Road Bike Racing Tire Pressure

Emma conducts an experiment to determine the fastest tyre pressure on a rough road surface.

Road bike racing tire pressure. There was a time when most riders would opt for 23c tyres on the road pump the tyre pressure up to around 110psi for every ride letting out just a little air to provide extra grip in poor weather. 26 mountain bike tyres usually 30 to 50 psi. For a 700 x 23c tyre on the road a 55 kg rider should start with 100 psi while a 90 kg rider should run closer to 120 psi. If you are riding very smooth roads you can increase pressure a little 5 10psi.

Better yet purchase a stand alone pressure gauge from your local bike shop. Don t over inflate there s just no need even for racing. There are three types of road bike tires. Lower than max pressure means faster times as pros found and softer rides.

Conversely a narrower tire like a 28mm road tire has comparatively much less volume so it needs more air pressure to prevent bottoming out. Types of road bike tire. Lastly check your tire pressure regularly. If you have a 2 5 enduro tire on your mountain bike you ll be able to ride at pressures close to 20 psi.

She tested all the way from 119 psi 8 2 bar to 29 psi 2 bar the results were surprising. Lower pressure than the max allowed for the tire is not necessarily optimum. Road tires typically require 80 to 130 psi pounds. 29 mountain bike tyres usually 18 20 psi.

Hybrid tyres around 50 to 70 psi. Use an accurate trackpump or pressure gauge. Either way paying closer attention to your tire pressure for the conditions at hand will lead to a more efficient and satisfying ride. The amount of weight that will be exerted on the tires does play a crucial role in how much pressure you will put on a tire.

While ostensibly all of the tires reviewed on our list are puncture resistant road tires that does not mean that the market itself does not differentiate between different types of road tires whether puncture resistant or not. 27 5 mountain bike tyres usually 20 25 psi. Proper tire pressure lets your bike roll quickly ride smoothly and avoid flats narrow tires need more air pressure than wide ones. For example on my touring bike when not loaded and just my body weight and bike weigh calculated using 32 wide tires i use 45 psi front and 70 rear but if i add 55 pounds of gear for touring i now have to raise that psi to 60 f and 90 r.

Optimum tire pressure depends on rider weight and total bike plus rider weight on front and rear wheels front will require less pressure than rear wheel.