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Tire pressure

Old 08-12-22, 09:57 AM
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Suprdav95
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Tire pressure

Hey y'all. I've been out of the cycling community for a while. I used to ride a lot about 10 years ago, but life happened and I had to hang up my cleats. I just recently purchased a "new" bike and began riding again. Recently I've been seeing articles online about lower pressure in your tires is better and can make you faster. I thought the school of thought was the more tire pressure, the less rolling resistance. Anyway, I run 25mm tires and found a calculator online that said the correct psi for my size and tire size is 94psi in the rear and 92 in the front. What tire pressure does everyone ride with and do you feel like a lower pressure makes you faster?
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Old 08-20-22, 02:48 AM
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I like the Silca calculator and when I input all my info for my panaracer gravelking 32’s I got 67/64 front/rear
Then I measured the tires and they measure 36mm, and the calc changed to 55/53.
Takeaway is measure your tires if you want to use a calculator for pressure
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Old 08-24-22, 09:27 AM
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I get about the same for my 25 mm tires. Depends on your weight, surface conditions and speed.
More weight is more pressured, more speed is more pressure and better surface conditions is more pressure.
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Old 08-25-22, 09:00 AM
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On my bikes that have clinchers, Gp4000s on one and Gp5000 on the other, both tires are 700x25. I inflate to 80 lbs. I way 240 lbs. I usually never have flats or other problems. On my newer bike that has tubeless tires (Schwable pro ones) 700 x 28 I inflate these to 65 lbs.

Hope that helps!
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Old 08-25-22, 01:02 PM
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I use the Silca calculator to find my ideal tire pressures, pump my tires up to 2-5 psi over those numbers...

and then use the thumb test to decide if I need to pump them up again in the next week or two.
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Old 08-25-22, 04:25 PM
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I just look at the sidewall of the tire and pump it up a little below the maximum pressure molded into the tire body. Currently alternating between two bicycles for daily road rides, running 700x32 and 700x35, and they get pumped up to about 75-80psi. I check it weekly and top off a necessary. No pinch flats, blow-outs, or other tire problems so it seems to be working.
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Old 08-29-22, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by skidder
I just look at the sidewall of the tire and pump it up a little below the maximum pressure molded into the tire body. Currently alternating between two bicycles for daily road rides, running 700x32 and 700x35, and they get pumped up to about 75-80psi. I check it weekly and top off a necessary. No pinch flats, blow-outs, or other tire problems so it seems to be working.
That's what I do. On my road bike, which has tires with max. inflation of 110 PSI, I usually put in about 90. On my gravel bike with 65 PSI tires, I usually make sure they're at around 60.
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Old 09-01-22, 06:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Suprdav95
Hey y'all. I've been out of the cycling community for a while. I used to ride a lot about 10 years ago, but life happened and I had to hang up my cleats. I just recently purchased a "new" bike and began riding again. Recently I've been seeing articles online about lower pressure in your tires is better and can make you faster. I thought the school of thought was the more tire pressure, the less rolling resistance. Anyway, I run 25mm tires and found a calculator online that said the correct psi for my size and tire size is 94psi in the rear and 92 in the front. What tire pressure does everyone ride with and do you feel like a lower pressure makes you faster?
I'm in the same boat. Everything has changed in the last 10 years. After getting a flat, the guy at bike shop was being kinda jerky to me about pumping up my tires to max, like what used to be the recommendation. I had to explain I'm working from 10 year old bike knowledge. Now everything is about lower pressure.

Originally Posted by Mmassey338
I like the Silca calculator and when I input all my info for my panaracer gravelking 32’s I got 67/64 front/rear
Then I measured the tires and they measure 36mm, and the calc changed to 55/53.
Takeaway is measure your tires if you want to use a calculator for pressure
Thanks for recommending the Silca. I entered all my info to get their recommendations.
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Old 09-04-22, 07:34 PM
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I'm on GP5000's 700x28 and run in the ballpark of 100psi for most rides (Trek Emonda SL5 with Alto 52mm deep carbon wheelset). I'm 295ish. For some reason, lower pressures make me worry about stress on the wheelset. Good luck!
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Old 09-09-22, 06:55 AM
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Yeah, there’s lots of talk about “lower pressures,” but few really understand the context and variables, or at least fail to articulate the complexities.

It used to be that even light riders and racers would run +100psi on the road in as skinny a tire as they could find, like 20mm or even 19mm. That’s the context.

Is that applicable to clydes? Maybe; what kind of tire and size? What kind of roads? What kind of riding? That’s the complexity, as also expressed well by mr_pedro above.

Without knowing the OP’s weight and answers to other questions, we cannot begin to comment on what an optimized for speed pressure might be.

I’m 245lbs and push 700x25 tubeless racing rubber aggressively, but with experience and care (i.e. I don’t ride heavy in the saddle and slam stuff) over rough MI roads. That works out to 95/100-105psi F/R for me, depending on the tires. I have no idea if it’s optimized for speed, but it is optimized for my preferred feel at the wheels, comfort, and damage resistance.
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Old 09-09-22, 08:22 AM
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Lower pressures in a 25mm tire will just lead to more pinch flats. If your bike has room for 32mm, try those and you will be able to lower pressure to the 60-80 psi range depending on your riding style.
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Old 10-31-22, 10:10 AM
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I'm ~210 and usually aim for 75-80 on my 28mm gp5000s. I've only pinch flatted my rear once... when I decided to test the lower limits and hit a bump at 55psi. So now I play it safe(r).
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Old 11-07-22, 08:34 AM
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25mm tires are pretty narrow, and narrow tires require higher pressure to avoid pinch flats. Also, insufficient pressure means the tire is compressing more than ideal and you lose energy to that flex. You might also notice 'squirming' or other undesirable handling traits with underinflated tires. So there are multiple reasons to continue to ride narrow or narrowish tires at high (~100psi or thereabouts) pressures.

Lower pressures are becoming more popular because many road bikes can accept fatter tires than in decades past - I have had more than one bike where 25mm seemed to be as wide as would fit, but I don't see my future self owning a bike that can't fit at least 32s.

So if sticking with 25mm tires, yeah, pressures in the 90s or 100s of psi are probably still a good idea. When you ride those tires enough to wear them out, see if you can fit wider tires for your next set and then enjoy the benefits of lower pressures. THere are many 'high-performance' (lightweight and light, supple casing) tires available in 28mm, perhaps fewer in 32mm, and only a few options above that. Lots of heavier and tougher tires in all sizes, but not so many 'fast' tires.
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Old 11-12-22, 06:38 PM
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I'm about 215 lbs, 6'2".

In p.s.i. front/rear, I run:

70/75 on 35mm clinchers,
80/85 on 28mm clinchers,
85/90 on 28mm sew-ups,
90/95 on 25mm clinchers,
95/100 on 23mm sew-ups.
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Old 11-13-22, 01:38 AM
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I look at the sidewall of the tire and go by that. Maximum PSI on the back and then I run about 4 PSI less on the front to get a better bit/traction. Also it’s more comfortable on the handlebar’s when riding on chip-seal.
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Old 04-05-23, 10:46 PM
  #16  
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Jan Hein of the Bicycle Quarterly is the guy who has changed everyone's perception of tire sizes and pressures needed. It is interesting to read his scientific experiments that led to the bigger tires and less pressure. His evidence is so strong that the Tour de France riders are now riding bigger and bigger tires with less and less pressure. Jan's evidence shows that it is sidewall flex that determines how efficient a tire is to pedal and bigger is better in all cases. Pressure has a big role in this. He has experimented up to 50mm tires that role easier than 25mm tires at over 100psi. I have changed my tire pressure habits and now experiment with pressure to find the sweet spot for the tires I'm using. My smallest tire on a road bike is 32mm at this time and I'm very happy with them.
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Old 04-24-23, 12:37 PM
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The pressure should be sufficient that when sitting on the bike the tyre sidewall deflects around 15% to 20% of it's height.

The pressure needed varies according to tyre width, tyre wall suppleness and wheel load. So with identical tyres the front will always be a good but lower pressure than the rear.
https://www.renehersecycles.com/tire...ure-take-home/

So no hard and fast rules. Except possibly just pumping up to the max pressure on the sidewalk is probably wrong.

.
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Old 05-22-23, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
Jan Hein of the Bicycle Quarterly is the guy who has changed everyone's perception of tire sizes and pressures needed. It is interesting to read his scientific experiments that led to the bigger tires and less pressure. His evidence is so strong that the Tour de France riders are now riding bigger and bigger tires with less and less pressure. Jan's evidence shows that it is sidewall flex that determines how efficient a tire is to pedal and bigger is better in all cases. Pressure has a big role in this. He has experimented up to 50mm tires that role easier than 25mm tires at over 100psi. I have changed my tire pressure habits and now experiment with pressure to find the sweet spot for the tires I'm using. My smallest tire on a road bike is 32mm at this time and I'm very happy with them.
I read the same article and it also states that as long as your tires are not wider than you downtube, it will make no difference in speed, which they backed up with a lot of data. I'm 245 and I run 700x40 gravel tires, the rear is 50 psi and the front is 45 psi. I spent an entire afternoon testing. Too much pressure would slow me down over washboard and too little pressure would bottom out on rocks and roots, so I adjusted so neither would happen. The 50 and 45 psi that worked perfectly then gave me pinch flats so I went tubeless. I really didn't want to go tubeless, it was change, and for some reason I resist change on some things. I'm glad I tried it because there is no way I could have used those pressures, and those pressures were the sweet spot that I needed. It's all working now. I love it when a plan comes together. I'll never go back to tubes.

Last edited by Breadfan; 05-22-23 at 11:36 AM.
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Old 05-28-23, 03:21 AM
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I mostly have the largest tire the bike will fit. Unfortunately on my fav bike at the moment it will only take a 25mm in the front and I use about 80-90 psi.
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Old 06-03-23, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by tallbikeman
Jan Hein of the Bicycle Quarterly is the guy who has changed everyone's perception of tire sizes and pressures needed. It is interesting to read his scientific experiments that led to the bigger tires and less pressure. His evidence is so strong that the Tour de France riders are now riding bigger and bigger tires with less and less pressure. Jan's evidence shows that it is sidewall flex that determines how efficient a tire is to pedal and bigger is better in all cases. Pressure has a big role in this. He has experimented up to 50mm tires that role easier than 25mm tires at over 100psi. I have changed my tire pressure habits and now experiment with pressure to find the sweet spot for the tires I'm using. My smallest tire on a road bike is 32mm at this time and I'm very happy with them.
Would you happen to have a link to the article? Thanks Al
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Old 06-03-23, 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted by alanf
Would you happen to have a link to the article? Thanks Al
Alan years ago I signed up for e-mail updates from the Bicycle Quarterly and it was through these e-mails that I learned of all the tests that Jan had been party too. Check out the Bicycle Quarterly web page. I believe it might be a paid subscription but their e-mails are free. I believe you get more information paying for it but that is how I found out about this interesting series of tire tests.
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Old 06-07-23, 11:18 AM
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21 posts and 21 different techniques, approaches, opinions ... I don't know, that makes me kind of sad. I am not going to add to the confusion. I will simply suggest some consideration when presented with a commercial concern publishing material that stands decades of manufacturing and performance practice on its ear.
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Old 06-07-23, 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Suprdav95
Hey y'all. I've been out of the cycling community for a while. I used to ride a lot about 10 years ago, but life happened and I had to hang up my cleats. I just recently purchased a "new" bike and began riding again. Recently I've been seeing articles online about lower pressure in your tires is better and can make you faster. I thought the school of thought was the more tire pressure, the less rolling resistance. Anyway, I run 25mm tires and found a calculator online that said the correct psi for my size and tire size is 94psi in the rear and 92 in the front. What tire pressure does everyone ride with and do you feel like a lower pressure makes you faster?
First things first - yes, we have learned (and tested) that lower pressures are nearly always faster, ride better, and handle better. It is worth noting that the ideal pressure depends on the bike, road surface, rider weight, speeds ridden, etc. Knowing that I get great results with 25s at 75 psi doesn't really tell you how to adjust your own pressure if you don't know my weight, roads, speed, etc.

The best advice I've heard (short of using a couple of up to date respected online calculators like Zipp and Silca) is to start at the lowest pressure you're comfortable with, then drop pressure a few psi at a time until you recognize you've gone too far. Do that, and you'll have a much better idea of what works for you.
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Old 06-07-23, 09:46 PM
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I am on 35 mm tires, rated at 75 PSI. I fill them to 85 PSI, no problems at all.

I'm confused by the posts that say lower pressures go faster. Why? I'd think that with lower pressures, the tire will be less round and thus have more rolling resistance, no?
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Old 06-08-23, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by MagnaRota
I am on 35 mm tires, rated at 75 PSI. I fill them to 85 PSI, no problems at all.

I'm confused by the posts that say lower pressures go faster. Why? I'd think that with lower pressures, the tire will be less round and thus have more rolling resistance, no?
Google is your friend. Lots of pages and videos that explain this, but basically, lower pressure reduces the rolling resistance and allows the tire casing to absorb more of the minute variations in surface as you ride. Imagine riding over rumble strips. With a very high pressure tire, your tire is going up and down each individual strip, requiring your entire bike to move up and down to move forward. Now imagine rolling over the same rumble strip on a tire with low enough pressure that the tire itself absorbs the up and down motion, so that your wheel and bike simply move smoothly forward parallel to the ground as if you were on smooth pavement.
You might also want to google "contact patch" to see the differences between high and low pressure.
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