Tire pressure

GoldenMotor.com

velardejose

New Member
Sep 9, 2008
120
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Lima, Peru
I bought a pcl tire pressure manometer yesterday
Checked my tires today
They were at ~25 psi
Brought the tire pressure up to 40 psi
MB is quicker than before
Jose
 

cachehiker

New Member
Jul 9, 2008
35
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Hyde Park / Logan, UT
All tires have an ideal pressure for the conditions they're being used for. My mountain tires are typically inflated from 35 psi (beefy knobbies on rough trails) to 70 psi (narrow semi-slicks on pavement).

In general, higher pressures mean lower rolling resistance. However, there exists a point where higher pressures actually result in higher rolling resistance. It takes energy to lift a bike up and over a bump in the road and unless you're at the velodrome, at some point the energy being used to lift a bike up and over the bumps exceeds the energy being lost to tire deformation.

The difference in speed vs. pressure vs. terrain is especially obvious on my cyclocross bike. On a race course, 35-40 psi rules as it sucks up all the surface irregularities and allows you to ride faster. On the road, 35-40 psi is like riding my mountain bike whereas 65 psi is actually pretty quick.
 

velardejose

New Member
Sep 9, 2008
120
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Lima, Peru
I was scared because of a post about apparent spontaneous tire exploding
Recommended pressure is 40-65 for my tires (Cheng shin c917-12)
I think I will stick to the min value
Jose
 
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brisbane_boy

New Member
Oct 26, 2008
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Australia Brisbane
Yer i pump my motored bike tyres to 40psi. and on my racing bike i pump them between 80psi and 120psi.

Yer probly better on the motored bike to not have then so hard because if they are like 60psi they are very easy to puncture.
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
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up north now
Alrighty, that thread is an older one, and it was just one tire in one instance.

I wouldn't worry TOO much, but, like with some early hang glider designs- "never fly higher than you want to fall" or "Never ride faster than you want to crash."