Tyre pressures on road bike

[billy1561]

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.

 

[guitarpete247]

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 .

 

[Jdratcliffe]

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

 

[MrGrumpy]

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

 

[tyred]

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.

 

[guitarpete247]

.... 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.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

135psi in my duranos....

 

[Jdratcliffe]

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?

 

[ColinJ]

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.

 

[RaRa]

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.

 

[HLaB]

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.