What tyre pressure should I have on new bike?
omarm
Posts: 73
I've bought a folding mountain bike
The manual with the bike says I should inflate to the pressure shown on the tyres
The tyres say the pressure should be 50psi
That seems really high!!
My car tyres are only 30psi?
Or am I getting things wrong?
I started by doing a google - and found an article on this website - the article talks about NOT pumping to the maximum, and instead going for a lower value
Confused
Help!
Thanks
Omar
The manual with the bike says I should inflate to the pressure shown on the tyres
The tyres say the pressure should be 50psi
That seems really high!!
My car tyres are only 30psi?
Or am I getting things wrong?
I started by doing a google - and found an article on this website - the article talks about NOT pumping to the maximum, and instead going for a lower value
Confused
Help!
Thanks
Omar
0
Comments
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Forget about your car tyres. Completely different thing. My road bike has skinny little tyres inflated to 105psi.
What it says on the tyres is a maximum. Your pressure should be set to whatever feels comfortable on the terrain you're riding.
My MTB tyres say 35-55psi. I run them at around 28f/32r but that's personal preference.If I was riding Tarmac/canal towpaths etc I'd probably run them at around 40psi+.
Try a few different pressures to see what feels best.0 -
MTB pressure is dependant on how you ride, where you're riding and the conditions there. It can vary from around 35-55 as ibbo said.
Personally, if its muddy/wet or I'm riding areas with lots of rocks/roots, I'll use a lower pressure (35-40ish) than dry conditions on 'normal' surfaces.0 -
"Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
omarm wrote:I've bought a folding mountain bike
The manual with the bike says I should inflate to the pressure shown on the tyres
The tyres say the pressure should be 50psi
That seems really high!!
My car tyres are only 30psi?
Or am I getting things wrong?
I started by doing a google - and found an article on this website - the article talks about NOT pumping to the maximum, and instead going for a lower value
hehe, my first thought was that sounds low! My road bike tyres are 100-120psi. 50psi for MTB tyres sounds about right.
In general the bigger the tyre the lower the pressure, tractors may have pressures as low as 5psi.
But as said above, forget what you know about car tyres, it's mostly not relevant to cycling, same as the reason people think slick cycle tyres are no good in the wet etc.0 -
thanks for the replies guys
i was just confused - i thought car tyres where super high pressure carrying all that weight
i'll pump to 40 - 50 psi
i was planning to use a electric unit for pumping that i have in my car - any reason why NOT to use?
i was planning to take out for a ride in the morning - it's been raining all day!0 -
omarm wrote:i'll pump to 40 - 50 psi
i was planning to use a electric unit for pumping that i have in my car - any reason why NOT to use?
!
You have to be exceptionally careful with those, as bike tyres don't have anywhere near the volume of car tyres they can easily blow up your tubes. The best thing is a track pump http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-joe-blow ... rack-pump/0 -
@markhewitt1978 u might have saved me a blown tyre
but... i've seen pople use car tyre pumps at petrol pumps? surely thats the same thing?
let me know. thanks0 -
omarm wrote:@markhewitt1978 u might have saved me a blown tyre
but... i've seen pople use car tyre pumps at petrol pumps? surely thats the same thing?
let me know. thanks
Car tyre pumps are fine for car tyres. I've used my car pump to pump up pram wheels before so it can be done, you just have to be careful that's all.0 -
Use a human 'powered' car pump, but not an powered one!Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0
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I have used a electric car compressor to inflate mountain bike tyres , if you don't mind waiting 5 minutes while it inflates, its normally quicker to do it with a track pump.0
