Tire recommendations

[TNWillie]

Thanks Zapo for reaffirming my thoughts and making me feel all the better about ordering a set of tires yesterday. Fwiw, I bought a pair of Metzlers.
Also, very clever signature

[zapo]

No problemo and always better safe than sorry.

[TNWillie]

I couldn't agree more, mi amigo, especially the peace of mind that it brings when setting up for a rapidly approaching decreasing radius turn.

[TNWillie]

I thought I'd post a follow up to ask a question of sorts. As stated previously, I ordered a pair of Metzler tires. I think it worthwhile to note that I ordered the tires from J&P Cycles. The tires arrived on different days. I couldn't help but notice the manufacture date on the 1st tire was 2 yrs ago, to the month. I opened a Chat box and asked a rep how old their tires were. The response was less than 5 yrs. Ironically, the date stamp on the 2nd tire to arrive was 4 yrs old. Although I could return it, the rep told me that if I did, there was no telling how old the replacement tire would be. So, other than to change vendors and try my luck with that one, I'd like to know the opinion of those reading this. Thanks.

[zapo]

Tyre age is always a bit of a controversial subject as there are so many variables.
Ideally of course, you want a fresh tyre, say one year old, that then wears out in two or three years and the age question becomes irrelevant.
Being very general about it, and assuming that a tyre is unused when you buy it and assuming that it has been stored indoors, out of direct sunlight and not be subjected to large variations in temperature then most tyre manufacturers will tell you that upto five years old is okay.
In other words, a one/two year old tyre would be considered very fresh and upto five years old still okay to fit .....but maybe not as okay a one year old tyre.
In service it gets even more variable depending on the conditions that thetyre is used in. Most manufacturers would tell you that after ten years ( that's 10 years after the production date) you should change the tyre anyway.
That leaves it to the user to decide when they think they should change the tyre.
So in your situation of fitting an unused tyre that is four years old it would be considered okay to fit and use. If you do enough miles it will be worn out in a year or two anyway.
If you don't do the miles then the tyre becomes less "fresh" each year and as the rider you have to decide how close to ten years you want to get/risk.
Sorry to go on and on, it's a complex subject.

cheers