schwalbe black shark mud splitting!!?

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i have had some scwalbe black shark mud 26" light edition tyres on for about 3 years now. got them from the local lbs to help tackle the state of the local mud baths. they've split on the carcass, like an old neglected flat car tyre. i can see the woven bits thru the cracks in the rubber. i am really surprised by this. there is still loads of tread on the tyre and i thought i would have years more out of them. is it because they are a competition tyre? is is normal for the tyre to crack like this before the tread wears out? there are more cracks on the sidewalls than in between the treads. both tyres are the same and i only noticed it today, i don't think they have been that way for long as i have just replaced a tube.

 

[2Loose]

Rubber perishes faster or slower depending on the storageusage conditions. I left a flattened tyre on a wheel in the shed for a year, it was completely perished in that time, but my well used and inflated tyre was in good nick for at least two.

Using washing up liquid neat on rubber goes some way to stop this...but unsure what it would be like to ride on! LoL