Hi everyone,
I was just at NAUCC in Fort Collins. Great time and thanks to all those who pulled it together.
I was talking to one very strong rider with a 26 inch hatchet. Since I also have a hatchet, I asked him what tire pressure he uses. He said 30 psi. Now this is the same tire I have - rated up to 20 psi. Does anyone else ride with the tire that high? The tire is the : Maxxis Minion FBR 26 x 4.80
I ride with mine between 12 and 15. He said just tilting the unicycle changes the direction and it rolls nicely. Too low of a pressure it bounces off roots and rocks that only hit one side of the tire. It also self steers off trails if the trail has a slant when it is at 15 psi. Inflating it to 30 reduces the ground contact and solves many problems. It made sense to me, but I did not ask about bounce. That is a problem even at 20.
So, does anyone else inflate a fat tire to 30 psi or other high values…
Jigywigy
I don’t have any really wide tires (my biggest are 3.0), I did ride that Hatchet with the 4.8 tire at 30psi. My opinion of riding it was that the tire was way too hard. I can see it being good for speed, which makes sense for racing, but it kind of defeats the purpose of such a fat tire.
So to me, 30 is way hard for such a wide tire, but I’m sure what he was telling you is true in terms of tracking well. It’s a heavy wheel, so not the best for the racing events at NAUCC, but if it’s what you have, you do what you can with it.
You should try pumping it up and see how yours rides for you!
I also have a Hatchet 26" and I always stay below the max psi that they print on the tire. Isn’t the tire prone to pop when you put 10 psi more in?
I do also agree that the Hatchet bounces a lot, also when riding on asphalt. I recently put a different seat on it, which made it a lot more comfortable to ride (a Nimbus gel saddle, instead of the stock seat). Also the hatchet is very easy to mount with so much tire surface touching the ground, but it is kinda heavy.
I thought when riding really offroad with lots of roots and rocks, you should ride at maybe half the required psi, so like 10psi? With all my other unis I ride at 30-35 psi, though someone in Germany recommended I ride with 20psi offroad.
@johnfoss. I wish I tried it, that would have been a good idea. Thanks for the info - it would possibly be too hard for root infested Maine and possibly bouncier than it is at 20. At 20 the hatchet tries to throw me off when I hit a root. Either way, I will be practicing my basketball score keeping skills to be official scorer for UNICON. Waiting for the invite. 
@setonix: The whole popping thing is what worries me. That wheel is pricey. I should have asked if he modified it to hold the pressure. It just might be within the limit, but my large size may push it over the limit. I will try it by slowly increasing in increments.
I usually put the hatchet away during the summer. Riding on snow mobile trails is fun in the winter and that works for Maine.