wipekitty

I think it's time for an official thread on tires and PSI! Many of us ride in a wide variety of conditions, and it will be fun to see what everyone is using and how it's going.

Please include some or all of the following:
Tire brand/type
Tire size/width
Tire features (for example: winter compound, knobs, studs)
Tubes or tubeless?
PSI front/rear
Loaded bike+rider weight
Conditions (for example: icy road, unplowed road or trail, groomed trail; flat or hills)
How'd it go?

Bigbus

I run 45PSI frt and rear on pavement and 30PSI frt and rear on trails. Bontrager 2.35 frt and Delium 2.5 rear (27.5" tires)
FWIW I really like the Delium MTB tires. Great traction and they're only $15.98US on the bay store with free shipping. Can't beat them.

GrainBrain

I run Continental xking 2.2" folding protection tires with black chili compound. I run 35-25psi in winter, I'll pump them to 30psi for snow/ice. The black chili compound is very grippy but under 20°f they roll noticably slower.

I run tubes so I try to keep pressure at least over 20psi. I figure if I'm at 30psi in my 70°f home they'll be at least 25psi outside in the cold.

I don't commute and just bike about an hour and a half recreationally. I'm very happy with the tires performance but I tread carefully on smooth glazed ice. Anything with some surface texture and I'm fine.

JonathanGennick 

The bike I rode yesterday is equipped with Nokian Stud 62 tires. I'm running 20 and 25 psi front and back. They are 584 x 54 tires. Conditions were packed snow on pavement with loose snow and slush on top of it. My trip to the store yesterday went ok because studs not really needed -- the tread was enough.

fietsbob

IDK , 2 bar maybe 3 ? in the Suomi stud MTB tire ..
enough the tire won't creep around the rim.
(w/o gluing a tire bead to the rim)
I use thorn resistant thick HD tubes so little pressure loss over months..

mcours2006

Schwalbe Marathon winters, 35 mm, at 60; probably need to bring it down to 50 for a more comfy ride.

Rider weight is 145#, bike weight is close to 30# with all the 'stuff';

How'd it go? Front flatted on the driveway. Stud went through on inside of carcass. The same thing happened last week with the rear. Maybe pressure is too high for that tire.

Marcus_Ti

Schwalbe Marathon Winter
700Cx40mm
Studs and knobs
Tubed
25/30PSI (depends)
30lbs of bike, 175# of me.
Snow/ice


How hard I run SMWs depends on the weather. Running them 50PSI+ is overkill....even running them 40/45PSI is awful hard unless the trails are quite clear or the snow is fresh and unpacked....40/45PSI, and I'll fishtail on ice, but is fine for sleet without ice underneath. 25/30 is reasonable on ice, maybe a bit lower.

wipekitty

Yesterday's commute + bonus miles was on Nokian/Suomi Extremes, 26x2.1, 30/40 PSI front/rear.

Conditions: Packed snow/ice on most roads, hit a bit of frozen stuff in parking lanes, and black ice on the two "cleared" roads. Temperatures just a bit below freezing.

This worked out very well for these conditions. I'll probably send it a bit lower if I'm faced with fluffy piles o' snow.

Bat56

LOL that post is a train wreck.

madpogue 

Yesterday:
Suomi M+Gs (two row), 26x1.75, on a '90s Specialized Hard Rock. Don't recall the stud count. More than the entry-level Nokians, I reckon 120-150?
45-ish PSI
30lb of bike, 140lb of human, 15-ish lb of pannier content
Mix of plowed and unplowed (or blown-over) streets, plowed and un-plowed (or blown-over) paths. Lots of "urban canyons" in shade all morning, esp. with the low sun angle. Un-plowed and blown-over segments were a mix of slush and ice compacted from other vehicles. A few patches of black ice on the plowed sections. Bike was absolutely sure-footed.

Today:
No additional snowfall, roads were mostly dry/clear. Small patches of snow on driveway aprons, shady spots, etc. Different route, no path use. Switched to secondary wheels with generic Kenda 26x1.95 knobbies @ aprx. 45 psi. No traction issues

Jim from Boston

The PSI and Tires Thread:
Duly deleted, and thanks for your contribution to this current thread:“The PSI and Tires Thread”:

Quote:

Originally Posted by wipekitty

I think it's time for an official thread on tires and PSI! Many of us ride in a wide variety of conditions, and it will be fun to see what everyone is using and how it's going.

Please include some or all of the following:
Tire brand/type
Tire size/width
Tire features (for example: winter compound, knobs, studs)
Tubes or tubeless?
PSI front/rear
Loaded bike+rider weight
Conditions (for example: icy road, unplowed road or trail, groomed trail; flat or hills)
How'd it go?

wipekitty

That's a major bummer. I'm curious to know what the recommended PSI is (the internet is not forthcoming with information!)

That just seems like an awfully high PSI to start flatting, especially with your bike/rider weight. Maybe minimum PSI is more important for studded tires vs. non-studded?

mcours2006

Max recommended PSI is 65, I think. I had it inflated just under 60. The tire is five years old, so it's got some mileage. Maybe PSI has nothing to do with it; maybe it was just the time for it to fail.

I know the PSI is high. I wanted to be rolling more on the centre of the tire when I'm riding mostly on bare pavement, than just off the the side where the studs are.

Marcus_Ti

SMWs recommend 30-70PSI on the sidewall. 50PSI on them makes my fillings hurt, at least on the 700x40 size.

wolfchild

These are tire pressures I use for riding under bad conditions heavy snow, ice, ruts. I have the same type of winter tires in two different sizes.

Schwalbe Snow Stud Tires 700x38 mm mounted on 23mm wide rims---Front 20- 25 Psi...Rear 40 Psi

Schwalbe Snow Stud Tires 26 x 2 inch mounted on 36mm wide rims---Front 15-20 Psi...Rear 30-40 Psi

When road conditions are good I inflate them to max pressure which is around 65 PSI...The tires that I am using are about 10 years old and have been discontinued few years ago.

Gresp15C

Nokian W100's, 40-622, both tires at about 40 - 50 psi. If this winter is like the previous two, there will actually be minimal snow on the roads most days, and the studs are just to keep the shiny side up when I hit the few places where there are usually ice patches. This is for 8 mile round trip daily commute on side streets and MUP, relatively flat terrain. Pretty tame ride, just don't want to get wrecked.

parkbrav

45North Xerxes, 700X30C, about 40-50psi. I am in a similar place, I mostly ride on pavement and the studs are there for the white ice and occasional black ice.

noglider 

My weight: 170 lbs
Bike weight: 29 lbs
Cargo: 5-10 lbs
Tires: Clement Strada LGG, regular old road tires with not much tread pattern, 32mm wide
Pressure: 55 psi in rear, a little less in front
Route: fully paved with no ice, snow, or slush

This works fine for me. Sometimes I decide it's the day to inflate my tires, and I find they've gone down to 30 without bottoming out on potholes.