Storing Tires and Tubes
 

How and where do you store tires and tubes? I just bought some Continental GP4000 tires and was wondering what would be the best way to store them? I could put it in the garage, but with the temperature fluctuations, I didn't think that would be a good idea. Also, should I store the tires folded or unfolded? I bought my tubes a few months ago and didn't think about storing them properly... so they've been sitting in the garage all this time... should I be worried? Anyone know how long tubes/tires are good for?

If you're talking a season or two I don't think it matters much as long as you keep them out of sunlight. For longer periods I would guess that storing tires unfolded might be a good idea. As for longevity, there was that crazy mechanic for the Discovery team who kept stacks of tubulars for years and years in his cellar before using them. Apparently tires can improve with age like wine, although I can't imagine why it would be so

I store tubes on a shelf in the garage. 2 are stored in snack bags and the rest are in the original boxes.

I don't keep a stock of new tires. When I get new ones, I mount them and put the old ones on a hook. I take the ones that were on the hook before and throw them away.

Do you keep the hooked tires as spares?

Yes.

My stuff is in the spare room so everything is indoors. I only keep 3 spare tubes. One in Gina's seatpack and 2 in mine. I keep them in snackbags with a bit of powder inside, bay or talc type stuff.

I keep them in the garage. No special handling.

I use a sock. I read it can double as a makeshift glove but I never use it. I get my fingers all dirty every time and then realize how ******** I am as I shove the empty sock back in my seatbag/pack.

One thing I do is carry around latex gloves. Whenever, I have any mechanicals, I pull off the gloves and use the latex gloves. The other day, on my way into work, my chain fell off the front ring. Simple job to fix but if I didn't have the latex gloves, I would have had grease all over my hands. After using the gloves, I flipped them inside out and into my jersey pocket. Once at work, I just threw them away... and fingers stayed clean. :D

Freezer.

Space bag! :D

I remember seeing that on TV, I think because the natural materials in the tires take time to settle into their final shape / size. Years ago high-end tailors would stock their wool fabrics for a few years before using it for the same reason.

Roadbike rider has had a couple of articles on storing tires. They said to store them unfolded in a trash bag indoors. The reason to store tires is to let them "cure" . The rubber compounds in new tires are fresh and soft. I think they said a couple of years will allow them to toughen up. Seasoned tires grip better they said as well as last longer. That mechanic from the Postal Team was funny. It was like a wine cellar where he aged the tires. They showed him once demonstrating his technique for gluing sewups. It took almost a week with several applications of glue applied to tire and rim allowing 24 hours between coats. Way too much work. :)