Mountain Bike Tire Pressure – All You Need To Know

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    • #117022
    • #117023

      Interesting article. One comment that I found curious was in paragraph 4 of the answer, stating that lower pressure would help your tire roll quicker. I would think a higher inflation would do that?

      I do agree that you need to experiment and find what works well for different conditions. I have a good idea, for the type of trails I’m riding, what pressure I will inflate my tires to.

    • #117024

      Great article. It’s never a bad thing to learn more about the variables affecting your ride and performance.

      "gar29" wrote

      Interesting article. One comment that I found curious was in paragraph 4 of the answer, stating that lower pressure would help your tire roll quicker. I would think a higher inflation would do that?I

      I think the author is just implying that the tire will roll over roots and other obstacles with a lower tire pressure instead of bouncing or deflecting off the obstacle. I would guess flow/pedal efficiency is what is being implied.

    • #117025
      "Jarrett.morgan" wrote

      I think the author is just implying that the tire will roll over roots and other obstacles with a lower tire pressure instead of bouncing or deflecting off the obstacle. I would guess flow/pedal efficiency is what is being implied.

      Ahh, good point, I figured I was overlooking something. Knew if I threw it out there, someone would figure it out for me 😄 Been riding road to much lately, the more pressure the better!

    • #117026

      I believe lower-pressure tires roll faster over rough terrain since, as Jarret Morgan mentioned, they don’t glance off of roots and other obstacles and instead conform to them and roll more easily over them. That’s one of the main arguments for tubeless tires, anyway.

      On the flipside, I’d say that a hard tire definitely rolls faster in smooth conditions. But you definitely sacrifice traction when you increase pressure, so it’s a trade off.

    • #117027
      "mtbgreg1" wrote

      On the flipside, I’d say that a hard tire definitely rolls faster in smooth conditions. But you definitely sacrifice traction when you increase pressure, so it’s a trade off.

      Goes back to the point of what works best for individual trails, conditions and preferences. I ride a lot with my nephew, who always runs lower pressure and uses UST. Interestingly, he kills me on the downhills, but I always get him going up.

    • #117028

      Even roadies are starting to realize that lower pressures and wider tires roll faster, much of the pro peleton has started using 25mm tires instead of the standard 23mm.

      A higher pressure tire feels faster because it transmits more vibration, but that doesn’t mean it is faster. As Greg mentioned, the lower pressure tire allows the tire to more easily conform to bumps. So, instead of your forward momentum becoming upward momentum, the tire casing deforms around the object and the rim itself (and wheel, and bike) continue forward. Of course the tire deformation requires energy, and more supple tires that deform more easily require less energy, and are therefore faster.

      But yeah, it’s all about balance, you can go too low for sure. You want to go as low as you can until the tires start feeling squirmy in the corners or you are bottoming out the rim often. I typically use around 23/25psi front/rear, on tubeless 29er tires in the 2-2.2" width range. Wider tires can be aired down a bit more. On my rigid SS when I’ve got a bit fat 2.55" front tire I’ll run it at only 18psi.

    • #117029

      So yeah, I’m running my 3.8" fat bike tires at 10psi in the back and 8psi in the front. 😼

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