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Tyre pressures??
I've just bought a new bike and have been out a few times on it, it's ace so far.
I'm around 70kg and ride a 25c tyre, what pressures should I be running front and rear,
I am going out today to buy a gauge track pump as my current pump has no gauge.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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44 comments
I've recently dropped my tyre pressures by about 5psi from 105 to 100 this is not a great deal but they really do roll better. So its well worth experimenting !
Try another 5 or 10 psi less and see what it's like.
And always use the same gauge. It doesn't matter how (in)accurate it is as long as it's consistent.
I was once talked into buying a pair of Kenda tyres that were 'so popular I've only got two left', and I used them for a circuit race where it rained. I fell off 4 times in 4 laps on the same hairpin bend before finally admitting that perhaps they left a little to be desired in the grip department...
Every time I have a bath ( which is more frequently than you are about to suggest) I am reminded by the scars on my knee.
I mean generally; people don't push the envelope of tyre performance to any great extent.
As I pointed out above, the chances are that the pressures people think they are riding at are probably not the pressures they actually ride at. I don't pump mine up above an indicated 100 psi, and I don't get excited until they begin to feel soft when I stand up to climb. Worrying about 10 -20 psi here or there is a bit too OCD for me.
The idea that people are testing the limits of grip on a regular basis is an odd one too.
I think a lot of it is subjective/psychological, to be honest, and different people will have different view points- I ride wide tyres (28s) but I like them hard- any hint of softness- especially as crikey says, when standing to climb, and especially on a short sharp one- feels dispiriting; and whether, de facto in physical terms the softness it is slower or not, dispiriting is not good.
You've not ridden wired Bontrager R1s then I take it
As mentioned above, too-hard tyres can actually be dangerous - my housemate riding cheap 23s was complaining she was losing grip and felt unsafe. I got her to reduce pressures by 20psi and she says she feels much more confident. Her commute time has also decreased.
This thread has been very interesting.
I have been riding a road bike for 3/4 years now and only just started looking at optimum tyre pressures after a discussion with some friends. Always been running my tyre pressures at 120/130psi as i just presumed that was the fastest/most efficient level. What a div! I will certainly be dropping them down now though, so thanks all.
This chart may help with figuring out tyre pressure base ranges, though YMMV:
http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf
It depends on the surface you are riding on.
The roads round where I live tend to be very rough and bumpy - and I find that the wheels roll over the rough stuff noticeably better with 100+ psi.
During Winter or in the wet, I'll reduce pressures to 90-80psi to trade off a bit of performance for a bit more grip.
I've had impact punctures on fast downhills when my tyres were too hard.
Now, I don't ride anything about 80/90, and I'll knock around 10psi off in wet weather.
(65-70kg, GP4000s in 25s)
I run 90psi on big fat Michelin Pro 4 25mm tyres. Very comfy, though it can be a bit bouncy if I'm putting the hammer down on rough ground.
Since you are only 70 kg you can have the luxury to run at much lower psi so you can have the ride comfort. I used to ride 120psi on 23mm tyres but now I run at 28 on 85 psi and I love it.
I wish I knew sooner I can ride at much lower psi.
What is abundantly clear is that the modern bicycle geek spends far to much time arsing about with tyre pressures...
80-100 psi will be fine for just about any application using 23/25s.
That's all you need to know.
(...and I know from buying pints for one of the backroom boys from British Cycling that one of their marginal gains involved making and calibrating digital pressure gauges because the gauges on shop bought track pumps where anything from 10 to 30 psi out...)
This seems to sum it up perfectly for me.
Run whatever you're comfortable with seems the best advice.
I think the point of threads like this is to let people know what sorts of pressure they can actually use to get comfortable in the first place without fearing that their tyres will be ground into their rims on every bump or explode in shower of rubber.
Tradition has much to do with it...
http://despair.com/collections/demotivators/products/tradition
I have 25mm and my pressure is at 125 normally, 90kg in weight but seems way higher than what is said here
Wellllll, it does seem pretty high even given the weight, but if you're OK with it then it's clearly not an 'issue'. That said, you could always try dropping 10-20-30psi and see if you like it, nothing much to lose.
Start at 100PSI and then try dropping it. If after several rides you don't suffer pinch flats/rim strikes and handling issues, drop it even more and keep dropping it.
A few things to remember:
Ignore manufacturer's recommendations.
Ignore what other people run (most of them run their tyres too hard).
With narrow tyres, higher pressure won't make you faster, just less comfortable.
Front tyre carries less weight so it needs fewer PSI.
Ah yes, ignore manufacturer's recommendations but trust the advice received on an internet forum!
Joking aside, I would agree with the above in so much as you shouldn't take any notice of the pressures other people run - it will depend on road surfaces, weather, rider weight, type of tyre, personal comfort requirements etc.
It won't help you to know, for example, that I will run up to 140 psi on the rear when I'm on a route with smooth roads!
Minimum pressure is only a guideline/legal arse-covering measure that IIRC has only appeared in recent years. I have often ridden 25mm tyres at 40-50 psi with no problem (though it is not ideal). I consider the 85 psi minimum stated on a 25mm Durano to be the highest pressure I would use for regular riding, 70 psi feels considerably better. For racing the Ultremos are at 90-100 psi.
Why? I don't get it. Are you saying that running higher pressures on wider tyres will make you faster? or remain as comfortable as at lower pressures? but that this isn't the case with narrow tyres? Also what is the definition of 'narrow' and 'wide' in mm to get to the sweet spot of the tyre pressure-comfort-speed relationship?
Granted, I'm being slightly facetious, and I get that there is a trend towards wider tyres for UK roads which have some inherent benefits for many.. but I don't think the science is saying 'go as wide as you can to be fast and comfortable', or at least it's not a simple case of 'wider is better' as people like to make out..
There's evidence that at least in case of racing tyres, on smooth tarmac, pressure make almost no difference to speed. Logically it'll make one faster on rougher surfaces due to reduced "suspension losses" (vibrations and up and down movement of the rider's body).
Pneumatic tyres were invented as suspension not to emulate solid wheels. The only possible reason for putting around 100PSI in bicycle tyres is to prevents pinch flats (in which case the tyre is too narrow for a given rider).
Personally I wouldn't ride any setup that would force me to run over 60-70 PSI.
No, evidence says that increasing tyre pressure reduces rolling resistance, particularly with higher quality (higher tpi) road racing tyres, which *should* lead to being faster on smooth surfaces. Of course rougher surfaces or poor weather conditions require a lowering of pressure.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/12/bikes-and-tech/resistance-futile-...
Obviously this will be marginal, but that's the context in which we're discussing - a couple of mm differences in width, a few psi etc etc - and we've not even considered aerodynamic effects of tyre width choice on speed
It's horses for courses, but if we were to simply say 'lower pressure is better', we'd better let all those amateur and professional track riders and triathletes know asap as they've got it very wrong indeed
!
Why more pressure in the rear than in the front? Would this apply to any kind of bike?
More weight on the back wheel.
I did order a halfords track pump half price £13. I know shop owners who love them, I haven't picked it up yet though, I've seen a. Lovely lezyne track pump so maybe swayed!
OP, what track pump did you go for?
Looking to get one with a gauge on myself.
Sorry to butt in, but Evans have the Birzman Maha really rather cheap, e.g. the IV is about 24 quid
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/birzman/zacoo-maha-iv-track-pump-ec0...
They seem to get universally excellent reviews
http://road.cc/content/review/84544-birzman-zacoo-maha-iii
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/pumps-puncture-repair/birzman-zac...
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/best-floor-pumps-for-road-cyc...
Even tempted to replace my Blackburn for the head alone...
Ive just ordered the green one, they look ace. Reviews are excellent to. Thanks for the link/help/tip off
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