# Tyre pressures on road bike



## Stockie (30 Mar 2012)

Hi guys. Just taken delivery of my first road bike and going out on it tomorrow. Question is should tyre pressures be at maximum, minimum or somewhere in between pressures stated on side of tyres. Also I read somewhere that back should be higher than front is this true????? Any advice would be helpful.


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## Nebulous (30 Mar 2012)

Now this is a question which really gets people going. Lots of opinions - no real answers.
Things to take into consideration are:-
rider weight - heavier = higher pressure.
road surface
personal preference
For what it's worth I tend to go towards the top end, particularly on the back, and leave 5-10 psi of difference between the two.


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## raindog (30 Mar 2012)

Stick 100psi in and you'll be ok


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## compo (30 Mar 2012)

I just do mine bloody 'ard as I haven't a pressure gauge that's of any use.


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## battered (30 Mar 2012)

Why not start in the middle and then try either side and see what you prefer? It's free.


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## biggs682 (30 Mar 2012)

as per sidewall .


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## HLaB (30 Mar 2012)

I'm not a heavy rider (9st 7 ish) so I tend to go with more comfort and grip; I run 90-95psi front, 100-105psi rear and don't top up if the roads look skittish. However, heavier riders tend to pinch p'ture more and need to ride their tyres at or near the max to reduce the chances of it happening. Folk say harder tyres roll better too but I can't notice the difference and IMO the more comfortable you are the longer and faster you'll be able to go. You need to find the right balance of comfort/grip and p'ture resistance for you.


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## kevin_cambs_uk (30 Mar 2012)

I run at anything over 110 in both front and back, seems okay to me


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## Dave7 (31 Mar 2012)

On my previous bike I had 23mm and used to pump them till they felt OK/hard when squeezed. Then I decided to get a "proper pump" with guage and pump them to the recommended mid pressure.........-it was like riding an old bone shaker. I soon changed to 25mm and lower pressure which helped a lot.


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## 172traindriver (31 Mar 2012)

110psi front and rear. I use Continental GP4000S 700X23 tyres and the maximum recommended pressure for the 23's is 120psi


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## smokeysmoo (31 Mar 2012)

I use GP4000s and Gatorskins on my two bikes, but as I'm a bit of a heffalump I run them at their max.


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## billy1561 (4 Apr 2012)

145 psi in both my ultremos


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## Nearly there (4 Apr 2012)

Being a heavier rider I have mine hard 100 psi front 115 on the back


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## tyred (4 Apr 2012)

The width of the tyres need to be took into account.


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## Jdratcliffe (4 Apr 2012)

i run mine at 115psi front and back Specialized all conditions top psi is 120 on side wall in only 12st ( 6ft 1) and i notice the different in ride if they drop 5/10psi softer yes but feel "wrong" to me but as with all answers experiment as there is no "right" pressure i used to have them at 100 and they felt slow and sluggish so try it out get a decent pump try the mid range and ride the same loop adjust the pressure as you do it each time.


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## billy1561 (4 Apr 2012)

Good advice from jd. The reason I have mine so high is because I'm 115 kg and that's the max pressure on the sidewall.


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## guitarpete247 (4 Apr 2012)

I'm now down to 83Kg but still run my Conti Ultra Sports at the max 116psi. I've always run my tyres at the max if I have a pressure gauge. If not I run them at _chuffin' _hard .


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## Jdratcliffe (4 Apr 2012)

guitarpete247 said:


> I'm now down to 83Kg but still run my Conti Ultra Sports at the max 116psi. I've always run my tyres at the max if I have a pressure gauge. If not I run them at _chuffin' _hard .


sometimes harder is not always best - harder tires can sometimes roll slower on rougher roads


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## MrGrumpy (4 Apr 2012)

on the pro3s its max pressure as 15 stone of pure muscle  can be an issue. (reminds me its lunch )


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## tyred (4 Apr 2012)

guitarpete247 said:


> I'm now down to 83Kg but still run my Conti Ultra Sports at the max 116psi. I've always run my tyres at the max if I have a pressure gauge. If not I run them at _chuffin' _hard .


 
I have a set of these on my Carlton and whereas it's true the highest safe pressure on the sidewall is 116psi, if you look at the Continental website, the recommended pressure for these is something like 83psi. Max pressure and recommended pressure are not the same thing and tyres that are too hard have less grip, less comfort, probably worse rolling resistance on real world road surfaces. 116psi would be fine if you regularly ride up and down on top of your snooker table, for the road, I would prefer lower.


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## guitarpete247 (4 Apr 2012)

tyred said:


> .... look at the Continental website, the recommended pressure for these is something like 83psi. Max pressure and recommended pressure are not the same thing ....


 
Just seen that. Mine are the 27" x 1 1/8" and they are rec. 80psi. I'll try them a little lower next time I go out and see how I get on. As all my riding is on country lanes I'm a little worried about the fairy leaving bits of thorn and twig about.


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## BigonaBianchi (4 Apr 2012)

135psi in my duranos....


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## Jdratcliffe (4 Apr 2012)

on a side note how often do you guys check/top up your pressures? i try and check mine every wed after commute( i commute 5 days a week 40miles a day) do any of you regularly flatten and re inflate?


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## ColinJ (4 Apr 2012)

I currently weigh 16 stone, 224 pounds or 102 kgs and I ride at about 90-95 psi front, 100-105 psi rear. If I didn't live in the UK with its poorly maintained roads, I'd use higher pressures, but I do, so I don't! 

I think that a lot of people think that tyres are not rolling efficiently unless they feel uncomfortable ... 

Incidentally, rims have limits too. My old Campagnolo Protons had limits lower than the Michelin tyres I used. No matter - I pumped the tyres to pressures lower than _both_ limits.


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## RaRa (4 Apr 2012)

I employ the "scientific" thumb test - if it's squishy i pump a bit more in. I have a track pump that tells me it's at 135psi but the guage is broken and starts at anything between 25 and 50 so i doubt if the real pressure is anything like this.


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## HLaB (4 Apr 2012)

Jdratcliffe said:


> on a side note how often do you guys check/top up your pressures? i try and check mine every wed after commute( i commute 5 days a week 40miles a day) do any of you regularly flatten and re inflate?


Some folk need to be more rigorous but I top up the road bike maybe once per week (I don't have a set routine) and if the roads look dodgy (which they have been upto 3wks ago) I don't bother topping up. On the town bike, the schrader valves seem better at keeping the air in (maybe because there was less pressure in the first place ), I think I've went a month or more between top ups.


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