Originally Posted by gastro
If it burst a little, you would know it...it's almost exactly like getting a flat.
And the deadpan award goes to... Gastro!
Have you guys heard about these new tubeless tires? Apparently, you can run really lower pressures with them. This lets your tire flex and conform to the terrain, providing more traction. So yeah, he needs to carry a pump, just like a 4WD. When he gets to the trailhead, he can drop the pressure. But for getting there, he needs higher pressure for more efficiency on hard surfaces.