aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,504
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
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Quoted: 7350 Post(s)
I ride very narrow tires at 120 psi, and I weigh only 185. Of course, wider tires need less pressure, but more pressure gives you less rolling resistance, aka better performance. The improvement that higher pressure provides is accentuated for heavier riders or cargo loads. A lightweight rider can't really feel the difference between 70 and 100 psi. Higher pressure also helps protect your wheels, both rims and spokes.
Try it. It's not as crazy as it sounds. As I said, see if you can find the point of diminishing returns. It might even be above 100 psi.
You're on the upper west side? That's where I grew up, on 96th St near Amsterdam. My mother still lives there, and my sister is on W 83 St.