I can't take the pressure...

wantaway
wantaway Posts: 96
edited July 2009 in Commuting chat
Finally got round to buying a track pump yesterday as I thought I’d stop giving my arms a weekly work out whilst I struggled with a hand pump. It has though made me want to ask yet another stupid question...

How high a tyre pressure does everyone run? My pressure was about 60psi.- way lower than I had thought (although I had not topped them up in ages so was less than I would normally have). I managed to inflate them up to just over 100 before I got nervous and my tyres turned into rocks). The difference was shocking. Lord knows what it would be like if I went up to the recomended 120. Does everyone on here really cycle with 120psi?
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Comments

  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    i always pump the tyres to the maximum pressure allowed - on my 32c tyres this is only 80psi, but on the Specialised CX tyres this was 100psi. I'e had my road bike 25c ones up to 120psi without a problem.

    don't worry it's not THAT often the tyres explodes ripping off your head...... :wink:



    (usually it just clips you and leaves you horribly disfigured)
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
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    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • Agent57
    Agent57 Posts: 2,300
    I run 100psi in my tyres (standard 700x20c and 700x23c road tyres).
    MTB commuter / 531c commuter / CR1 Team 2009 / RockHopper Pro Disc / 10 mile PB: 25:52 (Jun 2014)
  • soy_sauce
    soy_sauce Posts: 987
    edited July 2009
    i run 55 psi when the max limit for my tyres is 60 psi. EDIT: mine is 26"

    same as you, i think i should go just under the max limit.... just in case.... :roll:
    "It is not impossible, its just improbable"

    Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 08
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    110psi front 115psi rear on 700x23c.

    The pressure you need is a function of tyre size and rider weight, and the trade-off between comfort and puncture protection. Add into the mix the rolling resistance and handling, which can alter with psi.
  • Deadeye Duck
    Deadeye Duck Posts: 419
    Wasn't it tested somewhere that you could go down to 70% of the max tyre pressure before a difference was possible to be noticed by riding it.

    Regardless of that, I try and ride at about 110psi both tyres as much as I can (check pressure weekly.
    Schwinn Fastback Comp : FCN 5
    The Flying Scot : FCN 515q6cuv.png
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  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    I used to run 120psi in my 700x23's but was advised that 100/110 was better - smoother ride and more grip. It's true, especially on a stiff carbon frame like the Prince.
  • sarajoy
    sarajoy Posts: 1,675
    Mine say between 110 and 120 on the tyres, I think.

    But I can't seem to push more than 100 out of my track pump without doing myself a mischief! So 100psi it is.

    How long does it take you lot's tyres to lose pressure? Some weeks it seems they lose a lot fast, others I'm surprised how high they've stayed. Guess it could be to do with the weather too..
    4537512329_a78cc710e6_o.gif4537512331_ec1ef42fea_o.gif
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    The commuter tyres have between 100-110 psi in them, but it's probably closer to 100 by the time you take the pump off and lose air etc.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Rich158
    Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    100-110 psi all round for me. I've never had a problem with my track pump, even my frame pump gets up to 80-90 without too much effort.
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

    Revised FCN - 2
  • jimjamyaharr
    jimjamyaharr Posts: 96
    I have 26" MTB wheels so I tend to run about 55psi for my cummute but tend to drop that to about 45psi when off-road in dry weather.
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    edited July 2009
    About 90psi for me and my 65kgs on 700x23. Used to go to 120 in my yoof but that was on 700x18s...

    http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • jimjamyaharr
    jimjamyaharr Posts: 96
    I have 26" MTB wheels so I tend to run about 55psi for my cummute but tend to drop that to about 45psi when off-road in dry weather.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    16 stone.

    120psi on my GP4000s and Ultra sport

    110/115psi on my Conti 4 seasons
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • shoulder_of_orion
    shoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    I go a bit under the max (120 psi) about 100-110. Mainly due to back pains and my unforgiving Alu frame.

    The guy at Edwardes bike shop in Camberwell told me that it is impossible to over-inflate road tires.
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    Shoulder of Lamb wrote:
    I go a bit under the max (120 psi) about 100-110. Mainly due to back pains and my unforgiving Alu frame.

    The guy at Edwardes bike shop in Camberwell told me that it is impossible to over-inflate road tires.
    Must be true, then :roll:
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • jimjamyaharr
    jimjamyaharr Posts: 96
    Its not with a compressor :lol:
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    about 100/110 with old red so 23mm

    about 60/80 with big green 38mm tires

    and 50 with the 1.9 inch tires on the MTB,

    i like tires to be harder than softer on the whole.
  • shoulder_of_orion
    shoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    I was using his track pump and the pressure gauge was bust and I said that I was afraid of overinflating them and he told me it was impossible - maybe he just meant with that pump??
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    Shoulder of Lamb wrote:
    I was using his track pump and the pressure gauge was bust and I said that I was afraid of overinflating them and he told me it was impossible - maybe he just meant with that pump??

    possibly yes, most pumps have there limits, mine i don't think would get near racing tub pressures ie 200+ but is fine at just over 100 or so.
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    At my weight anything less than super rock hard and my tyres become sponges and start sucking up tarmac...
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • jonginge
    jonginge Posts: 5,945
    Shoulder of Lamb wrote:
    I was using his track pump and the pressure gauge was bust and I said that I was afraid of overinflating them and he told me it was impossible - maybe he just meant with that pump??
    Difficult to say ;) But depending on tyres, tubes I think it would be possible to catastrophically overinflate with a track pump. Hell, I've blown tubes with a hand pump (admittedly they may already have been a bit sick).

    Anyway, to me overinflation means you've gone beyond the optimum tradeoff between rolling resistence and traction.
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • bratboy
    bratboy Posts: 82
    When racing on GP Supersonics (700x23c) I would pump them to 160psi - or until I couldn't get any more in ;)

    For training on Gatorskins 700x25c I run them between 100-120psi dependant on the conditions.

    And for messying around on mixed surface ride on my CX with Mich Mud2s (700x30c) I run at around 45psi.
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    If you haven't tried these things, you should.
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  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    I apply the "factory grease" model to tyre pressures.

    NEVER clean your chain with solvent. Factory grease that chains come pre-loaded with is frictionless and eternal - if you wash it off and replace with other lube (that will be made from finely ground sand) your chain will seize solid within days.*

    Same with tyre pressures - the LBS tea boy pumped them up when I bought it and I don't trust aftermarket air. NEVER inflate your tyres.




    * not at all true.
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • Rich158
    Rich158 Posts: 2,348
    JonGinge wrote:
    Shoulder of Lamb wrote:
    I was using his track pump and the pressure gauge was bust and I said that I was afraid of overinflating them and he told me it was impossible - maybe he just meant with that pump??
    Difficult to say ;) But depending on tyres, tubes I think it would be possible to catastrophically overinflate with a track pump. Hell, I've blown tubes with a hand pump (admittedly they may already have been a bit sick).

    Anyway, to me overinflation means you've gone beyond the optimum tradeoff between rolling resistence and traction.

    It's certainly possible, I've seen guys blow out on the start line of a sportive before. It makes a hell of a bang :shock:
    pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................

    Revised FCN - 2
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    run around 60 in my mtb for the road, a bit less off-road. 110psi in my roadie, the extra softness makes it faster in my mind.

    As for max pressure, check this video out!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDLVBPspSK4
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Greg T wrote:
    I apply the "factory grease" model to tyre pressures.

    NEVER clean your chain with solvent. Factory grease that chains come pre-loaded with is frictionless and eternal - if you wash it off and replace with other lube (that will be made from finely ground sand) your chain will seize solid within days.*

    Same with tyre pressures - the LBS tea boy pumped them up when I bought it and I don't trust aftermarket air. NEVER inflate your tyres.




    * not at all true.
    It is all true!

    Bike shops have stopped the sale of any factory grease and only allow that cheap aftermarket crap so that we have to keep buying new components and eventually bikes...

    Same with aftermarket air. A factory pumped inner tube won't get punctures...
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    ride_whenever wrote:
    110psi in my roadie, the extra softness makes it faster in my mind.

    +1. Above that and things start to get a bit uncomfortable on these roads.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    edited July 2009
    At my weight anything less than super rock hard and my tyres become sponges and start sucking up tarmac...

    +1, Conti GP4000s, 120PSI rear 110PSI front. I'm about 90-95 KGs, and have a lot of natural padding on my ar*e to absorb the extra bumpiness from the harder tyres.
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

    FCN = 3 - 5
    Colnago World Cup 2
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Max pressure on everything, but as has been said above, it's probably a bit under once some air has escaped when I take the pump off.
    FCN 7/1
    Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
  • the_hundredth_idiot
    the_hundredth_idiot Posts: 813
    I run my 700x25c Gatorskins at 90 PSI usually. I used to pump them up a bit higher to 100 but the ride felt a bit harsher - and I'm a comfort kind of guy (which is why I have 25s in the first place :lol: and a steel framed bike. Oh, and a comfyish saddle.).
    Never be tempted to race against a Barclays Cycle Hire bike. If you do, there are only two outcomes. Of these, by far the better is that you now have the scalp of a Boris Bike.

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