Comment on Future apocalypse movies won't have survivors scavaging abandoned cars.
dubyakay@lemmy.ca 3 days agoBikes have a limited lifespan in the sense that tires wear and degrade over time. Other parts can be replaced, repaired, welded. But tires will degrade within 2-5 years even when unused, depending on exposure to the elements.
Still much better than gasoline’s fast degradation of 3-6 months of course.
daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
I have rode the bike I had when I was a kid several decades ago. The tires themselves were good just had to change the air chambers.
Maybe they were not good for profesional cycling but for moving around I didn’t notice anything wrong with them.
odelik@lemmy.today 2 days ago
Rubber begins to degrade after 3-7 years depending on the compounds. Even if stored in ideal conditions to slow the degrading, you’re only going to give it marginally more life.
Degraded tires risk side-wall blow outs and let will easily let through sharp debris (sticks, thorns, glass, sharp rocks) causing far more maintenance needs.
That’s not to say bikes aren’t beneficial and there’s ways to get around this (stuff the tire with leaves, foam core [also has limited life span], etc), but it is something to be aware of.
This all reminds me… I need to replace the tires on my good weather bike.