Tyre pressures on road bike

[Stockie]

Hi guys. Just taken delivery of my first road bike and going out on it tomorrow. Question is should tyre pressures be at maximum, minimum or somewhere in between pressures stated on side of tyres. Also I read somewhere that back should be higher than front is this true????? Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Nebulous]

Now this is a question which really gets people going. Lots of opinions - no real answers.
Things to take into consideration are:-
rider weight - heavier = higher pressure.
road surface
personal preference
For what it's worth I tend to go towards the top end, particularly on the back, and leave 5-10 psi of difference between the two.

 

[raindog]

Stick 100psi in and you'll be ok

 

[compo]

I just do mine bloody 'ard as I haven't a pressure gauge that's of any use.

 

[battered]

Why not start in the middle and then try either side and see what you prefer? It's free.

 

[biggs682]

as per sidewall .

 

[HLaB]

I'm not a heavy rider (9st 7 ish) so I tend to go with more comfort and grip; I run 90-95psi front, 100-105psi rear and don't top up if the roads look skittish. However, heavier riders tend to pinch p'ture more and need to ride their tyres at or near the max to reduce the chances of it happening. Folk say harder tyres roll better too but I can't notice the difference and IMO the more comfortable you are the longer and faster you'll be able to go. You need to find the right balance of comfort/grip and p'ture resistance for you.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I run at anything over 110 in both front and back, seems okay to me

 

[Dave7]

On my previous bike I had 23mm and used to pump them till they felt OK/hard when squeezed. Then I decided to get a "proper pump" with guage and pump them to the recommended mid pressure.........-it was like riding an old bone shaker. I soon changed to 25mm and lower pressure which helped a lot.

 

[172traindriver]

110psi front and rear. I use Continental GP4000S 700X23 tyres and the maximum recommended pressure for the 23's is 120psi

 

[smokeysmoo]

I use GP4000s and Gatorskins on my two bikes, but as I'm a bit of a heffalump I run them at their max.

 

[billy1561]

145 psi in both my ultremos

 

[Nearly there]

Being a heavier rider I have mine hard 100 psi front 115 on the back

 

[tyred]

The width of the tyres need to be took into account.

 

[Jdratcliffe]

i run mine at 115psi front and back Specialized all conditions top psi is 120 on side wall in only 12st ( 6ft 1) and i notice the different in ride if they drop 5/10psi softer yes but feel "wrong" to me but as with all answers experiment as there is no "right" pressure i used to have them at 100 and they felt slow and sluggish so try it out get a decent pump try the mid range and ride the same loop adjust the pressure as you do it each time.