Patrick wrote:
> Does anyone have an opinion on the durability of clincher tubes that have
> been hidden in their tires for 15 to 20 years? I know that ozone and
> sunlight damage older tires and you can actually see this, but what about
> the tubes inside, nicely tucked away in their cool talced hideaways?
> Thanks....Pat Lay
There often is an opening for air to continuously reach the tube, at the valve hole or where the tire gets dislodged from the bead seat, especially, I would think, where tire meets ground. The result can be cracking and failure, but I have also found old bikes that took air and found the tubes to give considerable service. Really old tires may have airways through the sidewall fabric. Tubes I've left hanging near an open window have failed in a matter of months. Our air here around Sacramento isn't good. I'm still using the original metal-stemmed Shraeder tubes from my 70's Viscount. I don't know where that bike was stored, but I did ride the original '70's IRC gumwalls for a few hundred miles just last year. Eventually the front tire's plies separater from each other, ripping an inch of tread free. I rode the bulged tire home and tossed 'em both, but not the tubes.
David Snyder
Auburn, CA, USA