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Tyre Pressure

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:04 pm
by Trials_Fever
Hi all

The only info i have been told when i brought my 2nd hand trials bike was that the psi should be around 6psi.....
I understand its to ensure good grip and all that, but seeing that im a beginner and not doing anything fancy atm,
Do i need the psi that low?
Should i Raise it? if so how much???

Any help would be great.
Cheers Erik

Re: Tyre Pressure

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:09 pm
by Colsmith
Hi.

No need to raise the PSi practice on 6 PSI
When it really gets wet and slippy you can drop them down even further like 4 and 3 psi rear.
5 and 6 in front.

Good luck

Re: Tyre Pressure

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:16 pm
by David Lahey
No matter if you are a beginner or the world champ, new bike or 40 year old bike, using the right tyre pressure is very important. They make the bike handle like rubbish with even only a couple of psi too much at either end.
The right pressure will vary depending on your weight and the tyre design and age. Most fronts work OK at 6psi, but probably that would be too high even for the most flexible rear tyre unless you are very heavy. If you are in the normal weight range and have a newish proper competition rear tyre, somewhere between 3psi and 4psi will probably work best. If you have a tyre more than a few years old (gone hard) you should use even less pressure than that. A good test is to put your whole weight on the rear end with the rear tyre on a flat hard surface and see how long the contact patch is. About 200mm long contact patch is in the ballpark.

Re: Tyre Pressure

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:35 pm
by FM350
Vary pressure according to conditions: 6psi front and 4 rear will work for slippery, and for rocks increase maybe 2psi. However for a beginner bike time is far more important than worrying about tyre pressures, and maybe some sort of online guide to help beginners with the basics would be very useful?

Re: Tyre Pressure

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:19 pm
by Trials_Fever
Thanks very much for those who have responded :D I Heard tyre pressure is important so thats why i wated to get it right from the start.