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Tire pressure / sizes for a 250lb rider

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Tire pressure / sizes for a 250lb rider

Old 02-10-11, 12:57 AM
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Tire pressure / sizes for a 250lb rider

Hi All:

This might be more appropriate in the Clyde forum, but here goes.

I built a bike for my brother in law. He's a big guy (who wants to be less big...hence this bike). He's 6' tall and weighs ~250lbs.

I'm planning on running a 700x25 rear tire @ ~120 psi and a 700x25 front @ ~110 psi for starters. I'm not even going to try using 700x23s.

Is a 700x25 in the rear going to be enough? I've toyed with the idea of using a 700x28, but I'm not sure if the tire will clear the rear brake caliper (Ultegra 6600).

Thanks,
Bob
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Old 02-10-11, 01:02 AM
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I'm a big guy too, I ride GP4000's 700x23 110psi rear and 90-100psi front. No problems for me at 250 after the holidays
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Old 02-10-11, 08:20 AM
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Check out the following info, for what it's worth:

https://www.michelinbicycletire.com/m...rpressure.view

and,

https://www.adventurecycling.org/reso...SIRX_Heine.pdf

Which is the basis for this calculator:

https://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-...alculator.html
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Old 02-10-11, 08:31 AM
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I am 6'-1" and 235#. I rode the Conti GP4000 for 2 years and now ride the The Michelin Pro3 in 700x23 for both models. No problems or complaints. My bike is a '97 Cannondale R500T, stock other than a Brooks B-17 saddle.

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Old 02-10-11, 08:47 AM
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Good info. Thanks!

Bob
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Old 02-10-11, 08:52 AM
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The links Looigi provided are well worth reading. Jan Heine has done hundreds of tests on the rolling resistance of tires on real world pavement (not steel drums). Although there are many heavy riders who have learned to live with narrow tires and very high pressures; your brother in law is going to be more comfortable and get higher performance with larger tires, 28mm minimum, 35mm would be much better.
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Old 02-10-11, 09:22 AM
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I asked this in another thread and got no answer so I will try again here. My Madone 6.2 and me are 241 lbs. When I follow some of the charts and using the 45/55 rule my back tire is supposed to be 140psi. That seems extremely high. Anyone else riding with pressures that high?


PS edit: I guess they did answer in the other thread. Seems I should go with larger tires. I will run with the 23 until they wear out and then put 25's on.

Last edited by thcri; 02-10-11 at 09:30 AM.
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Old 02-10-11, 09:32 AM
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High pressure is BS imo. Even when I was at 255# my ride/tire life was much better at 95-100 lbs. 23-25's are find depending on the condition of the roads.

Right now I'm running a Vittoria Pave 24's @ 100 lbs.

When I go slumming, I'll ride a Pro Race 3 25's @ 95-100 lb.

Some people get all over rolling resistance. There's a lot more [that matters] with tire dynamics then rolling resistance imo.

Last edited by Agave; 02-10-11 at 09:36 AM.
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Old 02-10-11, 01:23 PM
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What was your experience with pinch flats at that psi (95-100)?
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Old 02-10-11, 02:30 PM
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Running 700x23's at 120psi weighing 230 currently. Have run this setup all the way up to 280lbs with no problems.
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Old 02-10-11, 02:39 PM
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Even though 700x23 tires will work, I would suggest 700x25 or 700x28 at a lower pressure. A 700x28 tire should fit in an Ultegra caliper.

What wheels did you use for that bike?
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Old 02-10-11, 03:00 PM
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700x23 for me all the way from 220 down to 180 now. Always have been at 120psi both front and rear. I could now definitely lower that down to around 100psi and gain some comfort but honestly I'm so used to the 120psi that with my new wheels I can ride for hours and never worry about road buzz or comfort. An added bonus is in almost 7000 miles now I have NEVER had a flat on the road - pinch flat or otherwise. Why mess with perfection?
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Old 02-10-11, 04:15 PM
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I run about 100 to 110 front and back, I weigh 245 and no problems.
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Old 02-10-11, 04:24 PM
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The 25c's will be fine. We run 25c's on our tandem routinely with a team weight of 350 lbs.

We tt on 23c's and haven't had a problem.

The only reason he'd need bigger than 25c if he wanted a cushier ride.
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Old 02-10-11, 05:07 PM
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700x25 here at 110psi both front and rear. 315lbs when I got my bike and 275lbs now. No issues then, none now.
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Old 02-10-11, 08:22 PM
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IMO it really depends a lot on the surfaces you ride on. If the surfaces are smooth, smaller tires don't present much if any issues. When the surfaces get rough, the heavier you are the more problems you'll have with smaller tires.

I've run anywhere from 23s to 32s. When I started cycling up again I was 250 lbs or so (I'm now down to a bit over 200) and I ran 23s with little issues. Once I started going on rougher roads, I was forced to switch to 25s. On my commuter, which I'll load up with 20+ lbs of crap mostly in rear panniers, I've mostly run 28 front/32 rear, but had to drop back down to a 28 rear when I put fenders on. The times I tried commuting on 23s were a disaster with a bunch of pinch flats on rough pavement. I currently run a 25 on my road bike rear at all times, and have two front wheels, a more aero one with a 23 and another one with a 25 for rougher roads.
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Old 02-10-11, 08:44 PM
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270# here running GP 4 season 25s @ 120psi. custom wheel built with a Velocity Dyad rim. has been great for me
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Old 02-10-11, 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted by flip
What was your experience with pinch flats at that psi (95-100)?
Exactly 0.0

Exactly.
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Old 02-10-11, 08:58 PM
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This is telling me that I should inflate my front tire to 58psi...
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Old 02-10-11, 09:02 PM
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I am about 180 lbs and run 25's. I can't feel any difference in speed vs. 23's. In a way, I 'feel' faster on 25's, especially on rough roads since they run smoother due to lower pressure. I guess 23's would probably be a little faster due to the aero factor, but I don't think they would make a bit of difference when I need it (getting dropped on climbs).

To the OP, I'd try a 28 on the rear. With your brother-in-law just starting out, a comfortable ride and minimizing flats are much more important than any marginal performance gain from a smaller tire.
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Old 02-10-11, 09:15 PM
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Originally Posted by valleycyclist
Even though 700x23 tires will work, I would suggest 700x25 or 700x28 at a lower pressure. A 700x28 tire should fit in an Ultegra caliper.

What wheels did you use for that bike?
I have two sets to choose from. Shimano WH-R500 and Mavic CXP22 (from a Specialized Roubaix). The Mavics are heavier, but I think (maybe?) they'll be a bit stronger.

Sonny
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Old 02-10-11, 09:44 PM
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Here's the bike. It's a very low miles 2007 Tirreno Razza 1000 frame (aluminum with carbon rear stays and chainstays) and carbon fork. Groupset is a mix of 6600 and 6700 Ultegra with an FC-R700 crank.

Pictured, it has 700x25 Michelin Speedium II tires on it. It rides real nice with these tires. It tips the scales at 19lb 3oz. I think it'll be a great first road bike for him...way nicer than what I got started on!

The adjustable stem is on it for fitting. Once we get things setup, I'll put a regular stem on it.

Bob
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Old 02-10-11, 10:21 PM
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I'm 6'6" and 245 lbs and I run Conti 4 seasons 700 X 25's at 100psi front and 110 psi rear. No pinch flats in 3 years.

I also run a set of Hutchison Intensive Tubeless 700 X 25 on another bike at the same pressures.
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