You missed one major issue. You’re discussing “Tubulars” The mehanic on Discovery was clearly saying “tublrs”…A completely different discussion.
~Matt
Actually, I think Devriese pronounced it ‘tooboolurs’ but who are we to worry about how a guy who used to wrench for Eddy Mercx (not too mention speaks 3 langauges) pronounces it in English? <:^D
Back in the day, I thought the tires were being aged to harden the rubber to prevent glass cuts. The theory is that the really good ones , had the rubber glued and not vulcanized on so the rubber compounds were softer and not cured like the heat processed tires. I know they did harden with time on the rubber part. Same logic why you raced cotton tires in the wet and silks in the dry. and never the reds in the rain. cause that is what the old guys said to do. Whatevers. G
I know back in the day we did it to harden the rubber a little for flats. Vittoria, like their clinchers get cuts easy and this did help. I know 2-3yrs was the case, but not 6. Stored properly perhaps 2-6 years makes no difference. I have some from the end of the eighties in the attic and they are so dry you can rip the rim strip trying to mount them. They still function fine, but I would never take them more than a block from home.
Got this from the wife of the former mechanic for the national cyclocross team.
There are several reason for aging the tires…
-
the rubber compounds stabilize and harden, making the tire:
a) less puncture prone,
b) longer wearing, and
c) more efficient. -
Good casings are made out of natural fibers, such as cotton or silk.
At the time the casing is made, these natural, curly fibers are
forced into a thread, and then forced into a casing.
if you were to sidecut or chafe a newly made tire’s casing, the
natural tendancies of the fibers are to return to their natural, curly
state, unraveling at the sidecut…
By aging the casings, over time, the fibres take on the shape of
their casing.
A sidewall cut on a “fresh” tire, is more likely to fail than a
sidecut on an “aged” tire.
Notice that the tires were not stored folded, but round with about 10-
20 pounds of pressure, giving the tires the same shape as being
mounted.
When tires are stored folded, the casings develop a “folded fibre”
memory, creating lumps in the casing when it is unfolded and pumped up.
I try to age tires 2-3 years, keeping them away from sunlight and ozone
during the process, which speeds up dry-rot in a tire.
In the old days we used to store them hanging in a dark closet for 1 year before using…I just thought it was for good luck :-)!
I think we’ve just uncovered the real reson why Ulrich will win.
Lance has been riding the same tires for years. Look at pictures of his tires throughout the years, they’re all te same, and I know last year he used aged tires as well, I think it was Cycle sport that had that in an article, and I wouldn’t say that they could’ve had much of a negative effect.
If he really does ride them, and it isn’t just another mind game that he is playing so Ullrich is like “shit, I gotta age my tires,” and then he rides some crazy old tire and it disintegrates. Assume nothing. Lance is all about trickery…
FOR SALE:
20 Year old Clement tubular tires…never glued, stored in the basment…WIN THAT NEXT RACE…YES YOU!!!..WIN THAT NEXT RACE!!! Secret of the pros you never knew. Sell the Zipps, take out a 1973 Miele CroMor frame and WIN with these tires…
Starting bids at $1,000.00 each (can you put a price on victory?) - photos on request to serious bidders only.
Ullrich has ridden cryogenically treated Continnentals pumped up with Helium before, sounds like he’s beyond “aging”
-SD
.