Megalith

I was too busy reading people's advice on what the optimum PSI was to realize that the max PSI on my Kenda Kwest tires was only 85. Now, I'm kind of paranoid. Did this reduce the integrity of the tires in any way? I didn't go riding with them at 100 PSI or anything, but it seems that I had way, way over-inflated them.

prathmann

I did that as well today - pumped up the Primo Comet 85 psi tire on my Bike Friday to a little over 100 psi. Been doing that for almost two decades now. Ride is a bit harsher, tread life is a little greater, and rolling resistance is a bit less - doesn't appear to have any other effects.

mcmoose

You didn't damage the tires. As prathmann says, you can ride them at that pressure if you'd like. But the tire is designed to "perform" best within the recommended range (upper end of it for heavier riders, lower end for lighter riders… and/or vary for "ride quality"). Like prathmann says, over-inflate and you get a harsh ride and the trend isn't in proper contact with the pavement (which, yes, can give you longer trend life and less resistance).

Roll on!

delcrossv

Oh No!
Really there's usually a 50% safety margin. IIRC someone pumped a set of Primo's to 200 psi and then his nerve (not the tire) gave out.

johnny99

Tires have a big safety margin built in to the casing, but over-inflating does risk blowing the tires off your rims, especially if you have straight-wall rims.