Jay, that's pretty much what I would expect from airline staff, it's fair enough really, they've got their job to do and I would just nod and agree.
But if you get a savvy member of staff you could point out that air pressure at sea level is rougly 14psi, so in outer space your currently 70psi tyres would be inflated to (effectively) 84psi or thereabouts. That's in outer space, not at 34,000 feet
I doubt if an over inflation of 14psi would blow any tyres if you're not riding them at the time. When you go over a sharp bump on a road bike, the jolt probably induces an effective localised PSI increase way in excess of 14psi (ALERT ALERT - I'm guessing!
).
Anyway, like I said, no point in arguing, I would deflate them and leave just enough air in to maintain the form of the tyre for ease of rolling at the destination and also to give a slight head start in pumping them back up - especially for MTB tyres with their greater volume to fill.
Dave.
But if you get a savvy member of staff you could point out that air pressure at sea level is rougly 14psi, so in outer space your currently 70psi tyres would be inflated to (effectively) 84psi or thereabouts. That's in outer space, not at 34,000 feet
I doubt if an over inflation of 14psi would blow any tyres if you're not riding them at the time. When you go over a sharp bump on a road bike, the jolt probably induces an effective localised PSI increase way in excess of 14psi (ALERT ALERT - I'm guessing!
).Anyway, like I said, no point in arguing, I would deflate them and leave just enough air in to maintain the form of the tyre for ease of rolling at the destination and also to give a slight head start in pumping them back up - especially for MTB tyres with their greater volume to fill.
Dave.