Advice on tyre pressures

[MagicThighs]

Just acquired my first road bike, a GT GTR Series 5. Having ridden a basic mountain bike for the past few months, I'm not sure what pressure to run the new tyres at.

The tyres are Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c, and on the sidewall they have a 100-145psi pressure range. If I understand things right, it is better to run tyres at a higher pressure as they are less likely to pick up punctures? Still, 145psi seems pretty high when I've been used to putting 80psi in my MTB tyres. I guess the key issue is how hard I want the ride to be.

I should mention that I am about 18st, which might have a bearing on recommended pressures!!!

 

[Alien8]

In general, within the spec of your kit, I'd say pump them up as high as you're comfortable with. If you find your rides too harsh then let a bit of air out or maybe consider going to 25's. For reference I tend to ride with mine somewhere between 100-120psi (but you have about 6st on me). With respect to punctures, regular (like post every ride) checking and digging out of embedded bits is a good way to avoid flats.

 

[Dave7]

Having 'tested' the pressure with my thumbs for years and then buying/using a pump with guage I was gob smacked at the difference it made........it was like riding a jack-hammer . I changed from 23mm to 25mm which made it slightly better but quickly let some air out.......much better.
I am only 11 stone which may make a difference.

 

[HLaB]

Somebody posted on here a while ago a good link to a report which discussed psi's. I run marginally higher than recommended; 90-95psi front, 100-105psi rear but I'm sub 10st. A lower psi gives a more comfortable, grippier ride but it might be more liable to p'tures and some folk say higher psi's roll better (although I can't tell the difference). All I can really suggest is experiment and find what is the best balance for you.

 

[Nearly there]

Just acquired my first road bike, a GT GTR Series 5. Having ridden a basic mountain bike for the past few months, I'm not sure what pressure to run the new tyres at.

The tyres are Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c, and on the sidewall they have a 100-145psi pressure range. If I understand things right, it is better to run tyres at a higher pressure as they are less likely to pick up punctures? Still, 145psi seems pretty high when I've been used to putting 80psi in my MTB tyres. I guess the key issue is how hard I want the ride to be.

I should mention that I am about 18st, which might have a bearing on recommended pressures!!!

Taking your weight into consideration having them at a higher pressure will reduce the chance of pinch flats.

 

[brockers]

http://www.ctc.org.uk/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=3802

Scroll down to the bottom. There's a graph there.