77record

I'm just getting back into riding after sporadic riding over the winter. Yesterday, after a month off I had a good ride and was surprised how little pain I had after and since.

I know there are a lot of variables but began wondering about tire pressure. I'm 68 and ride purely for enjoyment and exercise; my average ride is 7-10 miles a few times per week, about 90% pavement and 10% crushed stone trail. Tires are 700x35.

I'm sure many wil think my inflation practices are wacky, but I use the thumb method to check, and then if needed, fill the tires from a small compressed air tank until they "feel right". Not scientific at all. I filled them before my ride but began wondering if topped up harder tires were the reason I had so little pain afterwards. Pedaling seemed surprisingly easy after my hiatus.

Any thoughts, or too many variables?

rumrunn6

I often fill tires using a gauge, but then let them go for a while, before checking them w/ a gauge again & topping them off if necessary. most often the pinch test works just fine for me

prj71

Not wacky at all. That's how most people do it.

shelbyfv

Did you truly not look at the first five threads on the forum? Tire pressure But yeah if your ride is 10 miles just get some solid rubber tires and be done with it.

PeteHski

Do you have any idea what pressure you were/are using? That would be a good starting point. There's another thread currently running about tyre pressures and it soon turned into a complete clown-fest.

KerryIrons

You don't mention your weight, which could be a big variable. If you weigh 120 lb. then 35 psi would be about right. If you weigh 200 lb, then 60 psi. Big difference in the feel of the tire by squeeze. Higher pressures are not going to make you faster, just less comfortable, poorer traction, and faster tire wear. Check your tires with a gauge and then adjust your "squeeze test" to match.

77record

Yeah, I looked at em.

77record

Drop it

77record

Weight is around 162 and I would guess pressure to be 50-60 lbs. I'll go out again today and see what happens!

livedarklions

Comfort isn't a matter of science, so from that standpoint, you're the best judge of whether. If you aren't running at such a low pressure that you are risking damaging your rims, or you aren't over-filling your tires, and you are comfortable while riding, you're fine.

The only part I'd worry about at all is the possibility of over-filling the tires with the compressed air tank. You definitely don't want to go over the max pressure indicated for the tires, and may even want it substantially below that.

livedarklions

Basically, you're doing a fairly modest amount of riding on a pair of tires with a huge margin of error. Enjoy the ride, and don't worry about it.

Most of the info is "finer points" stuff that is really overwhelming in volume for your purposes.

Flip Flop Rider

thumb test works for me

77record

livedarklions, I've wondered about the tank too, I should check with a gauge to get an idea. I'm trying to decide whether to credit my body or the hardness of my tires I guess. Like so many other things, impossible to figure maybe, and just have to keep observing.

shelbyfv

If it matters

masi61

Not a "squeeze test" person here. I use a digital tire pressure gauge and check pressures before each ride. This is because I have a bike with road tubeless and a bike with latex tubes. Could you share what 700x35 tires you are using? It they are heavy duty hybrid/commuter tires I suppose you can optimize and soften the ride some by running lower presssures but you do need to know the exact pressures so why not start using a gauge? Also since you have 700c wheels you could always put some supple type 700c tires on there and maybe run with latex tubes for even more comfort.

77record

They are Bontrager H2, wire bead, 30 tpi, 700 x 35c that came on the bike.

tFUnK

Compressed air and thumb test? I'd feel irresponsible recommending that as an inflation method.

Whether you want to use a tire pressure calculator or not, please at least use a gauge. 35mm tires, I'd say they could be anywhere in the 40-75psi range, depending on your weight (person+bike+gear).

livedarklions

If they ain't popping or going flat, and you're comfortable, that's good enough for a 7-10 mile ride. Just make sure your tank can't blow the tires off the rims.

People like me who ride hundreds of miles a week on smaller tires need to worry about this stuff a lot more, so you're going to get some overly complicated answers.

masi61

A quick google search of this tire shows spec of minimum pressure 60 psi, max pressure 95 psi and weight of 525 grams. Sounds like a pretty forgiving, durable tire.

PeteHski

50-60 psi is in the right ball-park for your weight on 35C tyres. But would be better to check them with a good quality tyre gauge as your guess could be miles out.

Eric F 

I weigh 182lbs and use 40psi in the 37mm tubeless tires on my gravel bike, riding on pavement, dirt roads, and mild singletrack. Sometimes, I hit things moderately hard, and I haven't had an issue. They are soft enough to smooth out the ride a bit, but hard enough to protect my rims. These are also pretty stout tires with a moderate amount of tread knobs (IRC Boken Doublecross).

For a 35mm fairly-smooth clincher tire with tubes, running mostly on the road, 50-ish psi sounds about right for your weight. You could probably get away with less. You might prefer more. Be aware that harder tires might give you the perception that they are faster because you're feeling more vibrations from the road. You might not actually be going faster. Vibration and vertical deflection losses from a harder tire might be costing you more than hysteresis losses (tire sidewall flex) from a softer tire

77record

Thanks. I don't really know the tech stuff, good to know.

livedarklions

Just FYI for when you get your next set of tires--the minimum/maximum pressure will be printed on the side of your tire. It's sometimes a little hard to see.

livedarklions

Sorry, but if I was a newbie asking about 7-10 mile rides and someone sent me to that train wreck thread, I'd be looking for revenge later.

shelbyfv

Yes but he would only have to read the first response to get the info he wants.