I'm sorry... who do you think you are?

joshtp
joshtp Posts: 3,966
edited October 2010 in The Crudcatcher
After getting a pinch flat yesterday, and deciding I hate them, I popped around to the LBS to pick up a beasty heavyweight tube to keep the snakes at bay till I go tubeless... I made a comment to the dude behind the counter about another flipping snakebite and whatnot...

To which he gave me the dreaded "at least 35psi" speech... now i dont know what pressure you guys run.... but i know alot of you run a hell of a lot less than 35 psi...! It might be OK for him... a big guy riding a orange 5 with lyrics around the smooth trails of out local woods.. slowly (iv seen him... he aint exactly Gee) but for me, a 9.5 stone rider, on a HT, with a smooth style, running big, meaty tyres 25psi is closer to the reality... no DH racer has ever run 35 psi plus... and while im hardly greg minnaar, it really ticked me off that he should be so forcefully cocky and arrogant about the fact that I HAD to run at least 35psi... I thought he wasn't going to sell me the tube unless I promised to run more pressure at one point....

So, ignoring him, I'm sticking with my 24psi on the front 28 on the back like I always run... its grippy, comfy and i dont pun*ture that often.....

Rant over/ lol
so, what pressures do ya'll run?
I like bikes and stuff
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Comments

  • El Capitano
    El Capitano Posts: 6,401
    NRS - 40psi front/rear
    XTC - 40psi front/rear
    Coiler - 40psi front/rear
    Commuter - 100psi front/rear
    TT Bike - 115psi front/rear
    Road - 110psi front/rear

    And, I've had two punctures this year, both on the commuter and both pinch flats! :shock:
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    ye, but your just a weirdy! :wink:

    so lets change this.... how many Aggressive riders running big tyres run more than 35psi? :lol:
    I like bikes and stuff
  • i run about 28 front, and 30 rear. having said that for london to brighton i did go up to 50psi, and im sticking with that atm, as i am mostly doing roadwork. they are 2.35 tyres on and HT, and im around 9 stone :)
  • MacAndCheese
    MacAndCheese Posts: 1,944
    I run about 40psi on my Wolf Ridge - but then again I don't weight 9 stone. To be fair to the guy if you complained about getting lots of snakebites he was giving you the correct advice.

    If you really want to run low pressures you could go tubeless?
    Santa Cruz Chameleon
    Orange Alpine 160
  • Me. Not that aggresive but a hard rider.

    The F/S has 38/40 and the H/T 38/38. Thats wahat the guage says anyhoo
    fly like a mouse, run like a cushion be the small bookcase!
  • Neily03
    Neily03 Posts: 295
    2.35 High Rollers - 20 front 25 rear, with Maxxis FR inner tubes, not had a puncture of any kind in yeeeeaaaars. :D Although I have sliced two side walls open but the inner tubes survived. :lol:
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Neily03 wrote:
    2.35 High Rollers - 20 front 25 rear, with Maxxis FR inner tubes, not had a puncture of any kind in yeeeeaaaars. :D Although I have sliced two side walls open but the inner tubes survived. :lol:
    similar situation to me...

    i supose he was only trying to help... but he was quite forceful.... i think it was more that he was implying that no one, ever ran less than 35 psi... but in reality most top riders run like 20psi in a DH race....
    I like bikes and stuff
  • weeksy59
    weeksy59 Posts: 2,606
    Are you running such low pressures becuase you've found it gives better grip, power and performance, or just being a sheep and because Gee Atherton runs 25psi then you must or you're just not one of the cool kids ?
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 2,086
    joshtp wrote:
    but for me, a 9.5 stone rider, on a HT, with a smooth style, running big, meaty tyres 25psi is closer to the reality
    On 2.5s? Maybe. On 2.35s, pump your tyres up.
    ... no DH racer has ever run 35 psi plus...
    You clearly don't know many DH racers.

    I've heard murmurs that Gee generally runs at least that if not more at most tracks. At places like Moelfre your rims would look like cogwheels by the bottom if you didn't run over 30psi in 2.5s. Out in France, you'd have to be a complete fruitloop to drop below 30, even if you're as light, smooth and svelte as myself, and that's on a bike that moves around when you slam the wheels into immovable objects. On a hardtail you need to be running more than that. Out in France in 2008 with a friend on a hardtail, he was running 60psi in his rear tyre just so it could keep up with the hits it was taking, and he STILL pinchflatted on one of our runs.

    Sure, if you're riding a steep, rooty, wet and slow course, then a lower pressure might be a fine plan, but for fast stuff, more pressure is required.

    The real tip is that if you're pinchflatting, you need to pump your tyres up more next time. Experienced bikeshop dude was right.
  • psymon
    psymon Posts: 1,562
    40psi ftw.

    i find anything lower and the bike squirms about too much, especially when landing from a jump. the tyre tries to roll of the rim.
  • soy_sauce
    soy_sauce Posts: 987
    35 psi for MTB

    65 psi for commuting
    "It is not impossible, its just improbable"

    Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 08
  • soy_sauce
    soy_sauce Posts: 987
    35 psi for MTB

    65 psi for commuting
    "It is not impossible, its just improbable"

    Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc 08
  • 360
    360 Posts: 5,940
    Most elite/expert racers I knew would never run less than 30psi.

    Too little pressure means tyre roll when cornering hard, crappy rolling resistance and more inconsistent grip.

    Your LBS monkey still sounds like a tool though.
  • Boy Lard
    Boy Lard Posts: 445
    360 I love your Avatar.

    This whole tyre pressure thing has confused me before. On my Highrollers it definitely says that I should run at a pressure between 35 and 65 psi. Why would I ignore this and run at less than 30?

    Currently I think front and rear on my bike are both around 40. I still get loads of flat tyres.
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    i run 2.35 continental verticals on the full suss and run them at around 40psi each,

    on my hardtail commuter i run 1.9's at around 55psi
    but i am 4.5 stone heavier than you!!!!! :shock: :lol:
  • 360
    360 Posts: 5,940
    Boy Lard wrote:
    360 I love your Avatar.

    This whole tyre pressure thing has confused me before. On my Highrollers it definitely says that I should run at a pressure between 35 and 65 psi. Why would I ignore this and run at less than 30?

    Currently I think front and rear on my bike are both around 40. I still get loads of flat tyres.

    What size are the highrollers?

    I had real problems with the 2.35 tyres, I liked them ebcause of the low rolling resistance but they definitely flat a hell of a lot more than the 2.5s
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 2,086
    That's cause you're enormous Sam.

    Lard, what rims and tubes?
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    I have about this much in the front (squeezes tyre) and a bit more in the back.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    OK, so in a 2.5 highroller.... as im running at the moment.... riding mostly wet and steep rooty type stuff, not too many big rock gardens, im a light rider, with a light style.... running normal lightweight XC tubes i get a pinch, say, every 6 months, normally around town on curbs and steps and stuff aswell... i cant remember the last time i had a pinch on the trail... any more than about 30 psi and i find i lack grip and the bike feels fidgety.

    so, really the extra thick tube was because, although i dont get them that often, a pinch puncture always ruins my ride... it takes ages to patch, and puncturing at all winds me up....

    so i dont think im in the wrong to run like 25psi... its not because its "wot the latest sick phat brendog is runnin itit!!!!11!!!" i find it works best for me, i dont get excess tyre roll, and i dont find it overly slow rolling... if im on the road alot or riding a really, really rocky trail ill top it up a little, but rarely over 30-35.

    I just think it was a little unhelpful and arrogant of the man in the bike shop to tell me i was stupid for running less than 35psi. Its personal preference more than anything.

    as with all things though, it has pro's and cons, it is slower and you are more at risk of flats, but for me, its worth it. Am i really the only one that finds lower pressures good? i run 9 psi in my trials bike for peats sake! :lol:
    I like bikes and stuff
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    oh, and my rims are wide, tough as old boots Mavic 3.1D ust's.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Boy Lard
    Boy Lard Posts: 445
    You can't ask me what rims and tubes I'm running, I haven't a clue......runs of to look on interwebz.

    I have a 2.1 xc highroller on the rear and a 2.35 Supertacky Highroller on the front. Apparently they are Bontrager Ranger rims and I think it's some Continental tubes, I don't know enough about them, I just go in to All Terrain and tell them I need another 2 tubes and they hand me 2 boxes and I give them about £8.
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    If I was running a bike shop I would encourage people to run as soft as possible. Lots of flats = lots of sales of inner tubes. :lol:
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 2,086
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I have a 2.1 xc highroller on the rear

    Well there's your problem!

    Seriously, if you look at one of those 2.1 highrollers wrong, they pinchflat just to spite you. A good tyre they aint.
  • El Capitano
    El Capitano Posts: 6,401
    Alex wrote:
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I have a 2.1 xc highroller on the rear

    Well there's your problem!

    Seriously, if you look at one of those 2.1 highrollers wrong, they pinchflat just to spite you. A good tyre they aint.

    That's what I'm running on the Coiler! :shock:
  • paul.skibum
    paul.skibum Posts: 4,068
    If you are pinch flatting on the rear you are braking too much.

    I dont ride high pressures (no idea what they are I use the hand squeeze ooh that's about right measure) - FS in Alps I got one pinch on the front landing on a square edged rock. I usually only pinch the rear sliding into corners on the rear brake - if I let off the brake it wouldnt happen but then it wouldnt be as much fun!
    Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Alex wrote:
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I have a 2.1 xc highroller on the rear

    Well there's your problem!

    Seriously, if you look at one of those 2.1 highrollers wrong, they pinchflat just to spite you. A good tyre they aint.

    That's what I'm running on the Coiler! :shock:

    those tyres are made of the cheapest toilet paper! i would run them for a xc race bike... but thats about it.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Boy Lard
    Boy Lard Posts: 445
    I was really impressed with the Highrollers, or at least the feel the gave me on the bike. I do tend to crash through stuff a lot, and I'm on a hardtail, I thought it was just me riding too heavy.
  • Alex
    Alex Posts: 2,086
    The 2.35 70as aren't too bad but the 2.1 70as are just weird. They come up at about 1.8", the walls are paper thin and by the time you've got enough pressure in them that they don't wibble and pinch, they're useless. Far better with a proper fast rolling XC tyre that's actually the volume it says on the sidewall :)
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I was really impressed with the Highrollers, or at least the feel the gave me on the bike. I do tend to crash through stuff a lot, and I'm on a hardtail, I thought it was just me riding too heavy.
    dont get me wrong, they have plenty of grip, but they really arnt that strong. I wouldnt run them on the back of a HT either, too narow and small, you really need a big tyre with a bit of squish, just to help the comfort, its faster too, you can really float over rocks.
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Boy Lard
    Boy Lard Posts: 445
    Actually, I have found myself spinning out when climbing rocks, over tree roots etc. They seemed ok in mud, but that is getting much worse now. What would you recommend to go on the back? I do some 25-30 mile rides most Saturdays and Sundays, so I don't want to cripple myself with the tyre drag.