Tyred Out!

[pershore]

Having returned to cycling after a 43yr lapse there have of course been some changes. One that I could with some advice on is tyres. Time was when you just pumped up tyres till they were hard. The new ones I have purchased have on them a recommended pressure of 40-65 psi. The bike is a Universal 12 speed All Terrain. It will mostly, if not entirely be ridden on the road, I weigh a mere 16 stone, so what would be a good tyre pressure please? as 40-65 psi seems quite a wide range? At present I have front and rear at 50 psi.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[RedBike]

For road riding the higher the pressure the better (increased efficiency/speed).
Off-road you want the tyres as low as you can get them (for grip)

65psi is actually a little on the low side for a road tyre and 40psi is a little on the high side for off-road.

What sort of tyres are these?

 

[Willow]

I ignore the pressure and pump until ... well like you said first

 

[Sittingduck]

I'm with Lee on this one. Pump them up to 65psi. You should notice it seems easier to ride on the road with harder tyres. I certainly did and I'm a big boy too.

Good luck with it
SD

 

[pershore]

Thanks for all the advice. Well I was 14 stone when I left the Army many years ago, went up to 19 stone and now down to 16! So maybe cycling will take my (as well as my wallets!) weight down a bit more!

 

[Tynan]

What tyres are they?

And for that matter what distance?

If it's mostly roads I'd suggest a moslty road tyre running at much higher pressure

 

[Randochap]

If you are mostly on road, I'd get "semi-slick" tyres, about 1.5". These have a few bumps on the outside but a slick centre. Pump these up to 65-75.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

My personal preference is front 10% lower thank back. So 65psi back would mean 58.5psi on the front. I do this as I am still 15 stone and thus a little overweight. That said I am in agreement with all who say higher pressure for road riding and lower for off road. Also Randochap makes a great point - The lower rolling resistance provided by narrower / slicker tyres improves your road riding experience immeasurably.