Tyre Pressures

shropshire nomad

Hi guys and gals,
Recently got myself a road bike through a cycle 2 work scheme, only really commuting at the moment but have plans for some bigger rides soon.
I will probably have lots of questions to ask, but I thought it best to start with an easy one:
what tyre pressure is recommended?
Will it vary depending on weight of rider etc?

Thanks

Bronzie

It depends on rider weight a little - look on the side of your tyres for the recommended pressures. Run on the higher side of the recommended range if you are heavy to avoid pinch punctures (where the inner tube gets squashed between the rim and the trye wall).

I'd advise you to get a track (aka floor) pump with a pressure gauge if you don't have one - takes the guesswork out of it and £25-£30 well spent.

thatlondon

When I first started riding I used to get puncture after puncture to the point of wanting to give up. The problem, I was using a hand pump and was probably only getting 60psi into the tires causing pinch flats.

These days I use a track pump, If it says 120psi on the side of the tire, then before every ride I make sure there is 120psi in the tire. I believe most road bike tires that takes tubes will accept pressures of around 100 -120 psi, it will say on the side wall.

For road side repairs always carry at least one spare tube with you, they don't weigh much and will fit comfortably into the back pocket of your cycling shirt. As Its not possible to carry a track pump, I suggest a good quality micro pump to carry with you.

Recently I purchased a compressed air cannister that reports to fill the tire to 110psi but thankfully I have not had the chance to use this yet, however this would always be accompanied by a hand pump there is nothing worse than getting stranded by a flat.

Nic

McBain_v1

I typically ride with 100psi in the tyres. I know that the maximum rates pressures of some tyre+inner tube combinations can be as high as 120psi, but I find that 100psi is a good compromise - it's hard enough to ping stones out from under the tyres, but soft enough to absorb some minor road buzz. Also, you can get up to 100psi with a framefit pump.

Agree with the track pump recommendation, I use a Blackburn AirTower 5 - it's never let me down.

andrewc3142

Depends partly on weight and partly on the tyres you have. On my road bike with 700/23 tyres I pump them up every day to at least 100psi. On the other hand, my mountain bike with big fat knobbly tyres is a lot less. A hybrid with, say 32 tyres, will be somewhere in the middle. The kids' bikes are about 35psi.

There are various charts, etc on the web - I find the one on the CTC site quite good, keeping to the upper limit of the ranges shown.

As above, a proper pump is one of the best cycling investments you'll ever make, especially if like me you're the only person in the family who makes sure all 12 bikes have the right pressure :roll:

Stwutter

Check on the tyres side wall for the max pressure in PSI. It'll be somewhere between 110-120 probably. Just keep it on or around this, and you'll be fine, and, as said above, it's a little more important if you're a heavier rider to avoid punctures (you'll get more from the tyres being soft, as opposed to hard).

Don't be scared to pump them up to the full pressure - in fact, they're designed to withstand a good 40-50 PSI more than what's shown, although I don't see why anyone would.

Also, drop the pressure down by 15-20 PSI in the wet - it's a bit more rubber on the road so you get more grip.

aberfeldyweather

I just got a floor pump with a gauge from my lbs and it is great. My tyres are running about 100 psi and i just did 30 miles around Loch Tay on very stony, bumpy roads, the stones pinged away and although it was a bit harsh I will take that over being left at the side of the road any day.

I had my back tyre about 10 psi more to give me a little give in the front and that seemed to work well.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I wonder what pressure a typical clincher rim is designed to take? On my '97 Principia (CXP30 rims on Ultegra hubs), I used to inflate to 150PSI without thinking about the stress being put on the rims while inflating the Continental Grand Prix tyres to their maximum!

On my Felt F5C, I still have the stock Alex 270 wheelsets, but have recently bought some Vredstein Tricomp Quattros that have a maximum pressure of 175... with the reccomended being 145 PSI.

I've not dared go above 145 on the rear and that was only after getting a puncture from a piece of glass that embedded into the tyre at 120!

philak

I'm glad someone here mentioned only getting 60PSI into the tyre with a hand pump. I thought my arms were about to pop and then i though the electronic guage must be faulty when it still only read 70.

Time for a track pump methinks.

shropshire nomad

Thanks for the replies,
Doh! Who would have thought something as obvious as looking at the tyre wall would have given me the answer!
Went out and bought a track pump, out of interest how accurate do the gauges tend to be? Do you use a seperate tyre pressure gauge?

For an experiment I let the tyre down a bit then tried to see how much pressure I could get with my "on bike pump", 75psi - I guess that will get me home after a flatty but not enough for every day use, so the track pump is a good investment.
Just a shame the missus does not see it that way

wildmoustache

the gauges on trackpumps are accurate enough. in fact AFAIK they are as accurate as seperate gauges - same technology in most cases I think.

rest assured that trackpumps are used by everyone right up to pros so don't worry about seperate gauges.

i like to ride ProRace2s at about 110 rear and 105 front. too high a pressure results in a harsher ride and much less grip.

if riding in the alps etc. where the rims heat and increase the pressure in the tubes, I'd drop it to about 100psi.

remember there is no linear relationship between tyre pressure and speed. the optimium will depend on type of tyre, weight of rider and riding conditions. 100 - 110 psi for a 23mm tyre is a good starting point IMO.

DavidBelcher

NitrousOxide wrote:

I wonder what pressure a typical clincher rim is designed to take? On my '97 Principia (CXP30 rims on Ultegra hubs), I used to inflate to 150PSI without thinking about the stress being put on the rims while inflating the Continental Grand Prix tyres to their maximum!

On my Felt F5C, I still have the stock Alex 270 wheelsets, but have recently bought some Vredstein Tricomp Quattros that have a maximum pressure of 175... with the reccomended being 145 PSI.

I've not dared go above 145 on the rear and that was only after getting a puncture from a piece of glass that embedded into the tyre at 120!

I also run Vredesteins at the moment, and their specified max pressure of 175 (way off the scale of my track pump!) sounds a tad scary and can't be good for clincher rims. As a rule, I put 110-120 in mine, except for TTing when I bump it up to 130 tops.

David

domtyler

Most rims will tell you their max pressure (under the rim tape). Normally about 130 psi I think.
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DavidBelcher

domtyler wrote:

Most rims will tell you their max pressure (under the rim tape). Normally about 130 psi I think.

Mavic quote the figures somewhere on the website, too; I think it's about 140 for most of their 700c clincher models.

David

Ste_S

I got a pair of Rubino Pro's yesterday, and their stated range is 100-140psi. I normally run at 100psi, but thought I'd give them a go at half way inbetween the range at 120psi.

Never again, I've never felt so beaten up on a bike

peejay78

yes - if you overdo it the ride is a little harsh.

track pump - way to go.