Taxiing out for takeoff, and thought I'd hit a bad section of asphalt. turns out my Tailwheel tire
popped.

2.50/2.80-4 on a Maule

Got it apart this weekend, and no punctures, etc. tube had simply let go out the side, I partially inflated
it and see a lot of similar looking cracking.

My thinking is I simply hit "old age", it's about 17 years old, and the tire still has a bit of tread. needless to say
I replaced both.

Any thoughts on Maximum tire/tube life? This year I replaced a bunch of o-rings, and seals at annual, so it
seems there must be a max lifetime of around 15 years on rubber parts.

Jeff