Lazyass

@ 165lbs

TejanoTrackie 

According to my tire pressure calculator, based on your weight, you should be inflating your 23mm tires to 97 psi front and 108 psi rear. Your 75/85 psi values seem very low, and more appropriate for someone much lighter.

Lazyass

I don't really pay attention to calculators created by who knows who, I've been riding for awhile now. Probably longer than whoever made the calculator. If I had a problem with pinch flats I would obviously raise the pressure, but I don't have that problem.

Nixhex

So I got out for a ~15 mile ride over lunch today, and I honestly don't know what to think. Rode it fixed with no brakes, and stopping is weird and awkward (no surprise there, right?). Luckily my normal route is a couple miles of road with minimal traffic, and then paved bike trails.

On the one hand, I like the simplicity of it, but on the other hand, I wanna go fast, and I was way off my normal pace. Probably I should ride it a few more times before making any decisions.

TejanoTrackie 

You need to learn how to Ted Shred.

Trakhak

I got my first track bike over 55 years ago, and the only times I ever rode without a brake were on the track. If you like riding fast, put on a brake. Sure, brakeless fixie riders see track bike riders with brakes and think "poser"; I think "poser" when I see brakeless fixie riders.

Nixhex

Yea, I'll definitely be putting on a brake. Also I'm generally a fan of longer cranks (175ish) and I'm pretty sure it has 165s on there now, so I'll prob swap those out at some point as well as putting on some bullhorn bars instead of the drops. Never been a huge fan of drop bars.

veganbikes

I see the brakeless crowd and I think "y'all gotta friggin death wish" You cannot predict traffic and skidding is not stopping and is not controlled it is gambling and sure maybe you are really good at counting cards and the casino of life isn't watching you so hard but one day you might miss something or Lady Luck might not be in your favor and you are in trouble. At least with a brake I know so long as set up properly I can stop pretty quickly and if I am so desperate to leave a brown stain in my underwear I can do that as well and not use the brakes (but I value my knees and ankles) but I always have them.

On a track everyone is going in the same direction doing the same thing (or close to it) so brakes could be dangerous in that instance but on the road you can predict about as much as Zoltar. I won't lie though Premium Rush was a fun movie, the fixed gear stunts were enjoyable to watch in this fictional film.

Zdawg

The bike is quite nice but I'd say it's well over-priced. It doesn't have any components that would justify such a high price. The Sugino mighty comp crankset is nice but it still is 130bcd. The unsightly welds on the joints but most especially at the track fork ends are appalling compared to the standard track Italian track bike. I'd recommend waiting for a deal on eBay to show up.

Bianchi pc

I only ride track bikes on the road but I have found it interesting and useful to go back and fort between this forum and the one for track racing (c&v too, but that's a different story).

In the track rack racing section I found this quote from Carlton - from 2016

"TT used to race track a lot at the Superdrome in Texas. Really smart guy." - he also says you are a big proponent of different front and rear pressures...

Anyway so yeah Tejano Trackie - I would love to know, if you would be generous enough to share - what is your opinion on what tire pressures I should run for the front and rear for street riding with 25mm tires - I'm 152 pounds and looking for speed & efficiency over comfort.

TejanoTrackie 

According to my calculator, you should inflate your front tire to 84 psi and your rear tire to 93 psi. These are median values to provide the best combination of comfort and low rolling resistance, with a good margin of pinch flat protection. You will note that my calculator uses 90% of the rear tire pressure in the front. This assumes about a 60-40 weight distribution between the rear and front tires. On many of my bikes I use a wider tire on the rear, and about the same pressure in both tires. If you ride mostly on smooth paved roads, you can increase the tire pressure to decrease rolling resistance. As to rolling resistance, a lot depends on the tire itself. Some tires just roll better than others with less energy lost by friction between casing layers and even movement between the casing and the tube. I know you didn't ask, by my preferred performance road tires are the Continental GP 4000 and 5000 series.

Bianchi pc

Interesting.

That is lower than what I have been inflating them to - I will try the pressures you recommend.

I have been running Michelin tires for years - first the pro service course 2 then 3 and I'm currently on their power competitions.

I looked at the GP 5000s recently online because I'm not quite there yet but I'm going to need to switch my tires out soon and I'd heard good things about them but they were a little heavier than the power competitions so I was thinking I'd stick with the same tires I know, which rarely get flats and seem pretty fast to me. But yeah I'm gonna rethink that too on your recommendation

- If I run Gp5000s 23mm in the front and 25mm in the back that should make up the minor weight differential.

When I switch them out are you saying I should run the new tires at the same pressure or am I confused?

Thank You very much!

TejanoTrackie 

Most people overinflate their tires, thinking it's necessary to reduce rolling resistance, when in fact after a certain point the reduction is negligible. Yes, by running a 23mm tire in front and a 25mm tire in the rear, you would inflate both of them to 93 psi. In fact, I have several of my lighter performance road bikes set up this way, except that I'm using a lower pressure because I'm lighter than you.

Bianchi pc

Fantastic!

Thank you TT