Suprdav95

Hey y'all. I've been out of the cycling community for a while. I used to ride a lot about 10 years ago, but life happened and I had to hang up my cleats. I just recently purchased a "new" bike and began riding again. Recently I've been seeing articles online about lower pressure in your tires is better and can make you faster. I thought the school of thought was the more tire pressure, the less rolling resistance. Anyway, I run 25mm tires and found a calculator online that said the correct psi for my size and tire size is 94psi in the rear and 92 in the front. What tire pressure does everyone ride with and do you feel like a lower pressure makes you faster?

Mmassey338

I like the Silca calculator and when I input all my info for my panaracer gravelking 32’s I got 67/64 front/rear
Then I measured the tires and they measure 36mm, and the calc changed to 55/53.
Takeaway is measure your tires if you want to use a calculator for pressure

mr_pedro

I get about the same for my 25 mm tires. Depends on your weight, surface conditions and speed.
More weight is more pressured, more speed is more pressure and better surface conditions is more pressure.

Frank72

On my bikes that have clinchers, Gp4000s on one and Gp5000 on the other, both tires are 700x25. I inflate to 80 lbs. I way 240 lbs. I usually never have flats or other problems. On my newer bike that has tubeless tires (Schwable pro ones) 700 x 28 I inflate these to 65 lbs.

Hope that helps!

pdlamb

I use the Silca calculator to find my ideal tire pressures, pump my tires up to 2-5 psi over those numbers...

and then use the thumb test to decide if I need to pump them up again in the next week or two.

skidder

I just look at the sidewall of the tire and pump it up a little below the maximum pressure molded into the tire body. Currently alternating between two bicycles for daily road rides, running 700x32 and 700x35, and they get pumped up to about 75-80psi. I check it weekly and top off a necessary. No pinch flats, blow-outs, or other tire problems so it seems to be working.

Milton Keynes

That's what I do. On my road bike, which has tires with max. inflation of 110 PSI, I usually put in about 90. On my gravel bike with 65 PSI tires, I usually make sure they're at around 60.

1sp33d

I'm in the same boat. Everything has changed in the last 10 years. After getting a flat, the guy at bike shop was being kinda jerky to me about pumping up my tires to max, like what used to be the recommendation. I had to explain I'm working from 10 year old bike knowledge. Now everything is about lower pressure.

Thanks for recommending the Silca. I entered all my info to get their recommendations.

moborb

I'm on GP5000's 700x28 and run in the ballpark of 100psi for most rides (Trek Emonda SL5 with Alto 52mm deep carbon wheelset). I'm 295ish. For some reason, lower pressures make me worry about stress on the wheelset. Good luck!

chaadster

Yeah, there’s lots of talk about “lower pressures,” but few really understand the context and variables, or at least fail to articulate the complexities.

It used to be that even light riders and racers would run +100psi on the road in as skinny a tire as they could find, like 20mm or even 19mm. That’s the context.

Is that applicable to clydes? Maybe; what kind of tire and size? What kind of roads? What kind of riding? That’s the complexity, as also expressed well by mr_pedro above.

Without knowing the OP’s weight and answers to other questions, we cannot begin to comment on what an optimized for speed pressure might be.

I’m 245lbs and push 700x25 tubeless racing rubber aggressively, but with experience and care (i.e. I don’t ride heavy in the saddle and slam stuff) over rough MI roads. That works out to 95/100-105psi F/R for me, depending on the tires. I have no idea if it’s optimized for speed, but it is optimized for my preferred feel at the wheels, comfort, and damage resistance.

c_m_shooter

Lower pressures in a 25mm tire will just lead to more pinch flats. If your bike has room for 32mm, try those and you will be able to lower pressure to the 60-80 psi range depending on your riding style.

pnwgopher

I'm ~210 and usually aim for 75-80 on my 28mm gp5000s. I've only pinch flatted my rear once... when I decided to test the lower limits and hit a bump at 55psi. So now I play it safe(r).

ClydeClydeson

25mm tires are pretty narrow, and narrow tires require higher pressure to avoid pinch flats. Also, insufficient pressure means the tire is compressing more than ideal and you lose energy to that flex. You might also notice 'squirming' or other undesirable handling traits with underinflated tires. So there are multiple reasons to continue to ride narrow or narrowish tires at high (~100psi or thereabouts) pressures.

Lower pressures are becoming more popular because many road bikes can accept fatter tires than in decades past - I have had more than one bike where 25mm seemed to be as wide as would fit, but I don't see my future self owning a bike that can't fit at least 32s.

So if sticking with 25mm tires, yeah, pressures in the 90s or 100s of psi are probably still a good idea. When you ride those tires enough to wear them out, see if you can fit wider tires for your next set and then enjoy the benefits of lower pressures. THere are many 'high-performance' (lightweight and light, supple casing) tires available in 28mm, perhaps fewer in 32mm, and only a few options above that. Lots of heavier and tougher tires in all sizes, but not so many 'fast' tires.

Fredo76

I'm about 215 lbs, 6'2".

In p.s.i. front/rear, I run:

70/75 on 35mm clinchers,
80/85 on 28mm clinchers,
85/90 on 28mm sew-ups,
90/95 on 25mm clinchers,
95/100 on 23mm sew-ups.

tim24k

I look at the sidewall of the tire and go by that. Maximum PSI on the back and then I run about 4 PSI less on the front to get a better bit/traction. Also it’s more comfortable on the handlebar’s when riding on chip-seal.