Paging East Coast Mojo: Tire Pressure: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Feb. 1, 2012 12:34 p.m. Woody SuperDork

I have been taking advantage of Connecticut's mild winter and getting out on the bikes. But I have no idea of what I should be doing about my tire pressures. I'm more of a mountain biker than a road biker, but the trails are sloppy and I'll be on the road until the sand falls.

How high do I want my tire pressures?

For reference, I'm a bit of a fat guy...er, I mean...I'm a strapping firefighter, at 6'1", 215 lbs.

The bikes are nothing really special.

Road: Trek Alpha 1.1

Mountain: Cannondale Rush (4?, 2007)

Both bikes are pretty much stock.

What say ye?
Feb. 1, 2012 1:10 p.m. 1988RedT2 SuperDork

Shoot. I pump mine up to the max pressure on the sidewall. It leaks down in a couple weeks and I do it all over again.
Feb. 1, 2012 1:16 p.m. ransom Dork

At 190-ish, I run my road tires (narrow, 23c) at max pressure (120 psi for my Maxxis Re-Fuses). Depending on mood (since I don't have a definitive answer) I'll run the front 10 psi lower...

Mountain, I'd say it depends much more on terrain. I just got a new mountain bike with tubeless tires, and I'm completely at a loss...
Feb. 1, 2012 4:10 p.m. EastCoastMojo SuperDork

If you are riding exclusively on the roads, go ahead and shoot for the max pressure recommended on the tire, it's on the sidewall somewhere. If you find the ride to be too harsh, let a second or so of pressure out, just enough to take the edge off but not enough to risk damaging the rims if you hit something hard. If you can't help but hit something at speed, try to hit it square and get your butt off the seat.

When you get home, check your tire pressure with the pump to see what the "comfortable" pressure was. If you are riding the mountain bike on the roads, you may want a set of road slicks for it to keep from wearing out the tread and to reduce rolling resistance.