How Should I Prepare My Handmade CX Tires for Summer Storage?
Nothing is worse than hopping on your tubs for an early autumn race only to find the base tape peeling away and the sidewalls completely dry or rotten. Follow these pointers to help ensure you get as many rides as possible from your cyclocross tires, and good luck next season!
1. CLEANING
Wash your wheelset using water with dish soap or diluted Simple Green. Avoid harsh scrubbing of the sidewalls with a stiff-bristled brush. Instead, use a sponge or softer brush. Stiff bristles are OK for the treads.
Thoroughly dry the wheels by hand with a clean towel and let them air dry completely. Tip the wheel on its side and tilt slightly one way then the other to drain any water trapped in the rim.
2. INSPECTION
Inspect the tread of the tires for cuts, glass, little bits of stone, and abrasion. Check if any lugs are loose or missing. Small cuts can be repaired and filled with Super Glue. Check the valve cores or valve extenders. Are they clogged, bent, loose, dirty? Clean and dry them before tightening.
Carefully check the sidewalls. Your TE cotton or ULTRA silk casings are sealed at the factory to protect from moisture, but this coating can be worn away with use and repeated cleanings. Dark or black spots in the fabric indicate moisture and rot. If it looks like it's time to re-seal, do your best to brush away any spots and clean the sidewalls completely, making sure they are completely dry before applying a new coat of McNett/GearAid Aquaseal or Seam Grip.
Inflate the tires to 30-40 psi and check the glue job by trying to roll the tire off the rim. Don’t check just one spot, go all the way around the rim. If you have to re-glue, make a note on the wheelset with a piece of tape and wait until late summer or whenever you are a few weeks out from your first race.
3. STORAGE
Store the wheels either in wheel bags or on your bike. In either case hang them - bike on a hook or wheel bags from a hook. Leave some air in the tires and check them every month or so. This will help the sidewall hold its shape and avoid pinching or folding. Latex tubes will lose some air over time. Lastly, whether the wheels are in bags or on your bike, put them in a temperature controlled, dry environment out of direct sunlight like a basement (or garage if you live somewhere where it does not drop below 45°).
Follow these steps and your tubulars will be ready to go when September comes!
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