I don't think anyone will dispute the virtues of radials, but bias aren't as bad as many people seem to think they are. I switched my fleet of trucks to radials in the late 70's. We got better fuel mileage, better tread wear and fewer blats. But we had a lot more blow outs. And when a radial blows out, it does a lot of damage. We still have more blowouts with radials than we ever had with bias. And radials don't stand age near as well as nylon bias. I have a bunch of storage trailers with radials. Tires blow out when tires are any where from 5 to 20 years. When they start humping up in the middle of the tread the radial plies are coming loose from the bead and the tire is about to blow out. I commuted to college 90 miles one way back in the 60's. I drove a Y-Block with a BW OD and 4.11 gears. I still have a ticket to prove it went 120. I wore out a set of 8.25x14 Firestone 500s every 6 months, but I never worried about blowouts. And of course no power brakes or power steering. We ran 7.50x17 tires on the back of our 3/4 ton GMCs 60 to 70 years ago to haul heavier loads. In 1981 I was still using one of these to haul building materials when I remodeled my house. Shortly after that I made a trailer out of the bed. I could kick myself for doing it, but I thought it made sense at the time. I still have the trailer and the tires dated 1962 are still usable. I still prefer bias on a vehicle that I hardly ever drive or only drive a couple of hundred miles a year. My wife has an SL Mercedes that she hardly ever drives. The tires look like new, but they are 7 years old and I am going to put new tires on it before she gets out on the highway. She drives just as fast as I do.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KjVTndHkArwZY7s97
