What Pressure ?

huwy
huwy Posts: 91
edited September 2008 in Workshop
Do you run your 700/23c tyres at for optimium comfort and puncture prrofing ?

Comments

  • cock_sportif
    cock_sportif Posts: 106
    I generally go for the recommended upper limit - usually about 120 psi. Check the tire wall for the upper-lower psi.
  • cyclingpunk
    cyclingpunk Posts: 368
    For speed go dor the top end of the maximum PSI as noted on the tyre. Recently though I have been running at 90-100PSI for a bit more comfort. I am under 60kilos though.
    My Madone: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... highlight=
  • iga
    iga Posts: 155
    I've always tended to run 110 rear 100 front. Seems to give a bit more compliance and slightly less skitish in the wet (but that might be my imagination!).
    FCN 7
    Aravis Audax, Moulton TSR
  • bigflangesmallsprocket
    bigflangesmallsprocket Posts: 2,443
    80-90 (80 would definitely be ABSOLUTE minimum though, then it starts to feel sloppy). I'm quite light so pumping any higher turns my tyres solid with no comfort. Michelin have a table of recommended pressures depending on weight of rider, which makes sense. You need some deflection for comfort and a pressure that feels quite hard for a light rider might be very soggy on a fa.....more generously proportioned rider.
    Jam butties, officially endorsed by the Diddymen Olympic Squad
  • bobtravers
    bobtravers Posts: 115
    105 on both wheels... Seem to be a good average pressure for comfort and performance... No problem hitting 40 mph on wet tarmac!!! I'm 6'1 and 85 kg...
  • Jez mon
    Jez mon Posts: 3,809
    If it's a nice surface, I might push the pressure to 110/120. But usually I put around 90 to 100 in my tyres. I'm 55/56 kgs though, but I race so don't care about comfort. However, though my arse can tolerate 120 psi I find on rough surfaces the tyre will skip all over the place when putting power down.

    I would recommend just experimenting with pressures to find what suits you and the roads you use
    You live and learn. At any rate, you live
  • simplesimoncardiff
    simplesimoncardiff Posts: 37
    125 on the back (maximum my rims'll take) and 115-120 on the front. Comfort doesn't bother me, it's all about speed! 78kg.
    tmacsigcopy.jpg
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    The thing the high pressure merchants miss is that unless the surface is perfectly smooth you can lose more energy from bouncing around on tyres pumped up hard than you gain from the lower losses in the tyres. Personally at 70kg I normally run ~100psi - maybe a tad higher in the back - despite the tyres and rims being rated for more.
  • Cajun
    Cajun Posts: 1,048
    I also run about 110-115psi on rear; 100-110 on front.... the tyres I have are rated 150psi, but the wheels are rated max. 125psi.... so be sure to check the wheel's max..
    Cajun
  • nickcuk
    nickcuk Posts: 275
    How much 'sitting tyre bulge' do you all work on ? I pumpo until it's getting hard work, sit on the bike a few times and watch for just a slight tyre bulge, then I reckon it's time to stop
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    I think there's some variation in ideal pressure for different tyre brands. My Fortezza tricomps are great at 125psi, but for many other brands that would be far too much. Must be something to do with the elastic properties of the type of compound used (or something like that).
  • unclemalc
    unclemalc Posts: 563
    I'm still heavy (85kilos) so 120 psi at the back to avoid tyre bulge but ~100 psi front so its not like riding a solid.
    Spring!
    Singlespeeds in town rule.
  • ridgerider
    ridgerider Posts: 2,852
    The bloke in the Mavic support caravan on the Marmotte was telling everyone "seven", meaning 7 atmospheres which I think translates to about 100psi.
    Half man, Half bike
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    I've got Fortezza Tricomps on 3 of my 5 wheelsets and feel the need to put a tad more air into those than other tyres.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
    2008 Wilier Izoard
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Yeah - the Conti mechanic at IronMan was saying 100 PSI - no higher. I'm 77Kg - and its saved me a lot of pumping !
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    100-120
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • bigflangesmallsprocket
    bigflangesmallsprocket Posts: 2,443
    "How much 'sitting tyre bulge' do you all work on ? I pumpo until it's getting hard work, sit on the bike a few times and watch for just a slight tyre bulge, then I reckon it's time to stop"

    Thats the sort of thing that I used to do, but honestly, it's sooooo much easier since I bought a track pump with a gauge. it's just a few strokes in an easy standing position. No faffing about bouncing on the barsor saddle to test for deflection, once you know your preferred pressure then the pressure gauge takes care of that for you. You can buy a decent track pump for the same as many handpumps these days too.
    Jam butties, officially endorsed by the Diddymen Olympic Squad
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    aracer wrote:
    The thing the high pressure merchants miss is that unless the surface is perfectly smooth you can lose more energy from bouncing around on tyres pumped up hard than you gain from the lower losses in the tyres. Personally at 70kg I normally run ~100psi - maybe a tad higher in the back - despite the tyres and rims being rated for more.

    I agree ... i am 74kg and typically run 105 or maybe 110 at the back max. in the heat in the mountains i'd do 105 max

    on really smooth roads it is faster to go higher though. max i ever run on the road is 120.

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