Road Cycling - Tire pressure

I have a late 80,s Shogun 800. I like the bike, but the guys I ride with have new road bikes with all the latest stuff and seem to have less trouble on hills than I do. It could be I'm just not in as good shape as them, but recently it was pointed out to me that their tires handle over 100 lbs. while the sidewalls on my 3 yr. old tires say "not to exceed 80 lbs". could new, higher pressure tires ease my efforts and help me keep up?
Thanks,
Rich

In short, yes, the more pressure in the tires, the less road resistance you encounter. But your ride will be a lot harsher, you will feel every bump. Lighter, truer wheels can also make a big difference.

You can do other things to make the bike more efficiant too, greasing and adjusting all the moving parts on the bike would also be a good start. Try riding someone elses bike, if you find it much easier to ride than your own, then you need to make adjustments.

Check your rear tire when riding. If it bulges much at all, you probably need more pressure.

I just replaced my tires with continental grand prixs that say 150lbs!! I went to 145 and called it quits there. And they handled it. The harder the tire, the less the rolling resistance, so i would say this will help your performance for sure.

It also depends on tire size too. If your tire says max 80 psi, I would assume you have 700 x 28 or thicker tires. Is that the case?

Thanks for the responses, Tires are Vittoria competition 700x25c.
Rich

Make sure you have hook bead rims.If you don't, too much pressure can cause blowoffs.Very ugly on fast downhills. Lighter tires and tubes help too.

Not every body is good at hills. I can thrash quite a few riders on the flat and quite a few thrash me on the hills. Look at the pros on the tours. Some are renowned for flat riding and some for climbing. If you can't keep up on the flats then, perhaps, you might not be in as good a shape as your colleages. I'm resigned to the fact that I will never be a good hill climber but ,what the heck, I enjoy what I can do.

Yeah, hills are not my thing, I can keep up on flats OK.
Thanks,
Rich

Originally posted by Yusuf
Not every body is good at hills. I can thrash quite a few riders on the flat and quite a few thrash me on the hills. Look at the pros on the tours. Some are renowned for flat riding and some for climbing. If you can't keep up on the flats then, perhaps, you might not be in as good a shape as your colleages. I'm resigned to the fact that I will never be a good hill climber but ,what the heck, I enjoy what I can do.

I think this has to do a bit with mentality as well, climbing is almost an art, one who can ignore pain and really give it all they have may climb better then another who is just "getting through" it. As for flats, if you increase your regular riding speed, and begin doing all rides at a higher speed, you will find that flats will become easier and your endurance may also increase. It also helps to ride with someone better then you as it will make you work a bit harder to keep up:)

as for tires, 80psi is not all that low, and upgrading to a better tire set may help, but your gearing may also be a problem if you are doing a lot of climbs. Perhaps if one of your friends let you ride thier bike through a climb you may see what is different... that is if the fit is correct for you.