Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,175
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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Touring with my camping gear, I probably have the same weight on the tires as you do without any gear at all.
I do not have any 1.75 width tires.
- 57mm width, 45 to 50 psi in the rear.
- 50mm width, 50 to 55 psi in the rear.
- 40mm width, 75 to 80 in the rear.
- 35mm or 37mm width, up to 85 in the rear.
Front, about 75 to 80 percent of the pressure that I have in the rear. Thus, if I had 80 in the rear, front would be about 60 to 65 psi.
The pressures above are what I pump the tires up to, so they should be considered maximum. I often will go for a week or maybe more before adding pressure, so I often run quite a bit less when you consider leakage.
There are exceptions, last spring I was on a van supported trip in W Texas where they had a very rough chip seal pavement. First day I had about 55 to 60 in my front 40mm tire and my hands took a beating, my GPS on the handlebars kept acting up too. Then next day I dropped the front pressure to between 40 and 45 psi and that was much better on my hands, the GPS was much happier too.
And off road or on gravel, I might run lower pressure for better cushioning and better grip.
ADDENDUM ADDED HOURS LATER
This is the touring forum, so I was thinking a loaded bike, but I did not clearly state that. The pressures above are what I would be using for touring with my camping gear on the bike. Riding unladen, I would be running lower pressures. I also have some bikes with skinnier tires that I did not list above because I would not be touring on those bikes.
Last edited by Tourist in MSN; 03-03-19 at 12:48 PM.