Gallo

I have been biking for a number of years.

I am now trying to get faster especially climbing

It has occurred to me that possibly I am over inflating my tires

I normally have between 50-65 lbs or close the max or the max

I ride a 08 hardtail Stumpjumper

comfort is not my issue as I have been riding like this for years

Southern California Canyons mostly

Tire suggestions are also welcome

I am running the dart smoke combo

old habits die slowly

"Fred"

The lower the pressure the faster you will be unless you are on the road.

Tire suggestions depend on what and how you ride.

NoBrakeNate

Try riding with the min. tire pressure, you may like it much more.
For tubed tires I use 40 for dirt, 60 for road and 50 for a mix.
For tubeless I ride 28-30 for dirt.
You should ask local shops or riders for tire recommendations for the trails you ride on.

pablosnazzy

too low and you get a pinch flat. depends on your weight, how much you are carrying on your back, and what type of terrain you are riding.

you wanna climb faster? get stronger legs. pedal up lots of hills a lot, pedal long distances, do sprints, get stronger, and you will be faster no matter what your tire pressure is.

Gallo

Don't ride it on the street except to get to the dirt or back home from the dirt. Use my road bike for road rides.

I am 180 don't ride with much besides a bottle of water and a saddle bag with a spare tube and tools.

I will try 40 lbs

"you wanna climb faster? get stronger legs. pedal up lots of hills a lot, pedal long distances, do sprints, get stronger, and you will be faster no matter what your tire pressure is."

agreed you forgot lose weight which I have and am still working on in combination of above.

I am simply looking for angles

Daspydyr 

I still see the dart smoke and velociraptors in S. NV quite a bit. I think the terrain is similar to your canyons, lots of hardpack mixed with gravel and loose rock. You probably have more roots that we have.

I am 6'3" and 225. I run 33-35 back and @40 front. FS bike. I use a Kenda Karma on the front. I like the wider spacing between knobs, I "FEEL" it grips the looser sections better. I'm still playing with ideas for the back. I like the paddle pattern of the Dart/Smoke. There is a guy around here who researches tires and posted that he has a crush on the Swiss Army Avenir. They are interesting. Good centerline for speed and nice spacing for biting the hardpack.

ed 

There is a thread in here about tire size vs pressure vs rider weight vs riding style.

To give you a good answer, all four parameters must be known.

I'm usually somewhere around 200lbs.
Tire size: 2.35"
Riding style: I guess aggro XC / All Mountain // as long as I have the energy and not worn out...I'm smooth through the chop.
Tubed pressure: 40psi
Tubeless Pressure: 30-32psi (as long as I have wire beads to keep the burping down)




edit: This is my hardtail pressures BTW. I run different pressures entirely on my Porker.

JonathanGennick 

I dunno. I flatted yesterday, and that slowed me down quite dramatically.

To the OP, just experiment and see what happens. Tire pressure is easy to play around with. However, I don't think it's really the key to getting faster up the hills. Leg pressure probably matters more. Keep lungs inflated too. And Pablo's advice is good.

"Fred"

If you still run tubes then yes you do have to keep pressure high enough as to not get pinch flats. I run tubless and at 165 run 18 and 20 psi.

JonathanGennick 

I didn't pinch flat, oddly enough. I suspect an issue relating to a loose rim strip.

I was just making the joke that I reduced my pressure to zero psi, and gained no speed XD.

Daspydyr 

I read this thread and patted myself on the back that I hadn't flatted in a year. Then I went out and found a front flat. I have learned not to pat myself on the back for anything.