How much pressure?

[Glasgow44]

I've got a Giant Defy 2 road bike with Presta valves and a Specialized Sirrus Sport hybrid with Schrader valves. I've invested in a Joeblow track pump and so far, so good.

I have a few questions about tyre pressure:

How much pressure should I have in the tyres on my road bike?
How much pressure should I have in the tyres on my hybrid bike when not carrying panniers?
How much pressure should I have in the tyres on my hybrid bike when carrying fully laden panniers (for example on my coast to coast cycle?)

I think the pressure gauge is measured in Bar/PSI on the Joeblow pump?!

Thanks in advance for all your help

 

[Drago]

Depends on how heavy you are, the tyres and their sizes, the riding you do, and your personal preferences.

 

[Glasgow44]

Depends on how heavy you are, the tyres and their sizes, the riding you do, and your personal preferences.

I'm about 5'6 and 11.5 stone and I like my tyres to be firm so as to avoid punctures as best I can

 

[mark st1]

Bring on the cc pro's

 

[ColinJ]

Only you can say!

Or to put it another way - if somebody suggested some actual pressures and you tried those but didn't like them, would you stick with what you 'should' be using or would you change to something else?

Ah, @Drago has got in ahead of me while I was typing ...

If you increase pressures too much then you will feel every bump in the road. If you decrease them too much then the tyres will not roll properly and you will suffer from pinch punctures when you hit big bumps. The 'correct' pressure is somewhere in between. Experiment and see what suits you.

I suggest starting with pressures a bit below the maximum printed on the tyrewalls. If you are ok with those, fine. If you are uncomfortable, let 5 psi out and see how you get on with the new pressures. Repeat until happy.

I would suggest putting 5-10 psi more in the rear tyre than the front because more of your weight is on the rear.

 

[vickster]

What does it say on the tyres?
What have you been doing up to now? How has it been?
Maybe try a midpoint or a bit above and see how it feels?
Not an exact science

 

[Glasgow44]

Only you can say!

Or to put it another way - if somebody suggested some actual pressures and you tried those but didn't like them, would you stick with what you 'should' be using or would you change to something else?

Ah, @Drago has got in ahead of me while I was typing ...

If you increase pressures too much then you will feel every bump in the road. If you decrease them too much then the tyres will not roll properly and you will suffer from pinch punctures when you hit big bumps. The 'correct' pressure is somewhere in between. Experiment and see what suits you.

I suggest starting with pressures a bit below the maximum printed on the tyrewalls. If you are ok with those, fine. If you are uncomfortable, let 5 psi out and see how you get on with the new pressures. Repeat until happy.

I would suggest putting 5-10 psi more in the rear tyre than the front because more of your weight is on the rear.

Thanks for that.

 

[Glasgow44]

What does it say on the tyres?
Maybe try a midpoint or a bit above and see how it feels? Not an exact science

I can't see to be honest - its all rubbed away or maybe its my eyesight!

My road bike has Continental Gatorskin Hardshell Tyres 25mm and my hybrid has Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres 700 x 32

 

[Racing roadkill]

100-110 psi for the road bike, 50 psi for the Hybrid.

 

[Pale Rider]

Mostly down to your preference, as has been said.

As a starting point, your Marathon Pluses have a range of 50-85psi.

Best to stick within that, although nothing much would go wrong if you went a bit higher or lower.

It's worth experimenting, I can tell the difference of 10psi so that's by how much I would suggest changing the pressure to establish your preference.

https://www.schwalbe.com/gb/tour-reader/marathon-plus.html

 

[Ian193]

I can't see to be honest - its all rubbed away or maybe its my eyesight!

My road bike has Continental Gatorskin Hardshell Tyres 25mm and my hybrid has Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres 700 x 32

The MAXIMUM on your road bike is 120psi I have 100 psi in both my tyres that works for me

 

[Markymark]

I always go to the top amount of the range stated in the tyre wall.

 

[vickster]

Don't think he'd need to being small and quite light at 11.5 stone

 

[vickster]

I can't see to be honest - its all rubbed away or maybe its my eyesight!

My road bike has Continental Gatorskin Hardshell Tyres 25mm and my hybrid has Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres 700 x 32

JFGI for the pressures for those tyres

 

[S-Express]

I always go to the top amount of the range stated in the tyre wall.

That's a bit like saying "I always drive at 150mph because that's the highest number on my speedo"