Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Max Tire Pressure Label (700 x 32)

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Max Tire Pressure Label (700 x 32)

Old 12-26-19, 02:05 PM
  #1  
Metallifan33
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Metallifan33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 255

Bikes: Trek Domane SL 5

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 218 Post(s)
Liked 102 Times in 48 Posts
Max Tire Pressure Label (700 x 32)

Hello All,
I have a quick question about tire pressure for my road bike (Trek Domane SL 5). The tire is the Bontrager R1 700 x 32 Hard-Case Lite.
If I remember correctly, the LBS inflated it to 90 and 95 psi (front and back). I weigh 190 lbs and live at 1200 ft MSL and the temperature is currently 60 deg F.
I went to air it up today and noticed that the tire is labeled with a "Max Air Pressure of 70 psi."
What should I air it up to?
Thanks!
Metallifan33 is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 02:11 PM
  #2  
Metallifan33
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Metallifan33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 255

Bikes: Trek Domane SL 5

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 218 Post(s)
Liked 102 Times in 48 Posts
Here are the labels on the tires.


Metallifan33 is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 02:12 PM
  #3  
Racing Dan
Senior Member
 
Racing Dan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,224
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1332 Post(s)
Liked 316 Times in 214 Posts
If it really says max 70 psi, then you should adhere to that. > 70 psi or less.
Racing Dan is offline  
Likes For Racing Dan:
Old 12-26-19, 02:18 PM
  #4  
brianmcg123
Senior Member
 
brianmcg123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: TN
Posts: 1,286

Bikes: 2013 Trek Madone; 2008 Surly Long Haul Trucker

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 361 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 35 Posts
60
brianmcg123 is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 02:22 PM
  #5  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
Rule of thumb (which isn't always true) is that you can ignore the max pressure on the tire, but should pay attention to the max pressure of the rim.

But for a 32 mm and a not super heavy rider, experiment in the 50-60 psi range. More if you ride in a velodrome, on glass, or some other perfectly smooth surface, less on rough gravel. Lower pressures on wider tires (wider compared to the 23 to 25 mm many racing bikes use) are much more comfortable. Wider tires aren't meant for high pressure.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
Old 12-26-19, 02:25 PM
  #6  
Metallifan33
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Metallifan33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 255

Bikes: Trek Domane SL 5

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 218 Post(s)
Liked 102 Times in 48 Posts
WTF... Looked it up online... One site recommends at my weight to go to 80 psi. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/p...ressure-270668
I called the LBS where I bought it and they said to go to 90.
I called another LBS and they said to stick to the max of 70.
The tire specs on the Trek website for this tire say max of 50! https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...-tire/p/25927/
This seems like a huge percentage of variation, but I'm not sure as I'm new to this.
For today's ride, I'll stick to 70 to be safe.

Last edited by Metallifan33; 12-26-19 at 02:32 PM.
Metallifan33 is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 02:27 PM
  #7  
Metallifan33
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Metallifan33's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 255

Bikes: Trek Domane SL 5

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 218 Post(s)
Liked 102 Times in 48 Posts
Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Rule of thumb (which isn't always true) is that you can ignore the max pressure on the tire, but should pay attention to the max pressure of the rim.

But for a 32 mm and a not super heavy rider, experiment in the 50-60 psi range. More if you ride in a velodrome, on glass, or some other perfectly smooth surface, less on rough gravel. Lower pressures on wider tires (wider compared to the 23 to 25 mm many racing bikes use) are much more comfortable. Wider tires aren't meant for high pressure.
Ok thanks. I do remember when I was picking up the bike that the guy actually measured the width of the tires and they were actually a bit wider than the label (he said it was due to the rim). The other LBS also mentioned that the Domane series has wider than normal tires.
Metallifan33 is offline  
Likes For Metallifan33:
Old 12-26-19, 05:08 PM
  #8  
WhyFi
Senior Member
 
WhyFi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,505

Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo

Mentioned: 353 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20791 Post(s)
Liked 9,436 Times in 4,663 Posts
I'm in your weight range and would run 30mm tires at 65-70psi, so 32s could run a little lower.
WhyFi is offline  
Likes For WhyFi:
Old 12-26-19, 05:13 PM
  #9  
I.B.Roots
Bike Noob
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Central Oregon
Posts: 58

Bikes: Kona, Salsa(s)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Liked 20 Times in 12 Posts
I usually air about 10-15% less than what tire recommends.
I.B.Roots is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 05:40 PM
  #10  
bbbean 
Senior Member
 
bbbean's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Missouri
Posts: 2,689

Bikes: Giant Propel, Cannondale SuperX, Univega Alpina Ultima

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 672 Post(s)
Liked 413 Times in 246 Posts
Originally Posted by Metallifan33
Hello All,
I have a quick question about tire pressure for my road bike (Trek Domane SL 5). The tire is the Bontrager R1 700 x 32 Hard-Case Lite.
If I remember correctly, the LBS inflated it to 90 and 95 psi (front and back). I weigh 190 lbs and live at 1200 ft MSL and the temperature is currently 60 deg F.
I went to air it up today and noticed that the tire is labeled with a "Max Air Pressure of 70 psi."
What should I air it up to?
Thanks!
As you already know, nothing terrible will happen if you air up to 95 psi. However, the primary reason to run a 32 mm tire on a road bike is to run at lower pressures for a better ride and reduced rolling resistance. There is a substantial consensus among manufacturers, consultants, racers, coaches, riders, and commentators that you'll get the best results running MUCH lower pressures than we all used to run 10-20 years ago.
Zipp and Silca both have up to date apps that let you plug in your weight, tire specs, and type of riding for recommendations. Those are great places to start. Zipp's app is Tyre Wiz, and Silca's app is off their main page.

Is that was my wheelset, I'd run them at 70, then drop the pressure in 2-4 lb increments til I started bottoming out then move up one notch. You can probably run your tires at 60 or so with no problems.
__________________

Formerly fastest rider in the grupetto, currently slowest guy in the peloton

bbbean is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 05:44 PM
  #11  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
tubed or tubeless might be a valid datapoint?
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 12-26-19, 05:46 PM
  #12  
asgelle
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 4,514
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1028 Post(s)
Liked 447 Times in 263 Posts
Originally Posted by I.B.Roots
I usually air about 10-15% less than what tire recommends.
You should know those are max pressures, not a recommendation. Proper pressure is not related to the maximum the manufacturer thinks is safe.
asgelle is offline  
Likes For asgelle:
Old 12-26-19, 09:22 PM
  #13  
Gconan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 658

Bikes: Norco search xr

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 197 Post(s)
Liked 146 Times in 90 Posts
I would not go over 70 psi.
Gconan is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 08:56 AM
  #14  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5220 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
if it were me & I was riding good quality pavement, I'd go max rear, 10 psi less up front. if I was riding gravel, depending on the quality of the surface I might go 60 rear & 50 front
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 09:43 AM
  #15  
noodle soup
Senior Member
 
noodle soup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,922
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,882 Times in 998 Posts
Originally Posted by Sy Reene
tubed or tubeless might be a valid datapoint?
Not really, unless you are using extremely low pressures.
noodle soup is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 09:46 AM
  #16  
noodle soup
Senior Member
 
noodle soup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,922
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,882 Times in 998 Posts
Originally Posted by WhyFi
I'm in your weight range and would run 30mm tires at 65-70psi, so 32s could run a little lower.
I'm a little lighter(about 185#) and inflate 30mm tires to 60/55psi.
noodle soup is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 09:55 AM
  #17  
xroadcharlie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Windsor Ontario, Canada
Posts: 531

Bikes: 2018 Giant Sedona

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 179 Post(s)
Liked 116 Times in 95 Posts
Using a popular bike tire pressure calculater I get 59 psi front and 72 psi rear for 225 lbs weight of rider and bike. I would use the max recommend 70 psi rear and 60 psi front. Of course there is a safety margin with the max recommend pressure. You just got lucky it didn't blow up at 95psi.

There is no need to over inflate your tires. It may be that your tires have stiffer sidewalls and do not even require the pressure indicated with the calculater. Over inflated tires are not only dangerous, but can actually slow you down on less then perfect roads as well as offering a brutal ride. Significantly under inflated tires can lead to pinch flats, can increase rolling resistance, and are unsafe too as control is compromised.

Last edited by xroadcharlie; 12-27-19 at 10:07 AM.
xroadcharlie is offline  
Likes For xroadcharlie:
Old 12-27-19, 10:13 AM
  #18  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by noodle soup
Not really, unless you are using extremely low pressures.
On the high end of pressures, running a tube seemingly allows 15% higher PSI inflation while remaining in safe limit (subject to the actual tire and rim's ratings of course). See linked article near the end (sentence above their inflation charts) of the linked article below. Unclear though if they're referring to specifically running tubes in a TLR tire.

That said, the OP's tire I believe is for running with tubes only so probably a moot point.

https://engineerstalk.mavic.com/en/t...ght-rim-width/
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 10:27 AM
  #19  
noodle soup
Senior Member
 
noodle soup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,922
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,882 Times in 998 Posts
Originally Posted by Sy Reene
On the high end of pressures, running a tube seemingly allows 15% higher PSI inflation while remaining in safe limit (subject to the actual tire and rim's ratings of course). See linked article near the end (sentence above their inflation charts) of the linked article below. Unclear though if they're referring to specifically running tubes in a TLR tire.

That said, the OP's tire I believe is for running with tubes only so probably a moot point.

https://engineerstalk.mavic.com/en/t...ght-rim-width/

Do you ever ride, or just read about it?

The article you linked is irrelevant to the OP's question.
noodle soup is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 10:36 AM
  #20  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by noodle soup

Do you ever ride, or just read about it?

The article you linked is irrelevant to the OP's question.
kinda testy this morning, huh?
I said it was moot since I hadn't originally realized the OP's tires were tubed only. To anyone else, I thought it an interesting factoid that from safety perspective you can 15% more pressure if running tubes than if running TL.
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 10:58 AM
  #21  
noodle soup
Senior Member
 
noodle soup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,922
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,882 Times in 998 Posts
Originally Posted by Sy Reene
kinda testy this morning, huh?
Not really, but you frequently answer questions with a link to something you read, instead of talking about your actual experience on the subject.

I ride in the same area as the OP, and told him what actually works well for those conditions.

70psi is the max inflation for his tires, but it's 10-15% higher than what he needs,
noodle soup is offline  
Likes For noodle soup:
Old 12-27-19, 11:13 AM
  #22  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by noodle soup
Not really, but you frequently answer questions with a link to something you read, instead of talking about your actual experience on the subject.

I ride in the same area as the OP, and told him what actually works well for those conditions.

70psi is the max inflation for his tires, but it's 10-15% higher than what he needs,
Fine.. though that's the same as everyone else had already suggested, so felt it was covered. I commented on your original reply that implied you should inflate a tire to the same pressure regardless if TL or tubed. I don't run tubeless myself so can't comment on this specifically, but I believe I generally see most on these forums suggesting running lower pressures for TL than if running tubes.
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 11:19 AM
  #23  
BengalCat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Brentwood WLA
Posts: 326

Bikes: 50/34, 11-40, 11 Speed

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 142 Post(s)
Liked 73 Times in 52 Posts
Note that the OP is asking about a very specific model of tire. That specific model Bontrager tire as compared to a "standard or average" road bike tires is specifically designed for very low pressure. The maximum recommended is 70 PSI and he should not exceed that. For ultimate performance combined with maximum ride comfort on typical asphalt roads for all but heavy riders should be about 50-60.

Last edited by BengalCat; 12-28-19 at 12:46 PM.
BengalCat is offline  
Likes For BengalCat:
Old 12-27-19, 11:26 AM
  #24  
colnago62
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,433
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 741 Post(s)
Liked 412 Times in 230 Posts
It might be due to the surface, but I regularly run 23mm GP4000 on the velodrome at 140-160. I weight 235lbs. I don’t remember max pressure for the tire, but I think it is lower than the pressure I use. If you don’t get a pinch flat or the tire doesn’t blow up, you know you haven’t reached the limit 😂😂
colnago62 is offline  
Old 12-27-19, 11:30 AM
  #25  
noodle soup
Senior Member
 
noodle soup's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,922
Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,882 Times in 998 Posts
Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Fine.. though that's the same as everyone else had already suggested, so felt it was covered. I commented on your original reply that implied you should inflate a tire to the same pressure regardless if TL or tubed.
Tubeless tires allow you to run lower pressures, without the risk of pinch-flatting the tube. I've gone as low as 25psi in 30mm G-One Speed tires, but only to see how low is possible.Tubes will allow you to use higher pressures, but there's little benefit to that in the real world.

For the OP running 32mm with tubes, there's no reason to use anywhere near the max inflation of 70psi. 55-60psi should work well without risking a pinch flat.

@Metallifan33 In this area you should seriously consider going tubeless. Everything that grows here has a thorn, and unless you run highly puncture resistant tires(that ride like rocks) you'll be fixing punctures regularly.
noodle soup is offline  
Likes For noodle soup:

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.