air in tires?

Sunie D · Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:58 pm Post subject: air in tires?

How much air should i have in my mtb tires and my road bike.. Confused

Riceball · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 509 Location: disAccord

Road bike is easy; at the upper range of the tire pressure printed on the tire
Mountain bike varies by rider weight, riding style and terrain.
There are people like me with an abnormal fear of flats that ride tires hard at over 40 psi and those that like more feel and grip who will run softer pressures. Use the pressures printed on the side of the tire as a guide and see what works best for you. When you are uncertain, start out with pressure at the high end of your range, during the ride if you want more grip, let some pressure out. Always carry a pump if you are adjusting tire pressure in the field.

One tip; if you use tires with tubes, in both your road and mountain bike use talc (and plenty of it) between the tube and tire. This lessens the occurence of 'pinch flats' because the two surfaces are lubricated within the tire by the talc.

happy trails....
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chiefmatesam · Joined: 28 May 2011 Posts: 493 Location: Poughkeepsie

Finally a question I can answer too!! I know for me, I ride my mtb tire pressure on the higher side because of my weight (tipping the scales at 235), and I would prefer not to get flats.

On my road bike, I run the pressure right at the tire's limit of 120 psi, again, because of my weight. It's also a jarring ride too...but I get a bit more speed (I race). One bit of advice...if you ride on a wet road, decrease the tire pressure to between 80-100 psi. This gives you more surface area on your tired, and makes your tires a less squirley. For me, I'm such a weenie I'm scared to death of crashing (I've seen some pretty gnarly crashes), so if the road's wet, I don't ride, or I ride my mtb.

edgeworker · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 149 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

Road - 85psi - tubeless
Mountain - 22.5psi - tubeless
Pugsley - summer- 3.5 - 5.5psi / winter - 2psi

Sunie D · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys so much, after my ride last week my tires felt alittle flat and I only had 20psi in them so I had put in almost 40psi. After reading you comments I took them down to 30psi. Went for a ride tonight and found it almost too bouncy, I think the fact that I'm a light weight is the issue, my rear tire just kept popping away on me (didn't feel like i had good control). So alittle ways into the ride I let a little more out, think I might take them down to 25 and see how it feels.
Thanks again, each of you helped me out with this one!!

slave2bacon · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:27 am Post subject:

For you I think 30 to 35 would be about right for someone your size. Anything less than 25 or 30 and the risk of getting a pinch flat goes up. Anything more than 40 is going to make your bike feel more like a bucking bronco and smooth gliding machine.

Keep playing around with it to see what feels right.

pinklewurst (tschneller) · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:23 am Post subject:

Mt Bike around 30 -35 is good, but if riding around Minnewaska or rail trail I pump them up to 45 -50 for less rolling resistance. If I'm running my suspension soft I can run a firmer tire, like on race day.
Road, always over 100 for me. If the ride is rough I choose a different road. I also check my road ties for imbedded glass bits after a rainy ride.
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