big50_1

I'm in my early 60s and have returned to biking for exercise. I just completed a training regimen to do a metric century putting on the bike over 500 miles in over 6 weeks. The road bike I use has Schwalbe 700x25c front/back (bulletproof). The experience was more bone-n'-butt jarring than I remember from times past. I've read that some put 1 or 2 size larger tires on the back for shock absorption OR run larger road tires for the same reason OR be careful about too high a tire pressure. My habit has been to pump the tires to the max pressure indicated on the casing. Supposedly minimizes road resistance. I've done some searches but the comments are all over the map. Any comments re minimizing road shock for older riders? I use a firm gel saddle and wear a couple of pairs of shorts for cushioning when I ride. Also for any European cyclists, it there an European philosophy on maximizing touring comfort/minimizing road shock.

Retro Grouch 

There's a lot of folk lore about bicycle tire pressures that isn't born out by science.

If everything else is equal, a slightly wider tire will allow you to use a lower tire pressure with no sacrifice in rolling resistance. I weigh right at 200 pounds. The road bike that I ride most often has 700 X 28c tires @ 90 psi. On our tandem my wife and I use 700 X 28c tires at 100 psi front and 110 psi rear. At those air pressures we neither pinch flat nor feel like we're riding through a mud bog.

The Weak Link

As an experiment and spurred by opinions on this very site, I switched my tires from Bontragers 23cc @120 PSI to Conti Gatorskins 25cc @90 PSI. I've seen no change in my times and it seems more comfortable.

John E

I prefer 700Cx28s over skinnier tires, although some of my 28s measure more like 25-26mm in width. I usually inflate to 90PSI front, 95 rear, with good results.

DnvrFox

At 217 lbs - 120 psi for my 700 x 25's. Have done the exact thing for 10 years.

I have no problems with bone and butt jarring. What kinds of surfaces are you riding (I am 68 years old)? I ride a lot in just nylon shorts with no padding, or wear bibs with minimal padding. Besides, the "padding" is not there for bumps, anyway.

merlin55

as your weight increases you should run higher pressures

as you increase your tire size you should run lower pressures

Michelon (yea I kant spel) tires come with an chart for inflation pressures for the particular size tire based on the riders weight, excessive pressure don't reduce rolling reistance very much, but do make for a hard ride, and the tire will "crown" i.e. wear out prematurely in the center of the tread....just like you car tires. I noticed this when I cut an old tire in half with some shears, and looked at the cross section of the tread....I lowered my presures from 125 psi to 115, and the tires last much longer

tsl

Could it also be that since the Schwalbe's wear like iron, they ride like it too? I've never ridden them, so that's why I ask.

I have ridden Specialized Armadillos. They're also a "bulletproof" tire, and they ride like iron.

On one bike I run 700x25 Continental Gatorskins at 90F/100R, and on the other 700x28 Bontrager Race Lite Hard Case at 80F/90R. About 2,500 miles on each bike now, and no flats. Both sets of tires are very nice riding and plenty grippy too. Near as I can tell, they have easily another 1,500 miles in them too.

I arrived at those pressures using the formulas here as a baseline, then experimenting from there.

BSLeVan

There are numerous factors that contribute to a harsh ride. Tire size and pressure is just one of those. While it is true that a 5 pound reduction in tire pressure will have an impact on stiffness, so too will the make of tire and type of wheel being used. Some wheels are stiffer than others, and stiff wheel usually mean more road shock. The size of the hub flange, depth of the rim, spoke choice and pattern all have an impact. Tires themselves have different amount of softness or flexibility. Some tires have a harsher ride because they don't flex as much, even at identical tire pressure to a softer tire. For example the Conti 4000s I'm running now feel softer to me than the Hutchinson's I was running last year. Additionally, the bike's frame (materials, construction, and geometry) can contribute to ride harshness. I have an aluminum framed bike with pretty tight geometry, running 32 mm tires that is much harsher than my titanium frame running 23 mm tires. In terms of the least expensive way to start figuring this out, I'd simply lower the pressure in my current tires by 5 - 10 lbs and see what happens.

solveg

I've been running Schwalbe Big Apples overinflated for a year now! I didn't mean to, it's just that I must have become confused sometime early when I was starting biking and thought they were 80 psi and never thought about it again. I've run them as low as 60 on gravel, and was so glad to get them back up to 80 again. They're supposed to be used at 35-70 psi max. I'm going to try it at 50 and see if I'm more comfortable on longer rides. I thought they were very cushy tires at 80. I actually like my 120 psi tires the best, but I get sore after. I've been blaming the aluminum bike, but it may be the tires. But I like riding on the high pressure tires a zillion times more.

Timtruro

the more rubber on the road, combined with less pressure, you will sacrifice some speed, rolling efficiency, but usually not much.

solveg

Actually, I think Retro Grouch's "mud bog" description was pretty apt.

Longfemur

I'm fine with 25's, but I only weigh about 130-140 lbs. This means I don't really need to inflate more than about 85 psi. If you're so heavy that you need to inflate your tires to the max pressure indicated on the tire itself, you're going to get a rough ride no matter what.

I differ a bit with others in that I know that with tires, there's a trade-off between comfort and speed. I'm not going to rationalize it by claiming a softer tire doesn't have an effect on the effort it takes to go the same speed. But speed alone is meaningless unless you're racing. There's no point getting somewhere a few minutes sooner if you're so beat up from riding that you can't ride the next day.

I'm not familiar with the tires you have, but the tire itself and the way it's made can certainly influence the ride. I don't care what anybody says, the more resistant a tire is to puncture, the more rolling resistance it's probably going to have. It will either have a thicker casing or thread, or it will have a kevlar belt or something. That automatically introduces some rolling resistance. But it's like the speed trade-off. You don't get someplace faster if you flat along the way.

A person my weight can see a big enough difference between a 23, a 25 and a 28 mm wide tire. A heavier person might not see that much difference. You pretty much just have to buy the tires and try them for yourself.

Comfort is influenced by many different factors. The more racing-oriented the bike and your riding position are, the less comfort you get.

I'm 55 myself. I ride a road bike exclusively. Been doing so for almost 40 years, excluding the 5 years I was on dialysis (I still rode, but I couldn't manage very much). At this point, I'm not that interested in racing around in a perpetual self-imposed sprint or time trial. I appreciate a bit softer tire (though not too sluggish), and a more laid-back bike and position. I prefer to get my fitness from distance and hours riding than from sheer speed and intensity. Luckily, the bike I bought 10 years ago is a "sport touring" type of road bike, so it can easily be set up for comfort while remaining fast enough for a few thrills now and then.

Most people who take up road riding later in life would be much better served by a touring or sports touring bike. Most of what is marketed today doesn't fit that description, even though it may be equipped with a triple. I know someone who just bought a road bike like that. It's got a triple, it has a higher handlebar position, it has the equivalent of braze-ons for a rack and a fender, but only at the rear. At the front, it's got a carbon fork that can never accommodate a fender, and which could barely take a 25 mm tire. This is marketing gone mad.

Monoborracho

My Trek 520 has 700x28 tires, and I have no qualms about dropping the pressure from 100 to 60-70 psi on rough chip seal roads. It makes a world of difference in riding comfort.

A little more rolling resistance is the least of the components making up my drag factor.

John E

Unless one is racing, a little extra rolling resistance is no big deal -- we expend an average of about 85% of our energy fighting air resistance. Others' observations about carrying more pressure in the back than the front and about the relaitionship between the rider's weight and ideal tire pressure are spot-on.

solveg

But... am I the only one that thinks that the higher pressure tires are more fun? You go faster, you turn quicker.... or am I only reacting to the fact that they're skinnier?

DnvrFox

+1

Longfemur

Given the same tire, I agree that higher pressure, up to a point, makes a road bike feel faster. But whether you're faster overall to get somewhere is debatable. It depends on how much slower you end up going on rougher stretches that the guy with the lower pressure might just fly over without slowing.

I don't know why everybody is always talking only about speed, though. If you want speed, get a motorcycle. Don't any of you guys just like to ride and see things? What's the big rush? Look, I've done the speed thing too, so I'm not perfect. But at some point, you want to enjoy cycling rather than "training". This is what makes for a long term cyclist. It just seems to me that people who are getting into "cycling" now are still motorists at heart, even when riding the bike.

Retro Grouch 

To a point.

A rock hard tire on anything but a glass smooth surface will bounce upward every time it hits a pebble. I'm told that bouncing around makes the bike feel like it's going faster than it really is. That upward bounce doesn't move you down the road and it requires energy that you have to provide.

The other component of rolling resistance is tire carcus deformation. Everybody knows that a tire has a small flat spot where it contacts the ground. That flat spot is constantly moving around the tire as it rolls down the road. Flex an uninstalled tire with your fingers. The effort it requires is rolling resistance. A tire with thin supple sidewalls is going to flex more easily and have less rolling resistance than one with stiff sidewalls. More air pressure makes the tire deform less so, if you're not making the tire bounce upward too much, you'll have less rolling resistance. Surprisingly, an otherwise identical but wider tire at the same air pressure deforms less and so it will have less rolling resistance.

One last factor is aero drag. Skinny tires will always be better because they have less frontal area.

stapfam

No- 23's at 140psi and 150 lbds.

solveg

I'll bet that's true! And to tell the truth, I kind of like "feeling the road", I just don't like how sore I get after I've felt it.

cranky old dude

I personally prefer high pressure tires best due to the sense of
a lower rolling resistance. Getting bounced around a bit never
bothered me much...as many trees on the slopes of Big Tupper
could attest to from back in my downhill ski days. Getting bounced
around still doesn't affect me much. High pressure = enjoyable ride.

Tom Bombadil

I'm running 700x32 Conti Contacts, which measure out to about 29mm on my rims. Ride them at 80-85 psi. They are extremely smooth, the vibration from the road surface is only slightly more than what I feel from my hybrid, which has 700x38 @ 60 psi and a suspension fork.

Had them swap out the original 700x28 @ 120psi as I didn't like them as well.

Retro Grouch 

Ah! The "F" word - FUN. I'm surprised at how often that gets excluded from our bicycling discussions.

Spinz

1+ with afterburners. Lp

BSLeVan

Couldn't one also argue that if you want to go slow you should get rid of your bike and walk?