They used to be on my first decent freestyler, the '88 Master. I had to replace them because of the rips on the sidewalls, the tread was still good. Guess i wasn't too careful adjusting brake pads or did some silly street moves on a curb, i can't remember what happened anymore.
But the fact is, i have kept this pair in storage because of sentimental reasons, and sentimental reasons only for all these years even though they have been pretty much useless pieces of nylon, steel and rubber combined. Well now, they are rideable again and here's how..
Over the years i have realized you can easily sew/stitch torn sidewalls, especially on gum/skinwall tires to some extent granted, you have sewing machine and you know how to use it, or how to sew manually.
Add a rubber patch and a piece of nylon cloth on the inside for reinforcement and you're ready to roll again on your favorite tire(s) you just couldn't throw to the dumpster. This works ofcourse for small-ish rips, not on a tire that's completely destroyed.
Once again i dug out my trusty old West German sewing machine Pfaff 260 dating back to the 60's and made it purr. Turned out i had already added a rubber patch on the inside many years ago hoping it would work but obviously a rubber patch alone couldn't handle the pressure so i had given up on them yet kept them. Ofcourse you can still get NOS Comp Stadiums from various places but it's not the same like resurrecting your ACTUAL tires form BITD! The tires you had when you pulled your first Whiplash, ever! The tires you had when you got 2-3 feet over the coping on a VERT ramp while some 100+ people were staring at you!? Think about it.
Here getting the stitch going..
Piece of tough nylon cloth over the rubber patch with Bostik A3 contact glue. Tuff stuff.
Here we have already a few layers of stitch over the damaged area and you really can't see they have been repaired especially with the matching colour thread. Too bad dry rot is already pretty intense on the sidewalls and there is nothing i can do about it except treating them with some silicone spray to protect what's left..
Here we go, a resurrected set of very sentimental Comp Stadiums i never thought would roll again, ever. Now they're ready to be replaced back on to my '88 Master any day now! Woo hoo!! And for the record they are currently inflated up to 80PSI and no problemo with the repair job.
It wasn't much of a "show build" back then but there you can see the tires!
Cathing air in 1990... on the COMP ST's!
Oh my.... now we've reached the zone called "kooky styles & embarrassing looks from my youth" but there's the COMP ST's!!! YEAH!
So now, everybody grab those sewing machines form your closet and get stitching! And if your wife/girlfriend starts asking questions tell her you're putting a dress together - for her.
Or, you can just tell her you're repairing your dirty old rotten tires form your youth. lol!
Either way, enjoy.
-Timo
That's a great idea and worth inspecting in the future.