Tyre pressures

1981miked

Just had a thought, what sort of tyre pressures should road bikes be running? Been into the whole road cycling thing for just over a month after years riding an mtb...loving the road bike more and more every ride, was out again tonight for another 20 mile ride. Ahh how the miles whittle away on a road bike (mine's is a 2007 Giant Scr 2.0), looking forward to building up the distances over the next few months, can't wait to get my Sidi Genius shoes either, any recommendations for pedals? Don't have fortune to spend, maybe up to £50...

redddraggon

1981miked wrote:

Just had a thought, what sort of tyre pressures should road bikes be running?

What tyres? What size? What's the road surface like? What's the weather like? How heavy is the rider? You need to ask these question to decide on the pressure

I generally run mine between 100-120psi, both 23s and 25s.

pedylan

What reddragon said

And Look Keo Classics are a good road pedal at the price you mention. Discuss cleats with your LBS to decide on how much float and hence what specific cleat to go for.

1981miked

Holy crap....

Questions questions my friend, thanx for the insight though, didn't realise it was that technical. I reckon they are 25's and made by Michelin, im nearly 12 stone and the roads around here are smooth-ish. Would 100-110 be a good general pressure to go with?

1981miked

Thanks Pedylan,

I was looking at those pedals and will visit my LBS to see them and discuss the float etc...then maybe hit the net for the deals.

redddraggon

1981miked wrote:

Holy crap....

Questions questions my friend, thanx for the insight though, didn't realise it was that technical. I reckon they are 25's and made by Michelin, im nearly 12 stone and the roads around here are smooth-ish. Would 100-110 be a good general pressure to go with?

100-110 sounds about right.

Have a look at the 105 or Ultegra SPD-SL pedals, I've got 105 pedals on all my bikes (even the campag ones) and they are faultless and they are only about £30.

1981miked

Thanks Redddragon,

As always any advice supplied on here is excellent and given no problem, i looked at the 105's and the 540's, they are £39.99 and £29.95 respectively from evans. I suppose it maybe comes down to which ones i prefer the look of as they must be quite simaliar in terms of components used, durability, weight and performance at that price....

heavymental

Check the guidance on the sidewall of the tyre for PSI. I often see 110 or 120 recommended here, but when I looked at one of my tyres it said 90 was the max. I was glad I didn't start forcing it up to 120. Generally speaking I find 100 is enough anyway. They're like rock if you pump them to 120. I don't use a guage usually but just pump them unti they can't be squeezed between thumb and forefinger. Thats good enough for me.

redddraggon

1981miked

I find ebay the cheapest place for Pedals. Don't get the R540s they won't last as long as the new 105s (I got both the new 105s and old which are similar to the r540s).

Look for ones like this :

Rather than like this:

The plastic plate bit on the pedal wears out really quickly, it's a better bet to go for the metal plated ones.