialized came out with the ground control? People were saying it was going to happen but I didn't hear if they actually did.

'Guin


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## grawbass (Aug 23, 2004)

01retro said:


> Every fall I take the time to remove all the tires from my collector bikes and rub them down with a moisterizing lotion like vasoline intensive care. From the inside out and let them dry for a day or two then reinstall them and the tires look great and have moisture in them. Hope this helps.01retro


I've been thinking that lotion might be good for old tires.


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## grawbass (Aug 23, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> Black walls on old bikes don't look good IMO...but yeah, if the tire is rotted, dump it.
> 
> The tan wall tire needs to make a come back in a major way.


I think it depends on how you look at it. Bikes fromt he turn of the century, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s often had all black tires, then in the 70s and 80s gumwalls became popular. Then blackwalls again in the early 90s. I have a Timbuk II from 1991 thats all black.

I like both black and tan walls, but I agree, tan walls look better on an 80s MTB. You could go with black walls and pretend its really retro IE 30+ years old.  Any bike from the 90s I could go either way.

By the way, I'd try to repair that Ground Control if you haven't thrown it away already. I LOVE those tires. I have 4 in my horde. One used but in great condition and 3 NOS. :eekster:


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## fat-tony (Sep 6, 2005)

I actually was ridding pretty fast once and thought, "my back wheel needs to be true'd". It had that "whap whap" look to it as it spun. At closer inspection I realized that the inner tube was projecting through the rotted gum wall and in a big way . Scary :eekster: 

I now pay a lttle more attention to my bike instead of jumping on the thing and peddaling.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> I cried a little bit....but then I remembered...I keep stock.


Ahem.... you keep stock?


















My basement is nice to my tire collection, but MURDER on my elastomer collection.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

DeeEight said:


> Ahem.... you keep stock?
> 
> My basement is nice to my tire collection, but MURDER on my elastomer collection.


I'm sorry...I keep stock of _good_ tires.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

pinguwin said:


> I'm down to one last original ground control/S in the grey compound, only one and it's in perfect shape. Stored in a cool, dry basement no rot or whatever, but alas, it's the last that I have.
> 
> Did you hear whether Specialized came out with the ground control? People were saying it was going to happen but I didn't hear if they actually did.
> 
> 'Guin


in the 2007 catolog it shows them as speced(sp) o9n the stump reissue,but they arnt listed in the tire category.


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## cmdrpiffle (May 8, 2004)

*worked for me*

I've got a growing collection of older tires.

I ARMOUR ALL them, (no flames please, I'm not finished) and then vacuum seal them.
You can get the self suck vacuum bags at CostCo. I lube 'em up with Armour All, then put them in those bags. You attach a vacuum hose to the bag and suck all the air out. Makes em really flat too !

I had 3 Tioga Psycho Ambers stored that way. I put them in vacuum in .......2000? I think. They appear perfect. Soft, supple, sen.................nevermind.

I opened the bag earlier this year and they did appear in 1st rate shape. The main enemy of the tires is oxygen. Oxidization.

Anyway, if the Psychos ever go bad.............you can break off the knobs and have a nice supply of erasers !!! Actually, you don't have to manually break them off. Just go for a short ride.

In 95, I put on some Ambers on my Clark Kent ($50.00 per tire, thank you) and went on a hill climb up Mission Peak in Fremont. I probably climbed it 2 or 3 times that day. Anyway, at the end of the ride, I had to replace the rear tire. It was that soft. Totally chewed up climbing on the small rock section at the beginning of the climb.

Sure looked cool as hell though.

cheers


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## cmdrpiffle (May 8, 2004)

*Oh, 1 more thing........*

Does anyone know if anyone manufactures a non-carbon (amber) bike tire?

I just like the look.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

cmdrpiffle said:


> Does anyone know if anyone manufactures a non-carbon (amber) bike tire?
> 
> I just like the look.


I might have an extra...but for you, it'll be expensive as all hell!


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## cmdrpiffle (May 8, 2004)

*thats cool......*

I'll soon be rich as hell !!!

I'm busy in the sekret labs right now inventing a little mechanical thingy that pulls off the rubber whiskers from new tires.

Rubber whiskers are known to cause severe airflow disruption around the wheels, causing drag, excess weight, and generally a plethora of problems.

After my success with that.......I'll buy up the worlds supply of non carbon amber tires, where I'll carefully pull off all of the knobs with tweezers, and market them to schools as erasers.

My empire will reach from th.............
They're coming with my meds now


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