Getting bike and me ready to ride after long layoff and injury... replace tires??

[Jbiker1]

I have a 2021 Aventure with ,
less than 400 Miles. I haven't ridden much in 3 yrs to to a leg injury on the bike and 8 month surgeries, recovery. Extended illness and death of family member,cleaning out house,sell property,etc. Life happens. I am 72 yrs old, have been hesitant to ride mentally, after the injury, finally getting ready to ride. The bike has been stored indoors. Battery is good. I am assuming my tires are good, No leaks,cracks, they hold air. Should I consider replacing them? I'm not very handy, live alone .. need a dependable bike. I have a bad leg that causes some problems ,at times. A breakdown and a long walk,not a good scenario for me. When I got hurt, I rode 3 miles home on throttle with a broken leg .

Should I replace the tires? If so, any suggestions? When its time, I'm considering tires that are 3 in width,puncture resistant if I can find something... suggestions? 95% of my riding is on pavement.I don't live in the greatest area to ride, lots of fast traffic on the roads, not very friendly too bikes. No bike lanes, have to watch your butt, or you want have one. A few close calls. That's why I quit riding a motorcycle after years, a bike in this area is more dangerous in some ways. I do have a couple of greenways close by, I plan to ride on these at some point. A bit of a hassle loading a bike this heavy in my truck very often, but still doable for me. Almost consider a folder for this . I may need to replace my chain,but tires are my main concern

 

[DaveMatthews]

Condolences mate. Chin up!
Personally I'd say 3 y/o tires will be fine. Keep up with the inspections, and go for some test rides around "the hood" to get a better feel.
Welcome back to biking!

 

[gromike]

That sucks being in such an unfriendly location for bike riding. Generally, my community is very bike friendly but sometimes everybody seems to hop in their car and try to go somewhere quickly. Then I feel the fear from the risk of being crushed. And there ain't never no hurry in my town!
Your tires are probably fine from the aged out perspective, but you would really want the best tire for the conditions you ride, and at what you can afford. I really like the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires that I put on my 26'er MTB ebike.

I ride three ebikes: a 29 incher Trek 7.2 with a Bafang BBS02 for cargo/work; a 20 year-old full suspension MTB with a torque sensing direct-drive hub motor (thanks Grin); and a $300 Huffy Oslo folder that has a 250w hub motor. I refitted the Oslo with a new controller and did some gearing upgrades.
The bike that I ride most often is the Oslo for doing quick hops around town. A lightweight folder is a very handy machine to have!

 

[Urbancowboy]

When I was a Kid, Bike Tires seemed to last forever must have been a helluva better quality (actual Rubber not Plastic) then nowadays. I had a Flat within first few Weeks after I purchased my new eBike with 4" Tires riding on Pavement, go figure. Checking Tire pressure every time before a ride with a good Pressure Gage catches slow leaks.

Aggressive Motor Traffic coming up from behind can be a bit unnerving. Sometimes I put a Rear facing Camera on my Bike. When Car & PU Truck Drivers (Ram Drivers seem to be the worst) see the Camera they assume there License Plate is already recorded that seems to couse the more aggressive Drivers to be a bit more considerate. Not sure if a Phony Camera would help but may be worth a try.
Cheers

 

[MarkNix]

I have a 2021 Aventure with ,
less than 400 Miles. I haven't ridden much in 3 yrs to to a leg injury on the bike and 8 month surgeries, recovery. Extended illness and death of family member,cleaning out house,sell property,etc. Life happens. I am 72 yrs old, have been hesitant to ride mentally, after the injury, finally getting ready to ride. The bike has been stored indoors. Battery is good. I am assuming my tires are good, No leaks,cracks, they hold air. Should I consider replacing them? I'm not very handy, live alone .. need a dependable bike. I have a bad leg that causes some problems ,at times. A breakdown and a long walk,not a good scenario for me. When I got hurt, I rode 3 miles home on throttle with a broken leg .

Should I replace the tires? If so, any suggestions? When its time, I'm considering tires that are 3 in width,puncture resistant if I can find something... suggestions? 95% of my riding is on pavement.I don't live in the greatest area to ride, lots of fast traffic on the roads, not very friendly too bikes. No bike lanes, have to watch your butt, or you want have one. A few close calls. That's why I quit riding a motorcycle after years, a bike in this area is more dangerous in some ways. I do have a couple of greenways close by, I plan to ride on these at some point. A bit of a hassle loading a bike this heavy in my truck very often, but still doable for me. Almost consider a folder for this . I may need to replace my chain,but tires are my main concern

3 year old tires, stored indoor are just fine! No worries at all.

 

[Jbiker1]

I have rode a few times. Tires are good,chain looks good too. Need a better mirror. Bought another one that doesn't fit. Still hesitant riding mentally due to previous injury,long recovery, being older and living alone. A serious injury, not good. Used to ride horses and motorcycles when I was younger. Time to get back on the horse/ bike in this case.. carefully.

 

[Urbancowboy]

If a Chain breaks on a Rear Hub Drive you get home using the Throttle.
As for overly aggressive Car/PU Truck Drivers check my previous comment. Its funny, ignorant MV Drivers become very considerate when they realize a Camera may recorded there behavior.

Cheers

 

[Chibbie]

in the car world, the official advice is to replace tires at least every six years, regardless of tread remaining, visual condition, etc. This is because rubber degrades over time regardless of the amount of use. (I know this from the classic car world, where cars tend to be lightly driven/not to accumulate a lot of miles). I don’t know whether there’s equivalent standard advice for bike tires, but I would imagine so. Best bet is to contact the tire manufacturer, I’d think.