What tyre pressure for cycling?

Stonedofmoo

Stonedofmoo

Stonedofmoo

Soldato
Joined
24 Oct 2002
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Portsmouth
Me and the GF have a couple of ordinary mountain bikes for days out. Most of our cycling is on road but we also like to follow bridalways and cycle paths in places like Dartmoor.

My friend brought his bike in and his tyres are pumped up rock solid, he says they are inflated to 45psi

This is probably far more than I inflate ours too.
Any recommendations for what I should inflate my tyres too? I would have thought running them at 45psi would increase the risk of them blowing when riding over bumpy terrain?

Cheers
 
45-60psi to be honest for bridleways/cycle paths.

Lower the pressure, the more grip you'll get offroad. However too low and you run the risk of pinch flats, so around 30-40psi is what I use off road.
 
Stonedofmoo said:
Is it possible to inflate the bike tyres with a halford tyre compressor. I'm pretty sure it's rated to 60psi but I don't want to blow it...
Click to expand...

Best not too to be honest, just a good hand pump or foot pump will suit your needs. I know its effort but better to be safe than sorry.
 
I ran mine up to 34psi using a car compressor and became uncomfortable putting more in. They're very solid and run fine on the 32 miles I've done on it since, lots of road grip.
 
A snake bite puncture is when the pressure is too low, your tyre hits something and compresses into the rim double-puncturing the inner-tube.
 
For road, I pump up to the maximum rated of the tyre as the higher the pressure, the less rolling resistance. Should say something on the side of the tyres.

45psi is NOT rock solid. My Panaracer Fire XC pros (offroad tyres) can go up to 65psi and my road slicks go up to 80psi for a guide. You'll be surprised how much faster you can go when you pump up your tyres properly.

For off-road, I run at least 40-45psi because I'd rather slip a bit than getting pinch flats.

A lower pressure does not give you more grip on the road and will wear out your tyres really quickly. If you want real grip on the road get rid of the offroad tyres and get some road slicks and most road slicks will cope with bridleways anyway.

Also, on bumpy terrain, which I doubt would be bumpy enough to cause pinch flats anyway, a higher pressure actually prevents your tyres from getting puntures.
 
Can anyone recommend some decent road tyres? Been off the bike for a few months and need to put in some serious road mileage to regain my fitness.
 
My tyres say max 40psi while my gf's say max 50psi

Does this mean my tyres are rubbish? They did come with the bike and are rather thin...

Edit: I've ordered some new ones so hopefully I'll be running 45psi soon enough :)
 
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