XTR

I've ridden for a long time, raced MTBs a lot back in the 90s, and one problem I've always faced was tire pressure in a MTB. I'm 6'3"+ and even in my leanest when I was racing I weighed 193 in shorts. My full up weight has almost always been 200+ with a camel-back and shoes. (these days it's 210+ in shorts). I've always had to run max pressures to try to keep from getting pinch flats and/or bending rim beads on rocks. (I have a picture of me from the '96 Kamikaze here some where with a tube hanging out of my jersey pocket because I had to stop and change a flat) Back in my racing days I had to learn to build wheels out of necessity. In any case, currently I ride a full Carbon 2013 Superfly 100 full suspension 29er. That frame is limited to about 2.6 on tire sizes. I ride in New England these days, it's a bone yard of rocks up here, so even running tubeless I was running 35psi or so.


Over the last winter I installed a set of Tannus Armour inserts and OMG, it's like I've got a new bike. It took me a while to get confidence lowering pressure but as of now I'm running about 25 PSI. They are a PITA to get installed, but once they're in they work.


I've read the comments from the mountain bike experts that talk about losing some suppleness, or feel. You probably get that if your a 150lb rider who can actually run lower pressures but there isn't much of either at 40psi. My grip on sketchy climbs is better now than I've ever had, and I can actually feel the tires conform to rocks or roots rather than rolling up and over. The feeling in fast turns is different too. Not sure exactly how to describe it but the I can feel the tires flex the sidewalls. I think I'm getting better traction all around running them. For sure they are the biggest change in feel to my riding since I got my first full suspension 25 yrs ago..



If you're a bigger rider I strongly recommend the inserts in tubeless setups.

DMC707

Thanks for this -- i am a bigger rider and will keep it in mind next time i need tires

prj71

I bounce between 185 and 190 lbs. So not far from your weight. I'm trying to figure out why you are running 25 psi and 35 psi pressure. I'm running tubeless on 2.4 tires and running 17psi front and 20 psi rear on carbon wheels. Anything above that I start spinning out or losing grip and the ride becomes harsher. I run those pressures on rock garden rides as well.

Wonder if you just had some bad rim / tire combos back then. Rim and Tire technology for bikes has come a long way since the 90's