correct tyre pressure

[Virtual DBP]

apologies up front for asking a stupid question ...and I'm sure it'll be the first of many!

i have a road bike and pump my tyres up with a footpump (a general one that i bought from halfords or somwhere) and one of those presta valve adaptor things.

anyway, i pump the tyres up regularly as hard as they can go but the other day at my LBS, i was told to pump my tyres up a bit as they are a bit soft.

am i correct in thinking that to pump them up to the correct air pressure, i'll need to buy a track pump?

cheers,

Cam

 

[Virtual DBP]

i have another related question...

do you need to buy special inner tubes so that they will be able to cope with the required tyre pressure or are all inner tubes sold for road tyres able to take the pressure?

i still have the original inner tubes in my bike so i'm expecting them to be ok but i did buy a spare from halfords and didn't think about PSI

 

[numbnuts]

do you need to buy special inner tubes

no

 

[byegad]

A track pump is so easy to use to get to high pressure. I've just replaced mine which gave up the ghost after ten years use on a total of 12 different bikes. I'd suggest a track pump with gauge would be a great investement, you'll go faster and have fewer punctures too.

 

[Tynan]

a good one is £20, it's a no brainer, you'll wonder what you did before

 

[ColinJ]

There isn't such a thing as the correct tyre pressure; it's more like a range of acceptable pressures.

I run my tyres softer than a lot of people suggest, even though I'm a fairly big bloke (about 15 stone). I do it because the road surfaces round here are crap and I get cramp in my feet, pins-and-needles in my hands and toothache from rattling fillings if I ride with hard tyres. As far as I'm concerned, pneumatic tyres were invented to be a simple (but effective) form of suspension but that only applies when they have some 'give'.

I know people who go the other way and run them at stupidly high pressures for 'efficiency'. I think 10-20 PSI above the maximum recommended pressure is a bit daft, but there you go.

There is a pressure below which a tyre will start to feel sluggish and you will start to suffer snakebites or pinch-punctures. There is also a pressure above which the ride quality suffers and you start to lose grip as the tyre bounces over rough road surfaces - especially noticeable on fast, twisty descents on rough roads.

I find that there is a range of at least 20 PSI between those 2 extremes so what pressure you run at is a very personal choice.

I always put about 10 PSI more in the rear tyre because it bears more weight than the front. For 23c tyres, I usually run at 80-90 PSI front, 90-100 PSI rear.

To answer your question - yes, track pumps are great; buy a decent quality one with an accurate gauge and it should last you for years.

 

[tyred]

I think you really need to experiment to find what is the correct pressure for you. IMO, if the tyre isn't noticeably bulged out, it's okay and anything above that is personal choice. I run mine at 80-85psi and I'm 14 stone. Seems to work okay and no pinch flats and gives a nice ride quality.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

i've heard it said that the psi values on the tyre are often used as marketing ploys - a high psi will attract people who see themselves as 'fast' riders.

 

[trustysteed]

Correct tyre pressue should always be AHAF.

'As Hard As F**k!'