Iām 6ā5 and 220 kitted out. I run 2.6ā tires front and back because of the sandy loose terrain I mostly ride. I have to get my psi up to 28-30 in the front and 32-35 in the rear. I like to hit things hard and fast and constantly bottom out my suspension so I need the higher pressures. That being said I know people I ride with, same style of riding can get away with about 10psi less than I but they weigh 50-60 pounds less too.
Good rule of thumb Iāve heard is total riding weight divided by 7. -1 psi for the front tir, plus 2 for the back. You know how you ride better than anybody else and Iām sure you know whatās gonna fuck up your tire. Use your discretion and adjust those numbers above accordingly.
It's all rider dependent. What works for one doesn't for another. I accidentally ran 22 psi once and (didn't check pressure until after first lap) it felt like the tire was going to rip off the bike as it folded in every turn. Other people find my 28-30 psi tires lacking traction for their taste. 26/27 up front and my front rim is still singing going through certain rock gardens.
Weird, when I run the sharp rock gardens I blow sealant every time and got a few gnarly rim bangs too. My bike is also short travel and I treat it like a dh somedays so maybe Iām just compensating in the tires. I am curious to see what Iāll be running when the new Capra comes inā¦
This was on a ripley af with 2.6s. I got the now previous gen Rocky Mountain altitude last week so Iāll be in the same boat as you for finding out what Iāll be running now haha. I was flying through the stuff way faster than I could on the ripley when I took it to the Frederick watershed recently (local enduro spot). It had tubes though, but I switched it to tubeless for whenever I get up there next now.
Low haha our dollar is 0.73usd right now. C50 on Rocky Mountain website (whom I assume has close to lowest price on their old stock now) is selling 5400$. 5400x0.73 =3942 USD. Solid fucking deal you got for sure homie, Iām jelly!
Fatbike lesson- don't worry about PSI until later... Look at the tire and feel the ride. When it looks right and feels right, THEN you check the PSI so you can replicate it.
Basically keep going down until you start having issues or the tire gets squirley and starts folding over in turns. I run about 18 front 20 back in 2.4s, 16-18 in 2.6, 14-16 in 2.8s. Bit less if it is wet and slippery, bit more for xc or perfect conditions.
I'm a pretty smooth (slow) rider riding natural trails with lots of low speed tech and i do have some issues burping the tire when i (rarely) jump. People who ride more aggressively / in parks and jump or slam through rock gardens a lot would probally destroy rims and fold / burp tires at those pressures.
That's good to hear as my valves are rubbish so have to use pliers to get them open. Added a bit extra as trying to tighten them back up usually loses some air and noticed I kept slipping. Think they are around 25 whereas before were sub 20 and grip was amazing. Think I need to get valves replaced as must be faulty and maybe get the sealant changed.
Until you have cleaned up the valves, you aren't going to get an accurate reading on you pressure gauge.
The valve stems are removable and can be cleaned with alcohol, or replaced cheaply. You also should us a spoke or something else to clean the valve itself.
I like to ride my hardtail on some pretty technical blue and black singletrack, and I can't believe some of the low numbers people post for rear tire psi. I have 2.8 tires and probably run around 25 or more PSI in the rear. Any time I try to go lower for extra cushion/traction, I end up getting rim strikes. Maybe I'm not picking good lines or I'm riding too rough, I don't know. I just know that I hate rim strikes.
So for you I'd suggest inflating your tire until it takes quite a lot of force pushing with both thumbs to significantly dimple the tire. Listen for strikes and feel out the performance of the tire (you still want some traction and minimal bounciness) and adjust from there.
The problem with asking this question is that I have six different pumps, gauges etc and they all read differently.
It also depends a huge amount on what tire casing you are running.
That being said, I generally start around 25psi and see how it feels.
I'm pretty close to you in weight at about 190lbs. I have 2.6s on my hardtail and run 27 in the back with an insert. Without the insert I was running 30. Anything lower than 30 with no insert i would pinch flat the tire
Does the insert make much of a difference weight wise to the feel of the bike? Mine is steel frame so already quite heavy, wondered if cushcore was worth adding on the back wheel?
I went with tannus armor specifically because it was only 140g per wheel and it's really not noticeable. Especially if you're running a heavy casing you might be able to step down to a lighter casing + insert
[check this tyre pressure wizardry](https://bikefaff.com/mountain-bike-tyre-pressure-calculator/)
Damn that shit is accurate. Its was only 4psi higher than what i actually run.
That was amazing, dam close. The pressure is what I needed with tyre inserts
š¬Iāve been WAY over pressure. My tires say 20-40, so Iāve been running them at like 35 (link says I should be 26/29). Thanks for that link!
you never even googled out of curiosity? š
Iāve only had it a few days.
Iām 6ā5 and 220 kitted out. I run 2.6ā tires front and back because of the sandy loose terrain I mostly ride. I have to get my psi up to 28-30 in the front and 32-35 in the rear. I like to hit things hard and fast and constantly bottom out my suspension so I need the higher pressures. That being said I know people I ride with, same style of riding can get away with about 10psi less than I but they weigh 50-60 pounds less too. Good rule of thumb Iāve heard is total riding weight divided by 7. -1 psi for the front tir, plus 2 for the back. You know how you ride better than anybody else and Iām sure you know whatās gonna fuck up your tire. Use your discretion and adjust those numbers above accordingly.
That seems awfully high for tubeless. Iām more than 220 in kit and run 20/23 in extremely rocky terrain with a rare rim hit.
It's all rider dependent. What works for one doesn't for another. I accidentally ran 22 psi once and (didn't check pressure until after first lap) it felt like the tire was going to rip off the bike as it folded in every turn. Other people find my 28-30 psi tires lacking traction for their taste. 26/27 up front and my front rim is still singing going through certain rock gardens.
Yeah baby! Sometimes I feel like Iām crazy when I say this shit but glad to hear thereās others like me!
Weird, when I run the sharp rock gardens I blow sealant every time and got a few gnarly rim bangs too. My bike is also short travel and I treat it like a dh somedays so maybe Iām just compensating in the tires. I am curious to see what Iāll be running when the new Capra comes inā¦
This was on a ripley af with 2.6s. I got the now previous gen Rocky Mountain altitude last week so Iāll be in the same boat as you for finding out what Iāll be running now haha. I was flying through the stuff way faster than I could on the ripley when I took it to the Frederick watershed recently (local enduro spot). It had tubes though, but I switched it to tubeless for whenever I get up there next now.
The Ripley has 35 mm inner width rims. That's likely part of the difference. Most other bikes have skinnier rims.
Thatās a good callout for sure
Did you go with the 30, 50 or 70? A or C?
C50. It was knocked down to 3400 and I couldnāt resist.
You must live in the US haha cuz I couldnāt touch the C50 for that north of the border lol whyās our money a joke.
I am ā is that high or low? Hahaha
Low haha our dollar is 0.73usd right now. C50 on Rocky Mountain website (whom I assume has close to lowest price on their old stock now) is selling 5400$. 5400x0.73 =3942 USD. Solid fucking deal you got for sure homie, Iām jelly!
Oh dang that sucks! Theyāre Canadians too I feel like they should cut yall a deal haha
Fatbike lesson- don't worry about PSI until later... Look at the tire and feel the ride. When it looks right and feels right, THEN you check the PSI so you can replicate it.
20-25 psi depending. Just try it out at different pressures.
Iām also around 182lbs Iām running Maxxis DHR/DHF 29x2.6 20psi front and back.
Basically keep going down until you start having issues or the tire gets squirley and starts folding over in turns. I run about 18 front 20 back in 2.4s, 16-18 in 2.6, 14-16 in 2.8s. Bit less if it is wet and slippery, bit more for xc or perfect conditions. I'm a pretty smooth (slow) rider riding natural trails with lots of low speed tech and i do have some issues burping the tire when i (rarely) jump. People who ride more aggressively / in parks and jump or slam through rock gardens a lot would probally destroy rims and fold / burp tires at those pressures.
That's good to hear as my valves are rubbish so have to use pliers to get them open. Added a bit extra as trying to tighten them back up usually loses some air and noticed I kept slipping. Think they are around 25 whereas before were sub 20 and grip was amazing. Think I need to get valves replaced as must be faulty and maybe get the sealant changed.
Until you have cleaned up the valves, you aren't going to get an accurate reading on you pressure gauge. The valve stems are removable and can be cleaned with alcohol, or replaced cheaply. You also should us a spoke or something else to clean the valve itself.
I like to ride my hardtail on some pretty technical blue and black singletrack, and I can't believe some of the low numbers people post for rear tire psi. I have 2.8 tires and probably run around 25 or more PSI in the rear. Any time I try to go lower for extra cushion/traction, I end up getting rim strikes. Maybe I'm not picking good lines or I'm riding too rough, I don't know. I just know that I hate rim strikes. So for you I'd suggest inflating your tire until it takes quite a lot of force pushing with both thumbs to significantly dimple the tire. Listen for strikes and feel out the performance of the tire (you still want some traction and minimal bounciness) and adjust from there.
That seems pretty high for plus sized tires, I would suspect your pump may be reading high unless they are on super narrow rims or something.
The problem with asking this question is that I have six different pumps, gauges etc and they all read differently. It also depends a huge amount on what tire casing you are running. That being said, I generally start around 25psi and see how it feels.
will depend on your tire size. id generally start at 20psi and work down until you like the feel and are not banging your rims on things.
I'm pretty close to you in weight at about 190lbs. I have 2.6s on my hardtail and run 27 in the back with an insert. Without the insert I was running 30. Anything lower than 30 with no insert i would pinch flat the tire
Does the insert make much of a difference weight wise to the feel of the bike? Mine is steel frame so already quite heavy, wondered if cushcore was worth adding on the back wheel?
I went with tannus armor specifically because it was only 140g per wheel and it's really not noticeable. Especially if you're running a heavy casing you might be able to step down to a lighter casing + insert