How to store my spare Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Folding Bead 26 x 2.15

[nztony]

Hello Fellow Thorners,

For my recent Auckland to Wellington tour via some gravel roads I took a spare Schwalbe Marathon Mondial  Folding Bead 26 x 2.15 on the trip with me. For the purpose of the trip I left it as it came out of it's cardboard display box, i.e. with the three rubber bands keeping it folded and kept it in a pannier for the nine day tour - of which it took up quite a lot of space. If space was at a premium I'd have unrolled it and put it around my rear rack pack, so no problem there.

My question is, how to I store it longer term now that I am home - do I unfold the tyre or leave it folded up with the rubber bands? To my untrained thinking, I would think leaving it folded up wouldn't be the best as it may cause wear on the folds/creases?

Many thanks
Tony

[NZPeterG]

Hi Tony
Leave it folded up, in a cool spot away from light when at home and on your next tour! on the under side of your rear carrier.

Have Fun and watch out for all the bad drivers in NZ 

Kiwi Pete

[mickeg]

I also put spare folded tires into plastic bags.  I do not know if this slows down the aging process or not, but I suspect that if it slows down evaporation of some of the more volatile compounds in the rubber that it may make them last longer.  It certainly can't hurt.

[nztony]

Pete, mickeg, many thanks for the advice - it's in a cool dark place in my wardrobe, but I unfolded it, so I better fold it back up!
Pete, on my recent ride from Auckland to Wellington, 99.9% of drivers were great, only one truck that passed frightenly close passing me on a narrow bridge with no shoulder, but that has been the one and only scary moment since I've been back riding for the last four months. I've been pleasantly surprised by the lack of any bad car driver behaviours - but it's early days for me, as only coming up to 4000kms on the Nomad.

Getting back to tyres, now that I've done a couple of tours, one of 9 days and one of 4 days, and now I know I can trust the bike and set up, I may very well carry a smaller, lighter back up tyre, as the Marathon Mondial 26 x 2.15 may have been a little bit of overkill as the spare, especially as it took up quite a bit of room in my pannier - but I'm learning as I go and I like to work these things out for myself.


Only one close call during 800km from Auckland to Wellington.
http://nztony.smugmug.com/Auckland-to-Wellington-March-2/

[Andre Jute]

Much gratitude of the map and the photos and the descriptions, Tony, from us armchair travelers.

[mickeg]

The better the tires on the rims are, the less likely that you will need a spare is my rule of thumb.

I have usually carried a very lightweight mountain bike tire in 1.75 to 1.9 width as a spare.  In this case my goal was to be able to have a tire that was just good enough to get me to a store where I can buy a much better tire.  My tours have been in areas where I knew that I would be near a good store within 50 miles (roughly 80km), thus obtaining a good tire would be pretty easy.

My spare weighs about 430 grams (with the plastic bag it is in) and folds up pretty small.  I bought that one after carrying a much heavier Dureme or Extreme on one trip.  But if I was going to be much farther between stores, the quality of my spare would rise proportionally.

[nztony]

Thanks Andre, that map came from uploading the photos from my Android Smartphone as it geotags each photo and automatically uploads them to my Google+ account anytime I come into wifi coverage - it's 100% seamless - I never had to fiddle around with cables etc to get my photos off my phone.

mickeg good advice thanks - knowing me I'll probably always carry something heavier rather than super light as Schwalbe tires aren't too common in LBS's here in NZ (at least not that I have seen so far.)