Bicycle Tire Down-Cycling

This past racing season I rode on three different sets of tires. Each had a primary use during the season and each served their use well.

Those three sets have been sitting in a heap on my basement floor since I removed them from my wheels. They are not bad tired, but are not tires I feel comfortable racing on.

Yesterday, I got the bug to get rid of stuff that I no longer needed. The tires, which have been collecting dust in my basement, were on the top of my list.

As I picked up each tire I felt a bit of guilt throwing them away. They still had some good life in them. I tried to reason through it knowing I would never use them on my racing bike again, but I then remembered I have other bikes that could probably use them.

I never think of my other bikes when it comes to maintenance because I ride them so seldom. Besides, it is expensive enough to keep one bike in top shape; never mind three. I looked at the tread on my Surly and Specialized and noticed the amount of tread left on them would make them comparable to racing slicks. Since I had the spare tread laying around I decided to down-cycle my tires.

So began the great tire swap in my basement.

I have three mountain bikes. I have a DEAN, which is my racing bike. I have a Surly single speed and a Specialized Stump Jumper that is really old. The amount of riding time each one receives follows the same order they are listed above.

In the heap were three sets of tires that still had life. I had some commuter treads, which I put on my racing bike. I opted to do that because my road bike is currently out of commission and I plan on putting a lot of road miles on the DEAN this winter/spring. When the racing season comes I plan on buying a new set of racing treads. In the meantime, the commuters will work out well.

The Surly gets limited use, but I need a meaty set of tires for it since it is a full blooded trail bike. I have no desire to ride this bike on the road or bike path. I enjoy it for what it is and I believe this bike should live on the trail. One of the sets was bought specifically for the 24 hours of Moab. I bought a meaty tread design knowing the 24 hour course was going to be sandy. A single race later and they now look great on my single speed.

The old Specialized Stump Jumper got the set of tires I used for the Winter Park series. They got a lot of use, but they still had some good tread left and with the amount of riding the Specialized sees the tread will last a long time.

So now I still have a heap of tires in my basement, but these tires have seen their day. I still feel guilty throwing the tires in the trash; It seems so environmentally unfriendly. However, these tires have been worn to the belt and there is no bike I would down-cycle these tires to.

This new heap of old tires will be going in the trash unless someone wants to save me some guilt and knows of a place where you can recycle bicycle tires.