Tyre Pressure and Comfort

A_Sober_Paddy

Hey all,

Just looking for a little advice here please, been doing a lot of cycling in the last 5 weeks, and when i'm on the worse country roads i've had a few very uncomfortable rides. some of these roads are

+Road from Tipp Town to Emilt
+Bruff To Ballneety
+Ennis to Quin

Now the roads aren't littered with potholes just uneven surfaces, and damaged upperlayer of road.

I've been told that lowering my tyre pressure would help, but then another person told me, that if i lowered my tyre presure i'd be getting a boat load of punctures...

Any advice?

rollingscone

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Hey all,

Just looking for a little advice here please, been doing a lot of cycling in the last 5 weeks, and when i'm on the worse country roads i've had a few very uncomfortable rides. some of these roads are

+Road from Tipp Town to Emilt
+Bruff To Ballneety
+Ennis to Quin

Now the roads aren't littered with potholes just uneven surfaces, and damaged upperlayer of road.

I've been told that lowering my tyre pressure would help, but then another person told me, that if i lowered my tyre presure i'd be getting a boat load of punctures...

Any advice?

What pressure are you running now and what tyres?

You can probably run 23s at 100 without increasing your risk of punctures. Larger tyres generally allow lower pressures though.

Colonel Panic

What kind of bike? What size tyres are you using? Wider tyres can run at lower pressures and are more comfortable on poor road surfaces.

Lumen

How much do you weigh?

Seaneh

I'm a big lump (shade over 105kg), I just put 24m conti GP's on my bike for the summer. Max pressure for them is 120pis but at that level they are bone shakingly rigid. I run them at 100psi and they are super plush.


I run my 32m commuting tires at 90psi and they are like cushions.

BadCharlie

Im around the 95kg and run my 25mm GP's at around 105psi, You are running them all ready at 100psi. At that pressure and your weight im not sure i would go any lower.

But saying that you could always try 95psi and see how you get on. If you go to low in psi you will get a pinch flat.

A_Sober_Paddy

BadCharlie wrote: »

Im around the 95kg and run my 25mm GP's at around 105psi, You are running them all ready at 100psi. At that pressure and your weight im not sure i would go any lower.

But saying that you could always try 95psi and see how you get on. If you go to low in psi you will get a pinch flat.

I weight 80/81kg

Tyres are mavic aksium 25's

Off the top of my head I'm running my pressure at 8 bars

Not in the position to check my bike as I'm at work:-(

Lumen

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

I weight 80/81kg

Tyres are mavic aksium 25's

Off the top of my head I'm running my pressure at 8 bars

7 bar should be fine.

I run 7-8 bar (100-115psi) on 21mm tyres @ 70kg (+/- 2kg) and don't get pinch flats.

A_Sober_Paddy

Lumen wrote: »

7 bar should be fine.

I run 7-8 bar (100-115psi) on 21mm tyres @ 70kg (+/- 2kg) and don't get pinch flats.

Cheers, but on dual carriageway they currently run so so so smooth ha ha

Lumen

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Cheers, but on dual carriageway they currently run so so so smooth ha ha

You need this then:

http://adaptrac.com/adaptrac-adjustable-traction-bicycles

As long as you don't mind cycling around with an 800 psi tank between your legs.

BadCharlie

Ohh your light, was reading the post above.
The more you drop your psi the more comfy it can get. But you can pay a price with more puntures or even slower speed.

quozl

I use 28mm gp4 seasons and vary from about 75 to 90 psi. Tending towards the lower end of that. I like comfortable.

About 3,500 km on the pair and not a single puncture. Pinch flat or otherwise.

Same psi on my hybrid's 28mm bontrager hard cases and only 1 puncture over another 3500km. Not a pinch flat. Metal spike instead.

I'm 75kg.
I chose those based on this graphic. Note that the weight is per wheel, so I go with about 45kg for me to include bike weight and a bit more.

simonrooneyzaga

quozl wrote: »

I use 28mm gp4 seasons and vary from about 75 to 90 psi. Tending towards the lower end of that. I like comfortable.

About 3,500 km on the pair and not a single puncture. Pinch flat or otherwise.

Same psi on my hybrid's 28mm bontrager hard cases and only 1 puncture over another 3500km. Not a pinch flat. Metal spike instead.

I'm 75kg.
I chose those based on this graphic. Note that the weight is per wheel, so I go with about 45kg for me to include bike weight and a bit more.

Thanks for that - very useful

dreamerb

That's a brilliant chart, which answers some of the stupid questions I was going to ask this morning.

But not quite all, so here goes. Try as I may, I can't manage to pump my 25mm tyres past 80 psi (rated for 120). For the rear tyre in particular that's a little lower than I should be running them - reading the chart, it should be a bit closer to 90 psi. Front tyre is probably about right.

So, 2 questions -
(1) Never had a pinch flat, but are there any other maintenance problems this could cause?
(2) I have a track pump, but to get to 80 I have to try leaning my entire body weight on it. I was actually jumping off the ground to try to lean completely on my arms this morning. I think I'd need to wear a full and heavy rucksack to get higher pressure (or eat more but then that'd boost the required PSI too ) So, can anyone recommend a pump that doesn't require significant upper body strength - maybe foot-pedal type?

G1032

dreamerb wrote: »

That's a brilliant chart, which answers some of the stupid questions I was going to ask this morning.

But not quite all, so here goes. Try as I may, I can't manage to pump my 25mm tyres past 80 psi (rated for 120). For the rear tyre in particular that's a little lower than I should be running them - reading the chart, it should be a bit closer to 90 psi. Front tyre is probably about right.

So, 2 questions -
(1) Never had a pinch flat, but are there any other maintenance problems this could cause?
(2) I have a track pump, but to get to 80 I have to try leaning my entire body weight on it. I was actually jumping off the ground to try to lean completely on my arms this morning. I think I'd need to wear a full and heavy rucksack to get higher pressure (or eat more but then that'd boost the required PSI too ) So, can anyone recommend a pump that doesn't require significant upper body strength - maybe foot-pedal type?

I have this pump. Easy to get to 120psi

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/blackburn-air-tower-2-dual-head/rp-prod27013

Edit - I don't run at 120 psi. 25mm GP4000 with 100 on front and between 105 and 110 on back. I'm 82kg.

ZiabR

I am only 63kg and I run 700/23c at 105PSI. I find it ok, can be a little hard on some surfaces.

nordicb

I'm 86kg and run 23mm gatorskins at 100-110 psi. Had pinch flats when going lower on faster descends.

I recall stock giant wheels were horribly harsh at that pressure, but then upgraded wheels run much smoother, yet climb better - perhaps it depends on what direction stiffness the wheels were designed for.

Brian?

I put the max pressure in my tyres can take. I find it more comfortable to get where I'm going quicker.

ford2600

http://trstriathlon.com/talking-tires-with-joshua-poertner/

I swear I'm not taking swimmimg lessons or after buying runners...

iwillhtfu

OP you don't mention in what way is it uncomfortable?

Is it the vibration through the bars?

Do you wear gloves?
Possibly get gel inserts for under the bar tape? Double wrap of bar tape.

Is it your under carriage that's taking a pounding?

Perhaps try a different saddle.
Higher end bib shorts with more comfortable chamois.

I find the higher the psi the faster you can go and as myth busters would tell us the faster you go over a ridge lined road the smoother it is.

Either way I can't imagine dropping a few psi making a huge difference on road tyres. On a mountain bike or similar tyres fair enough.

magicbastarder

iwillhtfu wrote: »

as myth busters would tell us the faster you go over a ridge lined road the smoother it is.

i'm not sure this applies if you don't have suspension.

Alek

I'm currently on very supple 35mm tyres (Compass Bon Jons) run at <50psi and they are as fast (under me!) as previous Conti 4000SII in 28mm run at approx. 60-65psi. Quite a bit more comfortable though, cobblestones are not a problem anymore

saccades

@Badcharlie - love that chart.

I'm ~100kg and run 27/28c at about 80psi on 19mm rims and had 2 punctures in 5-6 years. Rolling resistance is fine (nice supple folding tyres) and the ride quality is really good.

iwillhtfu

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm not sure this applies if you don't have suspension.

What else are your knees/ankles for