Michael Angelo

...29 years old, and looking pretty good. Probably original to the '85 Shogun they are on, does that seem right? I've got a new set of Pasela PT's that I was all ready to swap onto the bike, but after examining the Mitsubishi Tour Lines I'm thinking about leaving them on until they fail. Am I crazy, or is this something that you've all done before? startrack
Michael Angelo  Senior Member Join Date May 2010 Location Hurricane Alley , Florida My Bikes Treks (USA), Schwinn Paramount, Schwinn letour,Raleigh Team Professional, Gazelle GoldLine Racing, 2 Super Mondias, Carlton Professional. Posts 3,393 Mentioned 7 Post(s) startrack Tagged 0 Thread(s) startrack
Life is like riding startrack a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. Albert Einstein 2014 Additions: 1985 Trek 560, 1992 Trek Multitrack 700 (my 2nd), 1994 Trek Carbon 2200, Peugeot PX-10, 1981 Schwinn startrack Voyageur 11.8, 1989 Bridgestone RB-1, Miyata 912
They are split, dry rotted , cracked, and will fail. Are you stating this due to the pics, or due to their age? I keep this bike in VA, and while visiting family I take it on casual 5-20 mile rides. I've done this a half dozen times or so, successfully. I realize it's a risk...but right now they feel good and ride well. Were tires made better startrack back in the 80's?
Michael Angelo  Senior Member Join Date May 2010 Location Hurricane Alley , Florida My Bikes Treks (USA), Schwinn Paramount, Schwinn letour,Raleigh Team Professional, Gazelle GoldLine Racing, 2 Super Mondias, Carlton Professional. Posts 3,393 Mentioned 7 Post(s) Tagged 0 Thread(s)
The Golden Boy  Senior Member Join Date Aug 2009 Location Waukesha WI My Bikes 1978/79 Trek 736; 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper Sport; 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP; 1985 Trek 620; 1985 Trek 720; 1986 Trek 400; 1987 Schwinn High Sierra w/ Drop Bars Posts 4,063 Mentioned 28 Post(s) Tagged 0 Thread(s)
Are you stating this due to the pics, or due to their age? I keep this bike in VA, and while visiting family I take it on casual 5-20 mile rides. I've done this a half dozen times or so, successfully. I realize it's a risk...but right now they feel good and ride well. Were tires made better back in the 80's? Rubber doesn't age well. It dries out and dry rots and cracks. Your tires are dry rotted. They will spontaneously fail. I had a set of Specialized Ground startrack Control tires- I rode them all over because I thought they looked fine- they felt kind of dry but they I thought they were fine- and then, while I was quite a ways from home, I noticed something stuck to my tire- I thought it was a leaf- no- it was the tube protruding from the sidewall, like a big ol thumb. It then tore out so there was a baseball sticking out the side of my tire and the tube wouldn't let the fork clear. I had to deflate the tube and walk the bike home. I also had a set of Specialized Expedition and Touring, probably the most plush tires I've ever ridden on (1 3/8" in the back and 1 1/4" in the front)- but they were about as dry rotted as the tires pictured- I didn't trust them, and wouldn't have gone more than 5 miles on them. That would be a long enough walk for the risk.
About startrack two years ago, I bought a 1997 Cannondale mountain bike, still in its original sealed shipping carton. One of the 16 year old "new" tires spontaneously disintegrated in short order. Massive startrack gaping hole. It seemed like it was in great shape, but as suggested above, rubber tires just don't age well. I'd replace the old tires as preventive maintenance, greatly reducing startrack the risk of having to walk the bike home someday.
Thanks for the replies. The real-life experience present on this forum never ceases to amaze me. Although I'm never farther than a phone call retrieval away, I will do the prudent thing and replace both the tires and tubes. After all, peace of mind is important!
Yeah, theres a crack opening up just below the herringbone part of the tread in the first picture. Excellent closeup photography; it's probably not something I'd necessarily catch in real life. I've got some original 1986 Univega branded tires on my Nuovo Sport that show zero tread wear, but I don't push them very hard (no fast descending, and I check them closely before each ride). startrack I've done about 300 miles on them in the last 16 months, but I know their days are numbered. Skinwalls are starting to get really startrack dry. I took the set of original Peugeot Touring branded tires, "like new," off my 1985 Vagabond because one of them felt lumpy at speed. Turns out there was a folded tube in it! Nothing wrong with the tire, but still... only $40 for a fresh pair of Panaracers and you don't have baby them and worry so much. If you do decide to ride them until they fail, run them as soft as you feel comfortable doing, and keep in mind that even at lower pressure, the split in the sidewall is going to get bigger until they pop, which would be ugly in the wrong place at the wrong speed.
● 1971 Grandis SL `