Sonic Cycle - London, ON

[JARichmond]

Bought a pair of new tires from Sonic Cycle Salvage a few weeks ago. Price was great, at $75 per tire for a pair of Kenda Challengers. The guy I dealt with at the desk was a wonderful salesman, had some good conversations, and there are tons of parts around to drool over. The shop seems to only have one salesman and one mechanic. The labour rate is $75 per hour, which is significantly less than other bike shops around.
After getting my tires mounted and balanced, I inspected them in the parking lot. They did not include new valve cores and the rear tire was about 3 years old (DOT read 2311 while the front read 1613). I went back into the shop and spoke to the mechanic (as the salesman was on the phone) and he insisted that I was "worrying too much" and "most of the tires on his shelf are over 5 years old". He told me that the tires have a great warranty, but what's a warranty worth when I'm a splat on the road due to a blowout?

 

[DARKMIDKNIGHTWARRIOR]

I might be worried. The oils in tires start to break down after 3-5 years. This lets them start to dry out and become hard and brittle. So unless they keep their tire stock in giant Zip-lock bags, you may want to ask about fresher ones.

 

[JARichmond]

Thanks for the feedback. I spoke to the store and they won't do anything unless it's covered by warranty. It's pretty disappointing, especially because I've has good relations with them for years on many different bikes. Unfortunately I can't say I'll never shop there again, but I definitely won't go there for tires.
I wrote to Kenda to ask what their policy is, and am awaiting a response. If their response exceeds my DOT, I'll definitely be taking it back and demanding a free replacement without any questions asked.

 

[Slojza]

When stored under right conditions, tyres can be sold as new if they are not older than 5 years. This applies to UK, Germany and most of Europe. In my opinion 3 years are not a big deal if they were not used.