I recently put air in the tire of a bike that hadn't been ridden in about 4 years; the bike was 12 years old and for all I know the tube was original. The tube split (a big hole, not the kind of thing I would put a patch on) before I was done pumping. I figured it was age, but I also hesitate to question the wisdom of Captain Bike. In general though rubber products deteriorate with age, so it's not clear to me why tubes would not. You're not supposed to use old car tires, for instance.