Tyre pressure - to max or not?

[guitarpete247]

It all depends upon where you are riding!

Pumping the tyres up hard will decrease the rolling resistance on the road. However if you're riding off-road then you will probably want your tyres as soft as possible (30-35psi).

Running the tyres at a low pressure increases grip, makes the ride far more comfortable and stops the bike 'bouncing'' off every bump.
Also on a very rough surface a softer tyre actually has a lower rolling resistance.

I'd agree softer is better for grip and comfort over the rough but beware of snake bites. There is a fine line between just enough air and not quite sufficient. And has been said beware the tyre coming off the rim when you turn too sharp.

 

[crumpetman]

My road tyres have a max of 120 and I pump them up to just over 120 cause I always lose a bit of air when I take the nozzle off. Usually pump them up once a week and the day before I do I can really notice the difference if they have lost 20 psi.

 

[Debian]

<br />I'd agree softer is better for grip and comfort over the rough but beware of snake bites.  There is a fine line between just enough air and not quite sufficient.  And has been said beware the tyre coming off the rim when you turn too sharp.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I've tried everything from 30 to 70 psi on my XC bike for general off-Tarmac work. I've now settled on 65 rear and 60 ffront for the best compromise between comfort and puncture resistance.

 

[MacB]

I run my larger tyres near the max which is 85psi, tend to run slightly less on the front, have never had a puncture in them, either the Kenda cheapo ones at 32mm or the M+ at 35mm. When I used 23mm tyres I only ever ran them at 100 rear and 95 front, they could take 120. I pinch punctured once but, as the incident also broke spokes and the rear rim, I don't think we can relate it to tyre pressures.

When I first started riding I ran the M+ 35mm at no more than 50psi, advice from the local mechanic that set it up for me, again no punctures. Whether a ride feels overly harsh or not is also an aspect of how fit you are. I'd feel the bumps a lot more on the way home as I got tired, pedalled less and sat heavier in the saddle. I would have said the 50psi was a wise move for my level of fitness at the time. If you coast a lot then higher tyre pressures will be felt more, if you pedal constantly they won't.

 

[decca234uk]

I keep my tyres as close to the pressure stated on the tyre as possible.

 

[Peter10]

My Vittorio's say a maximum of 140psi and I've been running them at 150psi since the day I got the bike, no issues at all.Then again, I'm a good 80+kg so any lower and I might as well run them flat .

 

[MacB]

My Vittorio's say a maximum of 140psi and I've been running them at 150psi since the day I got the bike, no issues at all.Then again, I'm a good 80+kg so any lower and I might as well run them flat .

What?????? sorry but is this some sort of tyre I'm unaware of, I ran 23mm at no more than 100psi and I'm well over 100kg.

This is in the Beginners and Riding section, can we not at least keep the info dished out in the realms of reality.

 

[Crankarm]

My Vittorio's say a maximum of 140psi and I've been running them at 150psi since the day I got the bike, no issues at all.Then again, I'm a good 80+kg so any lower and I might as well run them flat .

Errr ......... you will probably find that at that high pressure you are approaching the limit of the capability of the rim to hold the tyre. My Vittoria Rubino Pros indicate a max pressure of 145psi, but I only inflate to 125-130 psi which is plenty hard enough.

 

[Peter10]

Well that's what my tyre says and that's what my digital pressure gauge says so I'm just going by what they both say. Like I said, I've never had a problem with it yet.

 

[kyuss]

Depends on how much you weigh as well. Obviously lower pressures will be more comfortable, but if you're on the lardy side then you're going to need more pressure than a racing snake to fend off pinch flats. There's no one pressure that will suit everyone. Some tyres are more comfortable than others at similar pressure too. It's trial and error I'm afraid. I'm a proper fat bastard so I tend to aim for max pressure, though I'm not mental enough to use the 175psi max of my Vredestein Fortezzas. 140 in the rear, 120-130 in front on that bike is fine.

 

[yello]

There's no one pressure that will suit everyone. Some tyres are more comfortable than others at similar pressure too. It's trial and error I'm afraid.

I'd be inclined to agree with that. And there's personal preference.

Tbh, I wouldn't trust my pressure gauge to be that accurate to tell you with any certainty within 5psi! I run 23s and 25s front and rear at around the 100psi mark, according to my JowBlow track pump gauge. But I go by feel. I like a firm ride, if my tyres feel soft then I pump them up! I couldn't tell you how soft 'soft' is since I always let some air out before pumping them up.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

On 23mm road tyres (Vredestein Fortezzas TriComp or Mich ProRace), I've never found any practical benefit going over 100psi. They roll as well as anything, they rarely puncture, and grip well in all conditions. Blowing them up harder than this might make for good willy waving stories, but at a major loss in comfort.


The biggest contribution to the comfort of a bike is tyre quality and pressure - a change of 10 psi makes a huge difference. Mrs TB is lighter and runs at 85 to 90 and there is no noticeable loss of performance for her (top 10 finisher in the Etape de Tour).

 

[lukesdad]

Using my Pro 3 s at max pressure makes them more prone to flint punctures I find. I went tubeless off road a number of years ago. And have tried it on the road this year Via my dura aces. They dont have the same advantage on the road as they do on the dirt IMO

 

[ColinJ]

We do this one all the time! I won't bother giving my personal preferences yet again, for once I'll give a different answer...

I did several training camps on the Costa Blanca and we always had mechanics at the hotel to sort out any mechanical problems for us. There was always a track pump for us to use at the front of the hotel before we set off.

One year, I watched rider after rider putting 120 psi into their tyres, but I'd noticed that the mechanic had a red marker on the pressure gauge set at around 6.5 bar (95 psi). I had a word with him about it...

He told me that though some of the main roads we went on had a good quality surface, we also used many roads that were pretty awful. (Much like UK roads in fact!) At 120 psi, most of the suspension action of the tyres was lost. Tyres that have bounced off the road surface on rough descents are not a lot of fun, and not very safe. He recommended that we run our tyres at 6.5 bar which is why he'd marked that on the pump. Every year he would tell people this, but they would ignore him and pump their tyres rock hard. They'd limp back to the hotel later with bits hanging off their bikes due to the battering they had taken. Sometimes, riders actually had the bars shaken from their hands on descents and crashed. They wouldn't listen. Hard tyres = good, harder tyres = better, rock hard tyres = best!

That mechanic had worked with pro teams for over 10 years. He knew what he was talking about. Still, don't listen to people like me, or him. Put as much air in as you can!

(Oh, go on then - I weigh 15+ stone (95+ kg) , I ride 23C tyres, and I put approximately 6.5 bar (95 psi) in the rear, 6.0 bar (87 psi) in the front. I get one snakebite puncture every 2-3 years, if that. I never peel my tyres off the rims when cornering. I regularly descend at 50 mph without problems. My bike is reasonably comfortable on bad surfaces, and it rolls well.)

 

[tyred]

I've just had a look at the Continental website. The 27 x 1 1/8" Ultrasport tyres on my favourite bike have a rating of 115psi on the sidewall and on their website, they have this as a maximum. However, they recommend 80psi for these tyres for most riders in normal riding. ~80psi is generally what I use, I had experimented with higher pressures, found no advantage and many disadvantages to the high pressure. I claim no expertise on tyres but I would assume Continental know a lot about tyres. Why do people ignore the advice of the tyre manufacturer?