Loading…
It's all bullsh*t, ignore it.
On my non tubeless 37mm Vittoria Voyager slicks the sidewall says min. 1 bar or 15psi, and my GravelKing SKs don't have a minimum recommended pressure (or at least I don't know about it).
Run whatever you like, just don't destroy your rims, and don't roll your tires.
Think about it, what would be the point of a 38mm tyre if you couldn't go below 50psi? 🙂
Correct, it is BS (and varies by manufacturer). Pay attention to our style and experience, but it depends on a lot of factors (weight, terrain, speed, rim width). Cross riders ride until they hit the rim, than pump it up a few PSI (so that is a 33mm tire with PSI in the 20’s)
Obviously if you go too low you risk having the sidewall deform under cornering and increase the potential of burping (unless you use skinnystrippers). I find if I’m pinching the tire on the rim, the sidewall folds over too much on cornering - but if the rim width is matched well to the tire I can go low and still have responsive steering.
Most tire manufacturers are getting better, but it is still all over the place. Conti used to recommend absurdly high pressures. Like 102PSI for 32mm. Now the tubed tires are rated 85-102. The tubless GP5000 is a more reasonable 65-87PSI. Personally on the road I run them at 50F/60R. Maybe 40F/45R for gravel. So although Conti has gotten better, I still don't agree with them.
ENVE as a good chart on their web site – their numbers tend to match what I ride. Matching the tire size to the wheel size and weight makes more sense than just reading the numbers on the sidewall.
Here is a link to a copy of it: http://gravelcyclist.com/bicycle-tech/gravel-bike-tyre-tire-pressure-guidelines-by-enve-composites/
Interestingly, ENVE's MAXIMUM pressure is 49PSI for 32mm (with 21ID) is 49psi - a bit off from Continental's MINIMUM pressure of 65PSI. The former is gravel and hookless and the latter is road-hooked, so there's that. Lots of variables to consider.
Sign in to reply — or claim your old account if you posted here before.