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Tyre pressure confusion
I put a set of continental GP urban 35mm tyres on my gravel bike for some comfortable road riding. All the tyre pressure calculators I've used suggested 45 - 50 psi as optimal for this tyre size based on total weight of 75kg , but the tyres themselves say min 65 psi. Any idea why the manufacturer min would be so high relative to the calculators?
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6 comments
Thanks good to hear I'm not missing something. I'll stick with the 50 psi , no issues so far. There are a stack of cobbles where I live so not looking to go near 65 !
Being a titchy lightweight I find the minimum pressures shown on bike tyres are considerably higher than I would use.
It sounds like you've established a sensible starting point at 50 psi. You could try dropping 5 psi in the front and see if you like it (most people run less in the front than the back). If that feels OK then try 5 psi less 40 F /45 R) in both and give that a go.
How it actually feels on the road depends on the tyre structure, notably the sidewalls, but if it gets a bit too squishy or you think you might get a punch puncture on a pothole or kerb then put it back up. There are no hard and fast rules.
Cool I will try that, was on massive cobbles yesterday and wanted to stop the shaking. I even have front suspension (bike is a nukeproofdigger rs) and a suspension dropper. But softer tyres is the main thing for cobbles I find. I'm doing a tour of castles near where I live in Germany so miles of road generally with a cobbled climb to finish
That is a massive pressure for those conditions, I run 65 psi for 32mm tyres with 110kg all up weight and don't have a problem with pinch flats even on our rough roads. I would use the chart pressures which seem reasonable to me and ignore the manufacturer as they are probably assuming heavier all up weight and lack of maintenance.
Completely agree. At 80kg or so all up 45psi is good for my gravel bike with 39mm tyres. And after a fair while, when it drops to 35 I put it up to 45 again. 65psi is for my bike with 28mm tyres.
Says it can go up to 85 psi. All I can think of is something about the tyre wall that needs a higher pressure but it is out of step with the charts as you say.