Insidious C. 

Warning: Contains description of cyclist riding on stupidly old tires. May not be suitable for safety concious readers.

I had a flat on my work commute this morning. I already suspected the Schwinn Passage tires were original to the bike, so 36 years old . Even more surprising was when I removed the tube it was marked in big red letters "Schwinn approved," and had what appears to be a molded in date code of N86. I've owned the bike two or three years and only started riding it this Spring, commuting sporadically. I guess the original owner either didn't ride it much or he was really, really lucky. Oddly, the flat wasn't caused by a puncture but rather a failed valve. I purchased new Paselas a while back. Just haven't gotten around to putting them on yet.

Kabuki12

Yea, I think you probably should take this opportunity to put the Paselas on with new tubes. Old tires have a habit of failing , sometimes epically. I had my only blow out on a bike that was given to me . I knew the tires were very old but they looked fine , no cracking and good tread. After completely going through the bike , putting all new cables , greasing all the bearings and wrapping the handlebars , my first fast downhill at about 25mph …..BANG! It was the rear tire and I was able to come to a stop safely but it scared the stuffing out of me. I learned the hard way.

Chuck M 

I bought an old bike a few years ago with Schwinn tires that are probably about that vintage but were not original to the bike. I believe they were Schwinn Continentals. I usually bring a bike home and if the tires hold air, I will go for a spin around the block. There was about a two or three inch long piece of tread that I could lift up and look at the threads. I didn't have time to get to the bike right away, but it was in very good condition and I would take it out once in a while around the neighborhood with my grandson. One day I got a wild hair and rode it about 23 miles along the MUP to get coffee. But God looks out for babies, old folks and fools so I never had an incident. The Paselas I replaced them with don't hold a candle to the ride those old tires gave but I couldn't keep pushing my luck.

Pompiere

This summer, I had two age related tire failures in the same week. On the first one, I had felt a bump in the ride, but when I stopped to check it, I didn't see anything on the tire. About a mile from home it gave way, blowing out through the tread. On the second one, I was moving a bike in the garage and found the tire flat. When I took the wheel off to fix the tire, I found it had blown out through the tread at some time while sitting in the garage. It had only been a few days since I had ridden the bike. In both cases I discarded the undamaged tires from the set, since they were the same age as the blown tires. This must have been the year to purge old stuff, since I also had a few valve stems start leaking or tear completely off the tubes.

Velo Mule

Good lesson @Insidious C. , I save valve cores. But they are all in my tool box. That doesn't do a lot of good when a valve core fails when you are out and about. These are so small and light that I ought to be putting them in my patch kits with the bike. Then there is always Murphy's law of, if I take a valve core with me, a valve core will not fail and I will be hobbled by something else. In that vein of thinking, I need to cut up an old silk tie for an emergency tire boot and put that in my patch kit too. It will be hard to cut up one of my old ties, but I don't wear them anymore. We have gotten so informal.

I like those old Schwinn Super Record tires. I alway thought that they were made by National / Panasonic / Panasport and Panasport Pasela tires are my preference now. They may not be as flat resistant as certain Scwalbe and Continental tires, but they ride nice and I've had good luck with them.

SoCaled 

I was going for an afternoon ride yesterday and thought maybe I will ride something different, opened the garage and surveyed the options, thought maybe my '85 Trek 410. I haven't gotten to doing any real work or rides on this bike since I bought it. I had done a quick adjustment on the brakes and derailleurs and taken a couple of short rides in the process. Pulled the bike out, checked to see if the tires were aired up and then noticed the label, Tires are original equipment! - 39 years old. They take 65psi without a crack or pop and don't look bad but that bike went back into the garage until it gets some new rubber. When I leave my house I often bomb a big hill in a bike lane that is more often that not laden with glass, bolts/screws & random metal, and giant spiky dried palm fronds adding tires hanging on by their last thread seems one step too far.

repechage

In the car tire world, 10 years is the service life.

Kabuki12

^^^^ Or 5-7 years in a motorhome. Tires do age out , even if they appear good. There are delimitation concerns with many tires after a certain age. A bicycle tire is maybe more forgiving but still vulnerable.

The Golden Boy 

I used to ride old tires... I had gotten a wheel set with a Specialized Expedition and a Specialized Touring tire (I think 1 3/8 and 1 1/4) and they rode SO smoothly. But they felt dry. But they rode SO smoothly. Like on a cloud. A cloud that was ready to explode at any instant... I actually got brave and rode out some 15 miles from home. They rode SO OUTRAGEOUSLY SMOOTHLY.

There just aren't 27" tires like that anymore. Paselas are nice and fine and all that... but they're not like Compass/Rene Herse tires, and Herse doesn't make 27" tires...

noglider 

It doesn't surprise me. I once found 50 year old tubes in tires on an old bike. A lot of bikes don't see many miles. Inner tubes don't get UV exposure, so the only threat is humidity, and they don't always get much of that, either.

Whit51 

I hope you get 36 years out of your next set of tires!

madpogue 

Just cut up a tyvek envelope from something you received in the mail. Or carry a dollar bill. Not as classy as the tie option, but gets 'er done.