Is your tyre pressure correct?

James Bracey explores the science behind inflating your tyres to maximise performance

- James Bracey

It wasn’t too long ago that the only pressure you were supposed to inflate your tyres to was the maximum recommended: normally 120psi and more. You were given this advice by any experienced cyclist and this was often accompanied by dire warnings of catastrophic pinch flats if you ran anything lower, and of course that old ‘fact’ that the higher the tyre pressure, the faster the bike.

This belief also coincided with a time when 23mm was as wide as most ‘proper’ cyclists would go and a 25mm tyre was seen as a boat anchor more suited to commuting or touring use.

At the lower pressures, tyres roll smoothly

Now, 25mm is seen as ‘narrow’ and the reserve of racebikes – with 28, 30 and even 32mm tyres being specced as standard on endurance road machines. So with this in mind, do we need to update our thinking in terms of tyre pressure? Is maximum still the way to go?

Why is finding the correct tyre pressure important?

It’s probably more appropriate that we talk in terms of ‘ideal’ tyre pressures rather than ‘correct’, as tyre pressure is a moveable feast – a single tyre pressure is not a fix-all for every rider.

Tommaso Cappella, Vittoria’s service and quality manager, and self-professed tyre pressure enthusiast, explains why pressure is so important: “The ideal pressure allows the tyre to sag properly, optimising the ground contact area, therefore impacting manoeuvrability and performance.”

Finding the ideal pressure is also about striking a balance between reducing rolling resistance and increasing comfort.