Was putting new tires on my wheels and as I was pumping them up, I was wondering what people feel is the “ideal” tire pressure for the trails around here???
I am running 27.5’ wheels with 2.4 Mountain King II’s on the front and rear, with tubes.
What are some of the rest of you non-tubeless riders going with???
29" wheels with Schwalbe Hans Damp 2.35" in front at 24 psi and Schwalbe Nobby Nic 2.25" on the rear at 28 psi. These are tubeless. Provides a pretty smooth ride with good traction.
I’ve got another set of wheels that I’m running tubes in that I mainly use for non-technical stuff. They’re at 35 psi or higher to avoid pinch flats.
With tubes the ‘ideal’ pressure is defined more by rider weight and riding ability than the type of trails you’re riding. Something like 40-45 psi is probably a safe bet.
Convert to tubeless and anything goes.
I ride Geax Goma 2.4 x 27.5 tubeless. I run 24psi front and 22psi in back. Seems to work good for me.
When I rode with tubes I rode 30 front and 32 back
woah, how low can you go? 30+32? I guess with a wide tire like a 2.4 you can get away with that. I used to run low pressures like that when I DH’d but never for XC.
I run 25 front, 28 rear with tubes in my 29 x 2.25 Ardents. But I weigh 140 soaking wet, so that might be able to run such low pressures.
25psi front / 28-30psi rear. Tubeless 29x2.3 tires on 25mm ID wheels. 225lb rider weight.
I was running 30psi front and rear for the most part with my 29er.
Now, with my semi fat bike I’m running 15psi per tire.
I’m surprised at the number of people who are running more PSI in back than in front. Most people do the opposite. Or maybe I’m missing out on a new thing.
My rational was that more weight is on the rear wheel so it should have higher pressure to prevent damage to the rim when hitting stuff. Also my front tire is larger so I thought I could safely run lower pressure in it.
What’s the reasoning behind running higher pressure in the front?
This was my reasoning too. Also running a lower pressure in the rear can get squirmy under hard cornering, or suffer pinch flats if you are still running tubes. Most riders I know are running lower in the back tire and less in the front.
Same here, higher in the rear and lower in the front. 2.4 tire front, 2.25 rear. Same thoughts as above regarding weight distribution.
From an XC point of view we’ve always run more in front and less in back. Less in back to aid climb traction and more in front to keep the tire on the ground and avoid it squirming around in corners. People still do this. We’re not talking a huge difference between the two, say 32 front and 30 rear kinda deal. Higher pressures back in the day before tubeless.
I’m running high pressures this summer . . . 12.
Slightly higher in the front also.
I usually have 30 psi never more than 35 psi in my 26" 2.35 Minions for XC riding.
After lots of experimentation, and one dinged rear rim, I’ve settled on 18ish lbs rear and 15ish lbs front on my 27.5+ tires. Still lots of compliance, no squirm and amazing traction.
Looking for some help with this. I’m pretty sure I used to ride with really low tire pressure (like 10 psi?) because I find it difficult to control the front end of my bike over roots. Especially on the downhills. This is where I get even further behind when everyone speeds off and I try not to wipe out! I think my tires are 26 inches (26 x 2.10?), with tubes. I’m small (under 120 lbs) and not an aggressive rider.
Is low tire pressure a reasonable strategy here or is it more about skill development?
@Kristin 10lbs would be really low. Everyone rides a little different and it is a preference for sure.
I ride 29 x 2.4 front and rear and tubeless. I find it dialed in if I run 26lbs both front and back
On my fattie which is 26 x 4.8, I ride 8lbs front and back so if you are at 10 psi then that is going to get very squirly for sure. You’ll be changing pinch flats forever
Pump them up to 30 and go for a ride. If you don’t like it you can always let out a few psi on the trail and try it again
Being a 250 pound 6 foot 5 mountain biker tire pressures get well interesting.
2.4 Ardent Front gets 27 psi and 2.2 ikon 28 to 29 psi with the possibility of some near rim dings and roll in berms.
2.6 forkaster front 24 psi, 2.6 forkaster rear 27 psi. Anything lower and my wheel needs trued after each riden
This is an interesting article:
The compare a hand full of different riders and list their weights and pressures.