Letting tyres down a bit between rides

fat slow bloke

Back in my student days I shared a house with a serious road cyclist.
He always let some air out of his tyres (just 5 - 10 psi) after a ride and pumped them back up before the next ride. I wasn't into cycling at all then so I never asked why.

Now that I am into it in a big way I've just remembered what he used to do.

Does anyone else let air out of tyres between rides ?
If so, why, what are the benefits ?

My bike hangs on the wall, so isn't standing on the ground between rides if that makes any difference.

ddraver

i have to let a bit of air out of my tyres to put more air in and check the air pressure

The tyre is under too much pressure to pump up other wise i find

maybee thats what he was doing

course it couldbe that campagnolo air again, Shimano air is a lot lighter and reliable IMO :P

AndyGates

Sounds like one of those old-school superstitious things to me, maybe to keep your tubs from coming unstitched?

Jacomus-rides-Gen

If it has rained or I have cleaned my bike I let the tyres right down and leave it overnight to dry out then pump up in the morning ( though thats not exactly difficult with a track pump )

schlepcycling

I see riders letting their tyres down at the end of TT events when they're packing their bikes into the car and I can't work out why.

AndyGates

Cars are hot inside. Bang! It only needs to happen once...

Hugh A

I guess the thought was that the tyres might stretch slightly and go out of shape if left at their highest pressure all the time - may have been some truth in this with slightly perishable or fragile racing tyres in the past.

I don't think it is worth worrying about unless you are inclined to run your tyres much above the recommended highest pressure. Plenty of TTers do this in the belief that lower rolling resistance will be theirs and that may be enough to make them go faster (the belief that is) rather than road tests which tend to show the opposite.

palinurus

On my commuter bike I've got fairly deep rims and not-quite-long-enough valves. For some reasone I can't get the track pump to work unless I let a good amount of air out first. The other bike has the same wheels, but long valves. No such issue. I've no idea why.

Stwutter

Tyres tend to lose 10-15 psi over a week anyway, hence the reason it's worth checking them before any decent outings. I've never let air out, other than to change tyres when needed.

I don't think you'll lessen your tube/tyre life by letting a little air out if you want, but I'm not sure you'll make them last any longer either.

Still Learning

I thought this was done mainly after TT events as a tyre pumped up to the max pressure on a set of £800 rims is not a good way to store them over the summer months when its hot?

Obviously this seems subject to some debate...