Tire Pressure

info?

what type of bike,wheelset, and tires (tubed or tubless)?

No b

Race at the tyre pressure you've been training at. Anything else is asking for trouble.
Having said that, for me the choice is Stan's @ 25-30. Remember that altitude affects tyre pressure; measure it at the race site not at home.
Good luck with your race!

Like epola said, same as you've been training at. On training rides, start with your tires at 40 and drop the pressure in 5 psi increments untill it starts bottoming on the rim. than add 5 psi

i'm anal and run mine pretty high. mid 40's. in a beginner race that lasts around 1 hr i can't afford to spend 5 mins fixing a flat. works for me.

cw

50-60 psi

I run mine high, I run between 50 and 60. I used to flat all the time, but now I use the slime lites with extra pressure and have not flatted in at least the last 20 races.

38 in the rear, 36 in the front. I have stans.

Try different pressures during rides and see what works best for you and you're setup.

Sidenote: I read in an article that running tubeless is especially efficient since the friction between the tube and tire is eliminated during tire deformation on the ground. Tinker Juarez claimed this energy savings to be pretty significant, more than compensating for the added rotational weight of standard UST tubeless tires.

Just a thought.

one day i will look into stans or ust. not tonight though

Man that must be a nasty harsh ride for you, or are the courses nice and smooth?

What wheels and tyres are you running? I used to have this problem with my stock wheels that came on my Trance - Mavic XM117=17mm. Also I think the Pythons I was running played a part. I have since switched to a wider Mavic XM321 rim=21mm and run pressures as low as 30 without pinch flats. I'm also now running Nevegals so that might be a bit of it, but I think the wider rims made a big difference. Got to try the Pythons on there again soon, so we'll see.

ninjaboot said:

I run mine high, I run between 50 and 60. I used to flat all the time, but now I use the slime lites with extra pressure and have not flatted in at least the last 20 races.

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bonk-O-matic said:

The race I'm entering is mostly fire road type conditions with tons of climbing and not very technical decending.

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For me, these conditions call for a psi on the high end (40-45), which is higher than what I'm used to here in New England for rocky, rootsy, muddy stuff (30ish).

Tubeless with Stans has been the greatest thing for me, especially with a hardtail. Low tire pressure in the rear softens the bumpy rides nicely.

bonk-O-matic said:

What tire pressure do you race with? I know this depends on race conditions and rider weight. The race I'm entering is mostly fire road type conditions with tons of climbing and not very technical decending. Some people I know race the course with a tire pressure of 60lbs with tubes and others race with stan's at 25lbs. Any suggestion? Rolling resistance is most important to me. Thanks-

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28-31psi. depends on the race.

oh, i run tubes, no stans, on a FS bike.

and, i weigh 105 lbs.

rt

I run a Mavic 220 front, 517 rear rim, and usually Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires, but sometimes WTB Nanos or Kenda Kharismas or Nevegals or Pythons with Stan's, at 25-35 psi depending on the course and conditions. I weigh 130ish.

I run tubeless/Stans and depending on the course I run between 30-35psi.

I run tubes at 45 psi. Training and racing. I bumped it up to 50psi for a dirt road hill climb earlier this year.

bonk-O-matic said:

What tire pressure do you race with? I know this depends on race conditions and rider weight. The race I'm entering is mostly fire road type conditions with tons of climbing and not very technical decending. Some people I know race the course with a tire pressure of 60lbs with tubes and others race with stan's at 25lbs. Any suggestion? Rolling resistance is most important to me. Thanks-

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first off, pressure gauges can vary and be uncalibrated, so one person's 38 PSI may be someone elses 42 (or whatever). A tuned in rider can most likely feel a difference between the two, so I agree with all the people that said stick with what you do now. That way no pinch flat suprises(too low), and or harsh feel/bad handling on the bike(too high).

BTW, I have timed myself on the same course at different pressures, and not noticed any differences.

I typically use 34-38 for the front tire and 36-40 for the back, according to my gauge . (front tire fatter than the rear). I also use the 'finger' test, I like a bit of squish, not rock hard.

Bottom line, If you are comfortable and trust your bike, you will probably rip good times.

Whats worked for me is to pick a psi on the high side during the pre-ride. If I slip to much during the ride then let a little air out. Repeat until I find a comfortable amount of traction.

Also, some tires work better at higher psi than others. It can get kind of scary on some tires at 50+ or even 40+ psi.

usual

I say you should use a fairly hard yet not to hard 45-55 is what i say, or just run thaem at your normal pressure!!!:thumbsup:

Wow.. I run 18-20 in both tires and haven't flatted in months.

EliM said:

Wow.. I run 18-20 in both tires and haven't flatted in months.

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Have you ridden the bike?

Yeah, almost everyday. Maybe not fair though becuase I'm also running slime tubes and high volume tires with thick sidewalls. I also weigh 100lbs and ride an FS