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

Tandem tire pressure?

Notices
Tandem Cycling A bicycle built for two. Want to find out more about this wonderful world of tandems? Check out this forum to talk with other tandem enthusiasts. Captains and stokers welcome!

Tandem tire pressure?

Old 03-28-22, 10:53 PM
  #1  
Tomm Willians
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Tomm Willians's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Nevada County, California
Posts: 781

Bikes: Subject to change at any given moment but currently is...... Colnago Mapei, Colnago C40, Wilier Triestina Carbon, Wilier Triestina Ramato, Follis 472, Peugeot PX60, Razesa, Orbea Terra, Soma Pescadero and 1/2 owner of a Santana tandem.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 322 Post(s)
Liked 775 Times in 261 Posts
Tandem tire pressure?

My wife and I have a Santana Sovereign we enjoy a great deal, we did some upgrades with Spinergy wheels and carbon handlebars and have a ball on it. We are currently running 32c Grand Prix 4 Seasons and wondering what might be an appropriate pressure? I’m a touch over 180 and she’s about 115. I’m asking as I’m guessing the extra weight of a tandem calls for different pressure?
Tomm Willians is offline  
Old 03-29-22, 05:48 AM
  #2  
Artmo 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SW Florida
Posts: 1,668

Bikes: '06 Bianchi Pista; '57 Maclean; '10 Scott CR1 Pro; 2005 Trek 2000 Tandem; '09 Comotion Macchiato Tandem; 199? Novara Road; '17 Circe Helios e-tandem:1994 Trek 2300

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 146 Post(s)
Liked 92 Times in 60 Posts
Originally Posted by Tomm Willians
My wife and I have a Santana Sovereign we enjoy a great deal, we did some upgrades with Spinergy wheels and carbon handlebars and have a ball on it. We are currently running 32c Grand Prix 4 Seasons and wondering what might be an appropriate pressure? I’m a touch over 180 and she’s about 115. I’m asking as I’m guessing the extra weight of a tandem calls for different pressure?
On our Comotion Macchiato, Spinergy TX2, Conti 4000 II, 28 mm wheels and about 310lb combined team weight, I used to run at 115 psi, but recently dropped the pressure to 90-100 for more comfort. I'm staying with that. I would think that with 32 mm, you could use 90 psi or even less.
Artmo is offline  
Old 03-29-22, 03:46 PM
  #3  
obrentharris 
Senior Member
 
obrentharris's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Point Reyes Station, California
Posts: 4,715

Bikes: Indeed!

Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1504 Post(s)
Liked 3,443 Times in 1,127 Posts
In our experience @Artmo has it right. With 32mm tires and a combined rider and bike weight of 310# we find 85 psi to be the sweet spot. With 47mm tires we drop that to 45 or 50 psi depending on terrain.
Brent
obrentharris is offline  
Old 03-29-22, 05:40 PM
  #4  
merlinextraligh
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,275

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1428 Post(s)
Liked 697 Times in 353 Posts
Under 300 pounds team weight, and 32mm tires, I think you can go pretty low, I’d try 80psi to start.

We’re around 350 pounds, and used to run 110 on 25mm tires. Having switched to tubeless we’re running 85 psi on 28mm tires with no issues and could probably go lower.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Old 03-29-22, 06:15 PM
  #5  
reburns
Full Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: The valley of heart’s delight
Posts: 413

Bikes: 2005 Trek T2000; 2005 Co-motion Speedster Co-pilot; various non-tandem road and mountain bikes

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 102 Post(s)
Liked 55 Times in 39 Posts
With very similar equipment and team weight, mid-80s is working very well for us.
reburns is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 07:08 AM
  #6  
Chilepines
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 194

Bikes: 1984 homemade 531SL road bike; 1988 Ritchey TimberComp; 1997 Nashbar tandem; 1998 Kona Explosif; Specialized Epic, Scott CR1 Pro; Salsa Beargrease; Curtlo custom Tandem, Curtlo custom S3 steel gravel bike.

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 49 Times in 37 Posts
We run 650B 38 m tires at 60-65. I think your 700c x 32 mm tires have almost the same volume of air so you could easily run lower than 80.
Chilepines is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 11:18 AM
  #7  
mikebian 
Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Tucson AZ and Medford MA
Posts: 66

Bikes: Calfee Tetra Tandem, Ventana ECdM Tandem, Kent Eriksen Custom Coupled Tandem, Meridian Coupled Triplet, Canondale MTB Tandem, Landshark Tandem, Giant TCR, SantaCruz Blur LTb

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 18 Times in 9 Posts
We run 700x28 Continental 4 season tires and until recently have been running about 100psi. With the bike, we're about 315 pounds.

Silca has a tire pressure calculator that I've been messing with and based on that, I lowered the pressure to 90. It's wants you to go even lower, but I'll try it in steps. 90 has been working out great so far. Bike handles great, it's a bit more comfortable over rough road sections, no pinch flats yet, and maybe we faster? Or maybe we've just had a few good days...
mikebian is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 12:20 PM
  #8  
reburns
Full Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: The valley of heart’s delight
Posts: 413

Bikes: 2005 Trek T2000; 2005 Co-motion Speedster Co-pilot; various non-tandem road and mountain bikes

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 102 Post(s)
Liked 55 Times in 39 Posts
Here’s another online calculator: https://www.renehersecycles.com/tire...re-calculator/
It seems to align pretty well with what I’ve found empirically. It’s pretty sensitive to tire width, so best to use measured width vs the width printed on the sidewall. For instance, our Continental 4 seasons 700Cx32 tires measure at 34 mm.
reburns is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 01:44 PM
  #9  
OneIsAllYouNeed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Seacoast, NH
Posts: 756

Bikes: Chinook travel/gravel/family tandem, Chinook all-road, Motobecane fatbike

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 232 Post(s)
Liked 34 Times in 25 Posts
Chinook's tire pressure calculator has tandem, triplet, and quad options that account for the weight distribution of captain and stokers.
https://cycleschinook.com/tire-pressure-calculator/
Its pressure recommendations are pretty close to the new Rene Herse tool since they're based on similar assumptions about tire loading. I've found Silca's and Sram's pressure calculators to make some dangerously low pressure suggestions at tandem weights.
OneIsAllYouNeed is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 07:03 PM
  #10  
robakun
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: Torrance, California
Posts: 16

Bikes: Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8.0, Momentum Street, Sterling Tandem

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 2 Posts
I have 32mm wide tires with a combined weight of about 275lbs and run about 90 - 100 psi. I felt it has the best balance between comfort, performance and road risk.
robakun is offline  
Old 03-30-22, 07:31 PM
  #11  
Carbonfiberboy 
just another gosling
 
Carbonfiberboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,501

Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004

Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3873 Post(s)
Liked 1,920 Times in 1,369 Posts
287 lb. team, bike weight all up ~45 lbs, 32mm Conti 5K, we run 90 lbs. My biggest concern is not to pinch flat if I hit a pothole or whatever. Comfort concerns me much less. I'd run tubeless at 80.
__________________
Results matter
Carbonfiberboy is offline  
Old 04-15-22, 09:01 AM
  #12  
Chilepines
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 194

Bikes: 1984 homemade 531SL road bike; 1988 Ritchey TimberComp; 1997 Nashbar tandem; 1998 Kona Explosif; Specialized Epic, Scott CR1 Pro; Salsa Beargrease; Curtlo custom Tandem, Curtlo custom S3 steel gravel bike.

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 49 Times in 37 Posts
Thought I'd throw this into the tandem forum - I originally posted about this when I found something about Rene Here tires blowing off hookless rims.
Light Bicycle WR45 rim, 25 mm ID, with Specialized Sawtooth 700 x 38. This was the rear tire on a tandem. Tires have been mounted for a while but have just 2 rides on them. I pumped them to 65 psi today, put the tandem in the truck, and while sitting about 100 feet away thought I heard a gun shot! Tire blew off the rim, but was perfectly intact. Pretty frickin scary in my mind.
Per Light Bicycle the max pressure is 55 psi, so I exceeded that. Still surprising that 55 psi is OK and 65 is not.
If I knew this was an issue I probably would have bought hooked rims.
Chilepines is offline  
Old 04-15-22, 09:16 AM
  #13  
rahill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 65

Bikes: Co-Motion Speedster, Canondale SuperSix EVO Di2, Brompton S6L, Calfee Tetra, Specialized Crux Disc, Serotta Nova Special, Bianchi Pista Concept, Bianchi Pista

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by Chilepines
Thought I'd throw this into the tandem forum - I originally posted about this when I found something about Rene Here tires blowing off hookless rims.
Light Bicycle WR45 rim, 25 mm ID, with Specialized Sawtooth 700 x 38. This was the rear tire on a tandem. Tires have been mounted for a while but have just 2 rides on them. I pumped them to 65 psi today, put the tandem in the truck, and while sitting about 100 feet away thought I heard a gun shot! Tire blew off the rim, but was perfectly intact. Pretty frickin scary in my mind.
Per Light Bicycle the max pressure is 55 psi, so I exceeded that. Still surprising that 55 psi is OK and 65 is not.
If I knew this was an issue I probably would have bought hooked rims.
The current standard for hookless rims is remarkably un-conservative. "standard ISO4210 part 2, “edition 2015” – the tire must not blow out during a 5-minute test when inflated at 110 percent of the max pressure (written on the tire)" https://www.velonews.com/gear/techni...ire-pressures/

Apparently the former standard (non-hookless) was something like 150% of rated max pressure. 110% is crazy.
rahill is offline  
Old 04-15-22, 01:28 PM
  #14  
Chilepines
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 194

Bikes: 1984 homemade 531SL road bike; 1988 Ritchey TimberComp; 1997 Nashbar tandem; 1998 Kona Explosif; Specialized Epic, Scott CR1 Pro; Salsa Beargrease; Curtlo custom Tandem, Curtlo custom S3 steel gravel bike.

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 49 Times in 37 Posts
FWIW the max pressure on the Sawtooth tire is 80 psi.
The Velonews article linked to above also refers to a single psi standard "In the norms (ISO and ETRTO), the only max pressure that is stated is the one for hookless rim: 5 bar (72.5psi), regardless of rim and tire width."
The Chinook calculator tells me to go to 76 and 83 psi (but I think they are assuming hooked rims).
The Rene Herse calculator gives 73 psi for a soft ride.
I was at 65 psi when the tire blew off. I then put it back on and rode at 55 for 30 miles and so far so good!
Chilepines is offline  
Old 04-19-22, 12:19 PM
  #15  
JulesCW 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Upper third of the central USA
Posts: 673

Bikes: N+1

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 222 Post(s)
Liked 617 Times in 310 Posts
Originally Posted by Chilepines
Thought I'd throw this into the tandem forum - I originally posted about this when I found something about Rene Here tires blowing off hookless rims.
Light Bicycle WR45 rim, 25 mm ID, with Specialized Sawtooth 700 x 38. This was the rear tire on a tandem. Tires have been mounted for a while but have just 2 rides on them. I pumped them to 65 psi today, put the tandem in the truck, and while sitting about 100 feet away thought I heard a gun shot! Tire blew off the rim, but was perfectly intact. Pretty frickin scary in my mind.
Per Light Bicycle the max pressure is 55 psi, so I exceeded that. Still surprising that 55 psi is OK and 65 is not.
If I knew this was an issue I probably would have bought hooked rims.

It is also entirely possible that the tire was not seated properly. I've had tires blow off of rims due to installer (me) failure to ensure proper and even bead seating -- if your tire had deflated a fair amount while sitting the bead may have shifted before you inflated it.
JulesCW is offline  
Old 04-20-22, 04:10 PM
  #16  
Carbonfiberboy 
just another gosling
 
Carbonfiberboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,501

Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004

Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3873 Post(s)
Liked 1,920 Times in 1,369 Posts
Originally Posted by Chilepines
Thought I'd throw this into the tandem forum - I originally posted about this when I found something about Rene Here tires blowing off hookless rims.
Light Bicycle WR45 rim, 25 mm ID, with Specialized Sawtooth 700 x 38. This was the rear tire on a tandem. Tires have been mounted for a while but have just 2 rides on them. I pumped them to 65 psi today, put the tandem in the truck, and while sitting about 100 feet away thought I heard a gun shot! Tire blew off the rim, but was perfectly intact. Pretty frickin scary in my mind.
Per Light Bicycle the max pressure is 55 psi, so I exceeded that. Still surprising that 55 psi is OK and 65 is not.
If I knew this was an issue I probably would have bought hooked rims.
Wow and wow. Terrifying. For sure I would never run a hookless rim on a tandem, OMG no. For our 287 lb. team, I'd run those 38s at 75-80 for tubes and the same for tubeless just to protect the rims. IMO hookless is crazy, going back to the 60s and 70s problems to save a tiny bit of money on a rim - or increase profits, however one wants to look at it. I certainly don't see any advantage in it.
__________________
Results matter
Carbonfiberboy is offline  
Likes For Carbonfiberboy:
Old 04-20-22, 07:54 PM
  #17  
Chilepines
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 194

Bikes: 1984 homemade 531SL road bike; 1988 Ritchey TimberComp; 1997 Nashbar tandem; 1998 Kona Explosif; Specialized Epic, Scott CR1 Pro; Salsa Beargrease; Curtlo custom Tandem, Curtlo custom S3 steel gravel bike.

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 49 Times in 37 Posts
Thanks for all the comments about this. Given what happened and what I've learned since I wouldn't recommend hookless for a tandem either. Having said that I'm not sure I'm going to get rid of them - yet. I ran tubeless on 650b hooked rims with 38 mm tires on our previous tandem at 60-65 psi - and there is more volume in the 700c x 38 tires so running 55 psi seems fine.
BTW to JulesCW the tires were definitely seated when I pumped them up - they were just a touch soft and I usually check pressure and top them off before every ride.
FWIW the Paris Roubaix race last weekend was won on tubeless tires which almost every team ran this year. Dylan van Baarle was on hooked rims, but nearly half of the teams were on hookless. Not to say that hookless on a tandem is the right setup, but to point out that there is certainly no consensus at the very highest end of the sport about hooked vs hookless.
Chilepines is offline  
Old 06-29-22, 10:34 AM
  #18  
mkane
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 21
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
700x28 100psi
mkane is offline  
Likes For mkane:
Old 06-29-22, 02:55 PM
  #19  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,970
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2475 Post(s)
Liked 722 Times in 513 Posts
On a 700C x 28mm tire I can tell the difference between 100psi and 90psi. I can't say comfort is increased enough at 90psi to be worth the hit to 'glide' and overall performance. So 100psi at fillup, and I usually get annoyed enough with the compromised 'glide' to re-fill @ around 90psi without even having to measure. With 26 x 1.5" I usually run 90psi refilling when it drops to 80psi. Load calculators are gateways to a Dark Dimension of precision and ... OCD. When you operate a tandem the way I do, riding it Stokerless as much hours (or more) as when loaded, you quickly learn that there is no linear equation connecting GVWR and tire pressures front, rear or a ratio of f/r. I hope never to see another hookless rim for the rest of my days. The summer I scored the immaculate vintage World Tourist for $30 and proceeded to blow tube after tube to smithereens sealed that. BOOM! WTF?? Why did it do that? OMG. No consensus? IDK, if not at the highest levels of the sport then definitely at the altitude of this long hauler with maybe 10 or 15 years of (two wheel) riding left in the vestibular canals.
Leisesturm is online now  
Old 09-20-22, 11:36 AM
  #20  
Thebucket71
Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Location: Rhode Island USA
Posts: 28

Bikes: CoMotion tandem, All City fixie, Cannondale road bike, fold-up bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times in 3 Posts
Tandem tire pressure

Hello, I'm new to a tandem only three weekend rides in. Why is everyone not running max pressure to avoid flats with all the weight? I am riding a CoMotion Java with 700x42 road tires at the max 85psi thinking I would avoid flats but I maybe compromising our ride. I'm thinking about going down to a 700x32 for less rolling resistance. Any advice for me?
Thebucket71 is offline  
Old 09-20-22, 01:20 PM
  #21  
Carbonfiberboy 
just another gosling
 
Carbonfiberboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 19,501

Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004

Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3873 Post(s)
Liked 1,920 Times in 1,369 Posts
Originally Posted by Thebucket71
Hello, I'm new to a tandem only three weekend rides in. Why is everyone not running max pressure to avoid flats with all the weight? I am riding a CoMotion Java with 700x42 road tires at the max 85psi thinking I would avoid flats but I maybe compromising our ride. I'm thinking about going down to a 700x32 for less rolling resistance. Any advice for me?
The reason is that too high pressure makes the ride bumpier. There's also a theory that some exact pressure minimizes rolling resistance, but that varies with the roughness of the surface, so is a little hard to guess at. That said, bumpier is slower if it's noticeable. You'll notice that a 28mm X 100 lbs. is a common rec. One can calculate pressures for different tire weights from that to get similar ride and pinch flat resistance: 28*100=2800. 2800/42= 67. 2800/32=88.
__________________
Results matter
Carbonfiberboy is offline  
Likes For Carbonfiberboy:
Old 09-20-22, 04:43 PM
  #22  
mkane
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 21
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
And less pressure will help with flats caused by small debris. Tire will roll over a small pointy rock with less pressure. Thirty two's a great size.
mkane is offline  
Old 09-22-22, 10:57 AM
  #23  
CaliTexan
Newbie
 
CaliTexan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 43

Bikes: 2019 Co-Motion Carrera (S&S) / 1998 Litespeed Tuscany / 2014 Wilier Zero 7

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Liked 14 Times in 8 Posts
We run Conti 5000s in size 32 on our Co-Motion Carrera. Our pump gauge says 90#. We like that a lot. Occasionally we'll have a pinch flat on a bad road, but very rare.
CaliTexan is offline  
Old 09-27-22, 09:52 AM
  #24  
DLag
Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 4
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
With 32mm tires, I've been running 80-90 psi depending on the road condition. I have run much higher pressures but my stoker found the ride a little to rough. I have also tried less pressure but found the handling a bit mushy and vague on the turns. Our weight totals to less than 290 lbs.
DLag is offline  
Old 01-13-23, 05:29 AM
  #25  
Skytour
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Fully Loaded Touring Tandem Tire Pressures

BIG CAVEAT ON THOSE TANDEM TIRES PRESSURES! Weight a critical factor and with it tire pressures can very dramatically with potentially catastrophic consequences. We ride a custom full carbon Calfee Pro tandem. Fully load with 4 panniers, rear top bag, handle bar bag and frame bag we are close to 400 lbs. We had been running Continental 28 mm Gatorskins for flat protection but flats weren’t the problem. With a measured 30 mm width the Cycle Schinook and other calculators recommend 126 psi front and 137 lbs rear but with concerns of running them that high we reduced pressures to 120 psi front and 130 psi rear. Flats were never a problem but bead sidewall separations were catastrophic and went through half dozen Gatorskins. The solution was going with Continental 5000s with their higher thread count and stronger sidewall. We added Mr Tuffy tire liners for extra flat protection. We haven’t had any bead/sidewall separations with the 5000s running those pressures. Because they have a stronger sidewall may try to drop pressures down to 110 front and 120 rear for better ride and will update the forum at a latter date.
Skytour is offline  

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.