If you have noticed an issue with your bike tire, you may be wondering what could cause it…
Can bike tires dry rot?
Yes, bike tires can definitely develop dry rot, and this typically occurs when a bike is ridden infrequently and left outside for prolonged periods of time. Thankfully, this is easily avoidable – it’s just a matter of storing your bike away safely.
You could simply move your bike inside, either keeping it in the house proper or moving it to the garage, and it’s best if you hang it and put a dust cover on it. This keeps the dust at bay and the pressure off of your tires so that the bike is kept in as close to pristine condition as possible.
Just be sure to clean it, oil it, and put it away dry and your bike should be fine and not at risk for dry rot in the tires.
How can you tell if a bike tire is dry rotted?
Dry rot is pretty easy to recognize. Typically, the tires will look faded, and if you look at the sidewalls and the tread closely then you’ll be able to see minute or even pronounced cracks in the rubber. Dry rot makes the tires exceedingly brittle and once this occurs, they are no longer safe to ride on.
While you can repair a puncture, dry rot is a different beast entirely – you’re very likely going to need to replace the tires to ensure a safe ride and start storing your bike inside or in a bike shed on your patio to avoid this happening again.
Is a little dry rot OK on tires?
No, even a little dry rot is very, very bad, and you’ll need to repair the tires if at all possible. Most likely you will need to replace them, as once dry rot has set in then it typically does enough damage to make repairs unfeasible.
Until the tires have been replaced, you’ll want to stay off of the bike for your own safety.
How long do unused bike tires last?
Provided that you are storing them away in an area that is climate controlled, dry, and out of UV rays (a storage shed, the garage, or the house – a cover won’t necessarily keep UV completely out!), then a tire should still be at peak level of performance for a period of approximately 3 years.
After 3 years, they’ll likely still perform fine, but you’ll definitely want to consider getting them replaced.
What causes tire dry rot?
Dry rot is caused by heat and by UV ray exposure. Storing your bike away somewhere that isn’t relatively climate controlled, where it can get hot and cool down quite often, causes the tires to expand and contract, as it slowly dries them out.
Exposure to sunlight hastens the process so that the color starts to fade and cracks will start to appear in places like the sidewalls and the treads. They’ll be tiny at first, but once they have started forming then they will quickly become more pronounced.
As such, it’s a good idea to invest in a bike shed, or even better, simply store your bike in the house with a thick cover to keep the dust off of it.
Keeping the bike cool and in a dark place will help to keep dry rot at bay so that you can get the projected 3-year (or more, depending on the manufacturer) life out of your tires.
What is the average life of a bike tire?
Rather than years (although some manufacturers will give you an estimate), the ‘lifespan’ of bike tires is more accurately measured in miles. For instance, touring tires are going to give you the best performance, with their integrity being rated for a distance of 4000 miles.
Racing tires, by contrast, get a lot more wear and tear, and these tend to have a projected usage distance of approximately 1000 miles. Some high-end tires straddle the middle, with a rated distance of 2500 miles before they need to be replaced.
Check the manufacturer’s warranty info and the projected miles for your tires carefully before purchase. Higher-end tires cost a little more, but they will often last almost 3 times as long, and this is going to be very important if you like to use your bike fairly regularly instead of just once or twice a week.
When should bike tires be replaced?
Tires should be replaced when they start to affect performance and become a problem with regular use. Weekly inspection of your tires can help you to catch issues before they become a problem.
Check the air pressure to see if they are losing air in-between uses and look for cracks, punctures, or even small rocks in the tread and then check the sidewalls as well.
Don’t put off repairs – problems can easily get worse if you do – and if you notice dry rot, treads rubbed bare, or cracking in the walls then it’s definitely time to replace them.
Should you rotate bike tires?
Yes, bike tires should be rotated every 5000 – 8000 miles during regular use, though if you are just replacing both tires then you’ll only need to rotate them when replacing the rear tire. As far as the regular 5000-8000 mile rotations, you’ll want to make sure never to skip there – they’re very important.
Rotating your tires increases the time that you will be able to use them, because it helps to redistribute the wear and tear so that the abrasion of everyday use is equalized.
Failure to rotate them is a good way to end up with abraded patches that you could easily have avoided – so don’t skip out on this easy-but-crucial bit of maintenance.
Should I change both bike tires at the same time?
You don’t necessarily have to, although if you use your bike regularly to commute to work or for recreational use so that the tires are getting a lot of wear and tear, then it might well be a good idea to go ahead and replace them both.
A thorough inspection of the tires should tell you all that you need to know. If the tread and sidewalls are free from cracks and the tread-marks haven’t been abraded much on one of the tires, then it’s likely got some miles left and you could skip replacing it.
That said, if you do replace them both at the same time, then you’ll have a much more reliable set for your everyday use and you can always keep the older ones and have them repaired so that you’ll have solid backup tires in case you ever need them.
How do you check bike tire life?
While there is no way to estimate the miles left, a weekly inspection of your tires can at least show you that they are still in good shape or that the time for repair or replacement is coming soon. Look for things such as cuts or holes and clean out any rocks stuck in the treads.
Check for wearing down of those treads in the form of abrasions or any cracking. Flat spots in the center of the tire are also a red flag and be sure to look at the casing to make sure that it is whole and not scratched, abraded, or punctured.
Spot-checking your tires weekly doesn’t take very long and aside from the visual data, you can also measure the air pressure so that you can spot a leak, even when it’s hard to see firsthand.
These regular inspections are a good habit to get into and over time, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how long you’ll have left with your current set of tires.