Max tyre pressure

[HovR]

As others have said, if you are at 120PSI and are still getting pinch flats, then it is highly unlikely that these flats are caused by the pressure being too low.

I currently run my tires between 90 and 100, and am currently having no issues.. You might want to check that there is nothing sharp in your tire which could be giving each new tube you put in a slow puncture. (Thorns, glass, flint etc)

 

[MacB]

Like Colin I run lower pressures, am heavier than him and have only ever had one pinch puncture, but the pothole also wrecked the rear wheel so not sure it's a fair comparison.

Tyre fitting will vary with rims but I've had no problems so far and always managed to get the tyres on by hand only. There are good videos around, Spa Cycles did one, on fitting tougher tyres like and M+, they include use of straps, but I haven't found that is required. I follow the following routine:-

check the rim tape
put a bit of air in tube
seat tube in tyre
put valve through valve hole, not too far and hold in place with valve locking nut, make sure it's nice and straight
seat on the first half of the tyre
go round pushing tube well on to the rim
starting at valve I seat other half of tyre about half way round each side, so for 90 degrees each side of valve
I then let the air out of the tube
carry on seating tyre on one side only, aiming to finish at about 2-3o'clock if the valve was at 6 o'clock
as I work round I keep making sure the inner tube is well over the rim as much towards the far side of the tyre as possible
I also make sure that the already fitted sections have the tyre well into the rim and hold like that with pressure against my body
if it gets tight at the end then I work round the already fitted parts squeezing the edges of the tyre together and into the well/centre of the rim
the last bit can be tough but has always popped over with manipulation of thumbs and making sure the tyre is centrally seated and pushed in at other points


I'm sure someone will be along soon to mention talc, but I don't bother with it. Though I do keep an eye on valve stems, if they start to go wonky then there's creep occuring. I've also heard that too narrow a tyre, on too wide a rim, can make a setup more vulnerable to pinch punctures, but I don't know as I haven't run a setup like that.

 

[ColinJ]

Colin - could you elaborate on the correct way to mount a tyre to avoid damaging the tube? I ask be because I've punctured a tube twice in the process of mounting a tyre.

I was regularly making the same 2 mistakes until the experienced cyclist put me right:

1. I wasn't putting any air in the tube before feeding it under the tyre. That makes it easier to pinch the tube between the beading of the tyre and the rim. Don't overdo it though, or you won't get the tyre on! I just put enough air in the tube to give it some shape, but not to make it firm. Once you've got the tyre on, check all the way round both sides of the tyre to make sure that you haven't pinched the tube anywhere BEFORE YOU PUMP IT UP! Be especially careful at the valve. (I start at the valve. Push that into the back of the tyre to make sure the tube isn't trapped there, then I work my way round to the valve again, squeezing the side of the tyre in to see if the tube is pinched.)
2. I was using tyre levers to put the tyre back on and was damaging the tubes with them. Now, I can usually get the tyre on using my fingers hooked over the top of the tyre and the gloved palm of my hand to roll the last bit on. If I have a very stubborn tyre, I'll very carefully use a tyre lever to do it. Globalti recommends using talcum powder on the tyre beading to 'lube' it and it apparently will slide on nice and easy. I'll have to give it a go next time., but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Hip Priest]

Many thanks. I think No.2 was the cause of my problems. I'll certainly bear all that on board next time.

 

[HLaB]

1. I was using tyre levers to put the tyre back on and was damaging the tubes with them. Now, I can usually get the tyre on using my fingers hooked over the top of the tyre and the gloved palm of my hand to roll the last bit on. If I have a very stubborn tyre, I'll very carefully use a tyre lever to do it. Globalti recommends using talcum powder on the tyre beading to 'lube' it and it apparently will slide on nice and easy. I'll have to give it a go next time., but I haven't tried it yet.

Touch wood, I've never pinched a tube putting it in but since reading it here or the old c+ forum a few year back I started using talc and that may have helped.

 

[CamPhil]

I aim to finish at the valve, as the valve stops you from putting the bead into the well at that point.
The last bit is the only part that you can guarantee never to have to get the bead right down into the well of the rim, so I start opposite the valve and work both ways towards it.
It's always worked for me, even on some seriously "heavy duty" combinations - I never needed to use levers even to fit motorcycle tyres (although I never had a motorcycle with tubeless, which probably do need levers).

The other thing, and one which doesn't seem to have been mentioned, is going around the rim both sides after fitting and with only a little air in, to make sure the fitting line is equidistant from the rim all the way around and massaging the tyre into place if it isn't.

 

[addictfreak]

BC the Schwalbe Ultremo's can inflate to 145psi max which is what I was running on for 600 miles without a puncture, and as mentioned by Sabian 92 all pressure min and max is on each tyre sidewall

That must have been a pretty harsh ride on 145psi!

 

[Scousegaz]

No it wasnt actually but i have reduced the pressures to 110 psi rear and 100 front which is obviously a smoother ride

 

[ColinJ]

BTW - it's not just tyres that have a maximum pressure rating - wheel rims do too! My Campagnolo Protons are rated at 113 PSI for 23C tyres (104 PSI for 25C) but I only run them at 90/100 PSI(front/rear) with 23Cs.

 

[BC BOOTLE]

Just ordered some schwalbe M+,wish me luck

....thanks for all the invaluable advice ,

, the 145 psi did seem a bit excessive,I never did try it,especially considering the 14 tyres on my truck only run at 120 psi