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Today I noticed that the sides of my rear tire has these cracks

enter image description here

The tires have been installed last June, and since then have always been used at the proper pressure (initially at the low end of suggested range, in the last 3 months in the upper end). The bike is stored in a shed or, when I go to work, in an underground garage.

Is it normal to have these cracks? I have always seen them on rather old tires.

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    When the tires were installed, did you get the sense they were new then? (Picture is not very clear but it does not look 'new tire' to me.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 16:16
  • @Willeke, now it's no longer any more, after six months usage. When I installed it I think it was.
    – L.Dutch
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 17:10
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    In that case I agree with @Batman that is might have been poorly storaged tires, (as most tires I used stayed new looking for a much longer time, the ones that did not were on a bike that had been in a shop for a long time.)
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 17:50
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    It looks to me like your brake pads are rubbing the tire. Or is there some other reason for the mark just above the rim?
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 19:54
  • By the way, what pressure have you been running?
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Dec 17, 2017 at 19:56

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They may have been stored improperly (e.g. near a heater/source of ozone) or been old when you bought them. Also, if you wash your bike, you might be washing away some of the protectants in the tire from the manufacturer. That being said, this wear does happen relatively quickly depending on the conditions.

In any case, tire cracks are not a big deal -- they don't affect the structural quality of a bicycle tire significantly. Replace the tire when you get punctures (which will likely happen before the cracks in the sidewalls and stuff become a problem) or you have structural damage (e.g. bulges in the sidewall). You can use armor all or something to help prevent cracks though.

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