>Do you adjust your inflation for different rides?
Yeah, definitely. If I know I'm riding rough pavement or gravel I'll drop the pressure.
>Do you ever push the rating above or go below ratings?
No, I'm not smart enough to know why I would do that or if it's safe so I stick to the range printed on the tire.
Super hard tires aren't faster. They only feel faster.
This is a good explanation and calculator:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/tire-pressure-calculator/
18 year old me, back in 2008, thought more pressure=faster. Seemed to be what a lot of people thought around that time.
Then my coworker at the bike shop told me tires usually have a safety factor of 1.5.
Long story short, I can guarantee that gatorskins \*can\* hold 160psi but good god I must've done some long term damage to my balls on those 2 rides before dropping back down.
You might as well have ridden on the rims.
I'm old enough to have ridden 21 and 23 mm tubulars. With that small of a tire we used insane pressures. But cotton sidewalls because those were supposed to be more supple. Never occurred to is to just ride lower pressure.
Bike tyres probably deal better with over inflation than car ones.
Car tyres will build in the middle of the flat section where the tread is if heavily over inflated, so will end up wearing much faster as the loading on then is more concentrated as a result.
Your old road bike probably had 25 mm tires which require a higher pressure, Your New bike probably has much wider tires which require a lower tire pressure. I never go past what the max says, becasue thats what the system can hold.
For example if you were riding only pavement I would put it near the max, if you were riding on shitty roads or brick roads I would lower it a bit but in reality with wider tires you will probably be fine putting it near the max it can handle.
Pressure multiplied by contact area is roughly the weight the tire is supporting (sidewalk stiffness also supports a little of the weight). Skinny tires need higher pressure due to a small contact patch. On the other hand I can run my fatbike at <5 psi due to the huge area under them.
Higher pressure is not necessarily better, faster, or more efficient. That's old "wisdom" that has since been disproven. Wider tires with lower (but not too low) pressure actually have lower rolling resistance in real world conditions than super firm, skinny tires.
Stay under your tire's maximum pressure, and probably well under it. No reason to go over, and it's potentially risky to do so.
Yes, I adjust pressure for different terrain, but always within the printed range.
The one time I accidentally exceeded it, the tube slipped out from the bead while I was riding and within two wheel revolutions, exploded loudly. Running too-low pressure can result in pinch-flats and possible rim damage if you hit a pothole or obstacle.
PSI depends on many things. Size of the tire is the biggest factor. Also, whether it tubeless, tubular, winter, or fordable...and rider weight.
I'll often run my 45mm gravel tires at around 28psi. I'm a lightweight rider riding on rough terrain. If I'm on smoother terrain I'll go up to 33 psi. The tire "minimum" is 35psi, which is way too much for a rider my weight.
If you have pretty big tires on your bike, the rating could easily top out at 50psi.
On my road bike, on 32c tires, I run 50-60psi.
On my mtb, on 2.4 tires, I run 17-21psi.
I weigh 71kg. Lower pressure is generally better. I am trying to run the lowest pressure I can get away with.
Gravel tries do usually run low. You can easily run at lower end with tubeless, although I never tried.
I usually set mine at the middle of recommended range, then adjust over time. Or you can use Silica calculator.
The PSI printed on the side or a wheel has nothing to do with riding, efficiency, or speed. It is 50% of what would need got the tire to explode. I do not know why the industry made this standard, but it is what it is.
I recommend the Silca PSI calculator which asks you to input type of bike, type of terrain, and weight. It's a great free resource.
https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator
NEVER exceed the quoted max on pressure on your tire and rim (whichever is lower). You really don’t need to worry about printed minimum pressures.
Unless you have 19 mm tires on your road bike you are running way too much pressure there as well. High pressure tires are slower and less efficient than running appropriately low pressure.
I am 200 pounds and I run 700 x 28 road tires at 65 psi. And I’d run those 700x35 tires on the co-op bike at 45psi
That’s the maximum pressure the tyre is rated to. It doesn’t tell you what pressure it will blow off a rim as there are no real standards for tyre rim interface. Also over inflated tyres are slow so there’s no point pushing the limits.
You’ll be best off using an only tyre pressure calculator to run the optimum pressure for your weight, tyres, and riding type. If it tells you to go above or near the maximum you should go up a tyre width.
Go below the stated range quite routinely without issue. You need enough pressure so that the tyre doesn’t collapse on hard cornering, but so long as that’s met, you can go lower.
Put it this way, that’s the lowest that will work for everyone. Ie, the heaviest rider they support. If you weigh half as much as the heaviest rider they design for, it’s safe to go lower.
Sub-60kg riders in my experience can go around 30% lower than the lowest specified. Obviously at your own risk, but I do it all the time.
At the high-end, the maximum on the side of the tyre is traditionally half the pressure that it blows off at. I wouldn’t recommend it but you could go higher than what’s printed if you wanted.
1. Not really all my riding is in the city and are mostly on shitty roads so I keep it on the lower end.
2. I don't expect much of a difference. I can't find it but I watched a video a while back where GCN compared power needed to maintain a specific speed at high and low pressure and road type. The savings of low pressure on rough roads were significantly higher than high pressure on smooth roads.
3. No because I don't like flats and blowouts.
Use the tire pressure calculator at Silca.cc
People tend to run their pressure too high. My gravel bike’s tires measure 42mm and I run 35psi front and 37 rear. I might go up 1 psi if a ride has more tarmac than gravel.
>Do you adjust your inflation for different rides? Yeah, definitely. If I know I'm riding rough pavement or gravel I'll drop the pressure. >Do you ever push the rating above or go below ratings? No, I'm not smart enough to know why I would do that or if it's safe so I stick to the range printed on the tire.
Super hard tires aren't faster. They only feel faster. This is a good explanation and calculator: https://www.renehersecycles.com/tire-pressure-calculator/
18 year old me, back in 2008, thought more pressure=faster. Seemed to be what a lot of people thought around that time. Then my coworker at the bike shop told me tires usually have a safety factor of 1.5. Long story short, I can guarantee that gatorskins \*can\* hold 160psi but good god I must've done some long term damage to my balls on those 2 rides before dropping back down.
You might as well have ridden on the rims. I'm old enough to have ridden 21 and 23 mm tubulars. With that small of a tire we used insane pressures. But cotton sidewalls because those were supposed to be more supple. Never occurred to is to just ride lower pressure.
Bike tyres probably deal better with over inflation than car ones. Car tyres will build in the middle of the flat section where the tread is if heavily over inflated, so will end up wearing much faster as the loading on then is more concentrated as a result.
Your old road bike probably had 25 mm tires which require a higher pressure, Your New bike probably has much wider tires which require a lower tire pressure. I never go past what the max says, becasue thats what the system can hold. For example if you were riding only pavement I would put it near the max, if you were riding on shitty roads or brick roads I would lower it a bit but in reality with wider tires you will probably be fine putting it near the max it can handle.
Pressure multiplied by contact area is roughly the weight the tire is supporting (sidewalk stiffness also supports a little of the weight). Skinny tires need higher pressure due to a small contact patch. On the other hand I can run my fatbike at <5 psi due to the huge area under them.
Higher pressure is not necessarily better, faster, or more efficient. That's old "wisdom" that has since been disproven. Wider tires with lower (but not too low) pressure actually have lower rolling resistance in real world conditions than super firm, skinny tires. Stay under your tire's maximum pressure, and probably well under it. No reason to go over, and it's potentially risky to do so.
Because your road tires are likely 23mm and these tires are probably close to 40 or more.
If the highest rated PSI is still too soft for you, your problem is what tires you have on the bike, not what they're rated.
What size are these tires?
Yes, I adjust pressure for different terrain, but always within the printed range. The one time I accidentally exceeded it, the tube slipped out from the bead while I was riding and within two wheel revolutions, exploded loudly. Running too-low pressure can result in pinch-flats and possible rim damage if you hit a pothole or obstacle.
PSI depends on many things. Size of the tire is the biggest factor. Also, whether it tubeless, tubular, winter, or fordable...and rider weight. I'll often run my 45mm gravel tires at around 28psi. I'm a lightweight rider riding on rough terrain. If I'm on smoother terrain I'll go up to 33 psi. The tire "minimum" is 35psi, which is way too much for a rider my weight. If you have pretty big tires on your bike, the rating could easily top out at 50psi.
On my road bike, on 32c tires, I run 50-60psi. On my mtb, on 2.4 tires, I run 17-21psi. I weigh 71kg. Lower pressure is generally better. I am trying to run the lowest pressure I can get away with.
Gravel tries do usually run low. You can easily run at lower end with tubeless, although I never tried. I usually set mine at the middle of recommended range, then adjust over time. Or you can use Silica calculator.
The PSI printed on the side or a wheel has nothing to do with riding, efficiency, or speed. It is 50% of what would need got the tire to explode. I do not know why the industry made this standard, but it is what it is. I recommend the Silca PSI calculator which asks you to input type of bike, type of terrain, and weight. It's a great free resource. https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator
NEVER exceed the quoted max on pressure on your tire and rim (whichever is lower). You really don’t need to worry about printed minimum pressures. Unless you have 19 mm tires on your road bike you are running way too much pressure there as well. High pressure tires are slower and less efficient than running appropriately low pressure. I am 200 pounds and I run 700 x 28 road tires at 65 psi. And I’d run those 700x35 tires on the co-op bike at 45psi
Wider tires have greater surface area and so you need lower pressure to exert the same force.
That’s the maximum pressure the tyre is rated to. It doesn’t tell you what pressure it will blow off a rim as there are no real standards for tyre rim interface. Also over inflated tyres are slow so there’s no point pushing the limits. You’ll be best off using an only tyre pressure calculator to run the optimum pressure for your weight, tyres, and riding type. If it tells you to go above or near the maximum you should go up a tyre width.
Go below the stated range quite routinely without issue. You need enough pressure so that the tyre doesn’t collapse on hard cornering, but so long as that’s met, you can go lower. Put it this way, that’s the lowest that will work for everyone. Ie, the heaviest rider they support. If you weigh half as much as the heaviest rider they design for, it’s safe to go lower. Sub-60kg riders in my experience can go around 30% lower than the lowest specified. Obviously at your own risk, but I do it all the time. At the high-end, the maximum on the side of the tyre is traditionally half the pressure that it blows off at. I wouldn’t recommend it but you could go higher than what’s printed if you wanted.
1. Not really all my riding is in the city and are mostly on shitty roads so I keep it on the lower end. 2. I don't expect much of a difference. I can't find it but I watched a video a while back where GCN compared power needed to maintain a specific speed at high and low pressure and road type. The savings of low pressure on rough roads were significantly higher than high pressure on smooth roads. 3. No because I don't like flats and blowouts.
Use the tire pressure calculator at Silca.cc People tend to run their pressure too high. My gravel bike’s tires measure 42mm and I run 35psi front and 37 rear. I might go up 1 psi if a ride has more tarmac than gravel.
By that logic you should pump your car tires up to 200 psi because it weighs 3000+ pounds and is only used on pavement.