Originally Posted by
twocicle
Last night while hammering out a 50 mile after work ride on my single, I was thinking about this discussion and hoping my luck on the Pro2 tires held out - it did, as usual for the last year.
As I recall, the only tires we ever had repeated severe sidewall thread fraying were the 25mm Gatorskins mounted on Sweet-16 rims and typically pressured at around 130-135psi. Perhaps while that pressure seemed high enough, the tires rock solid and decent handling, it may have been on the low end for a tandem team setup (according to
http://www.precisiontandems.com/arttiresbymark.htm) which implies 140psi was the correct pressure.
I am curious how a chart such as the above applies to my Michelins of choice which have a max inflation of only 7bar/102psi? Oops?
At 120+ psi its the tire doesn't feel soft to me even if slightly under inflated for the load. The tire is deforming a lot but you still have that pressure giving a solid feeling. I find it interesting to have pictures taken of our tandem from the side and behind while we are riding. Check out what the picture tells you about how much the tire is deforming. It is difficult to see where the tread stops on an all black tire but on others you can see if the sidewall is exposed. Now imagine leaning the bike at speed and see if your comfortable with how the tire would contact the road.
Last edited by waynesulak; 05-09-12 at 03:02 PM.