[Westy]

What kind of tire pressure do you folks run on the road?

I was laughing at a friend who bought new tires because he could run them at 130psi vs 120. The roads we ride are typically rough chipseal. I normally run between 80-90psi with 23mm tires. For kicks I pumped them up to 100. I was horrified with the ride quality. I was exhausted after an hour and the vibration caused my bars to rotate in the stem.

Not only was it uncomfortable but I felt my rolling resistance was probably higher on rough sections, too much energy spent in bouncing around. Any improvements in rolling resistance were imperceptible on smooth roads.

It makes me wonder if all this crap about making 'vertically compliant' bikes is just pricey compensation for improper inflation.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

I run mine around 110 even though James told me to put them to 120

 

[Squeak]

110 to 115 usually.

You might feel slower, but I think if there was a scientific study done you would see you were .1000000000000001000100 millionth of a second faster with 120 psi tires.



Ok I have no idea really.

 

[Silver]

About 95 with Diamante Pros, 90 with other tires.

I'd love to try the road tubeless ones and go lower. Tires that are rock hard are way too jumpy.

 

[loco-gringo]

135 front and 140 rear. That is on tubulars and clinchers.

Riding nice tires makes for nice rides.

I did log 25 miles on road tubeless with 90 lbs and they were stupid fast and rode nicely.

Still like Open Corsa EVO CXs and Fortezzas at 130 or so just fine though.

 

[Westy]

I'm riding Conti GP4000s or something like that. Supposed to be pretty nice tires.

 

[Westy]

135 front and 140 rear. That is on tubulars and clinchers.

Riding nice tires makes for nice rides.

I did log 25 miles on road tubeless with 90 lbs and they were stupid fast and rode nicely.

Still like Open Corsa EVO CXs and Fortezzas at 130 or so just fine though.

You are fat enough that 130 psi would be about equivalent to me running at 90.

 

[CBJ]

I really like 120 psi in the park. More snap, faster and a better feel of what is going on.

 

[Konabumm]

I have winter tires on my road bike year round with 120psi

 

[Sghost]

Pro 3's: 117 front, 119 rear -160 lbs

 

[loco-gringo]

You are fat enough that 130 psi would be about equivalent to me running at 90.

Yeah... I didn't puncture a mtn tire either.

I'm slim and trim.

 

[Westy]

Yeah... I didn't puncture a mtn tire either.

I'm slim and trim.

I was just too hardcore for that tire .

You people must stick to smooth sidewalks. I'll be doing some scientific testing over the weekend. Stay tuned.

 

[JRogers]

I run around 120 in Vittoria Diamantes. The max is 145, but that seems excessive. If I run lower than about 110 or 100 feel a bit sluggish. I have seen a few studies and such that say lower than what most cyclists run is the fastest, but I'd rather like the way my tires ride than be a few seconds faster. Of course, if I had to ride chipseal all freaking day, I'd probably do things differently.

 

[BikeMike]

When I had Conti GP4000s I ran them ~95-105 psi. I also don't understand the high pressure fad/think that people who assume higher pressure means less rolling resistance and going faster are crazy (exceptions for big riders--looking at tire squish from a 280 lb guy sitting on 140 psi tires makes me want to double check the tire pressure).

Ride notes seemed to confirm my suspicion that, for me, running high (115+) pressure was slower than lower pressures (<105) on weathered road surface (if you live in a mecca of baby-bottom smooth roads and hills, PM me your location!). Unscientific but purposeful testing seemed to agree. I've tried up to 125 or 130 psi with S-works Mondos, and I'm not sure why anybody < or = 160 lbs would want to go that high (well, other than being delusional).

Two reasons come to mind: 1) on rough surfaces the tire's increased ability to deform/conform to bumps could reduce rolling resistance by reducing torque applied by the bump against the rotation of the wheel. Optimal tire pressure would be a balance of quite a few different forces. Unfortunately my physics knowledge is weak-sauce and any sort of modeling of this is beyond me. 2) High pressure on rough surfaces is uncomfortable, and comfort counts for a lot in terms of ability to maintain intense efforts.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Aight yo...

I'm 260 and run a Conti Ultra Gatorskin 28c in the rear, and a Schwalbe Stelvio 25c up front. Front and rear pressure are about 110 psi. My commute route is not the smoothest and it works out alright.

Anything higher than 110 and it feels like I'm riding on steel rails..."vertically compliant" starts with the frame...word.


Edit: Chipseal sux. Sux hardcore. That is all.

 

[blue]

I run my Kenda Kalientes at 120F 130R. The ride sucks on rough ****, but the roads here are pretty good and they accelerate like hot butter when they're pumped up.

 

[SuspectDevice]

Putting more than 110 PSI in any tire is dumb.
Softer tires are faster, and handle better.
This is the sort of thing people base careers on.
So listen to the experts.

 

[freeridefool]

I was riding with some roadie dorks the other day. And one mentioned the my pressure looked low. When we checked it... 65psi. I pumped them up to 90 and it was like a night and day difference.

 

[TreeSaw]

I run my Kenda Kalientes at 120F 130R. The ride sucks on rough ****, but the roads here are pretty good and they accelerate like hot butter when they're pumped up.

I run mine at about 110.