Ideal tyre pressure

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Around how many psi would be ideal for all-round unicycling?

2

I don’t think there is any “ideal” tire pressure. But there is personal preference, whatever feels ideal.
Less pressure = softer cushier ride, more drag.
Higher pressure = harder harsher ride, less drag.

3

The ideal pressure is whatever feels good for you.

Over the years my ideal pressure for various riding styles has slowly gotten higher.

4

That question is impossible to answer usefully without more information. Important variables are:

  • Wheel size
  • Tire width
  • Type of terrain
  • Type of intended riding
  • Rider weight
  • Rider aggressiveness
In the old days it was simpler. Nearly all unicycles had 1.75" tires, and it was a question of whether you rode on pavement (outdoors) or floors (indoors). Then one would mostly only need to know rider weight to offer a fairly useful number.

John’s Rules for Unicycle Tire Pressure

In order of importance:

[LIST=1]

  • Enough to keep the rim off the ground 99.9% of the time
  • For rough terrain, soft enough to absorb some of the bumps
  • For smooth terrain and/or speed, hard as you feel comfortable
  • For learning to ride, soft enough to provide more friction (to prevent excessive twisting) [/LIST] That's about it. Really. Beyond that, season to taste. And BTW, don't rely too much on the numbers on a tire pressure gauge, unless you've spent some proper money on it. Many are not very accurate anyway.
    • 5

    my ideal tyre pressures are around 20psi, 35psi, 90psi and 65psi

    6

    My car gets 35 psi in all four wheels. :slight_smile:

    For most riding on traditional/old-school unicycles, 60 psi is a good starting point. More for racing, less for indoors, etc. That’s for 1.75" tires. Put that much pressure in a 3" tire and it will ride horribly. Tire width is probably the biggest factor in what pressure you need.

    7

    Off road, run it as soft as you can

    I ran my new KH 24 at about 60 psi (what ever it said on the sidewall). I was real newish, and just assumed that riders in the vids zipping through the dirt were really good. I couldn’t ride across a gravel lot because every little stick and stone upset my balance.

    Then, after reading on this forum that most muni riders used 20 ish psi, I tried that. In one day I could ride all around many places. A soft 24x3 tire will roll over a stick or stone and not kick back.:slight_smile:

    To find the softest you can go, as a new rider, stand up on the pedals holding onto something, and twist side to side. Make the tire as soft as you can. When you go to soft, the tire will fold over, make a crease instead of turning. That will make the handling a bit weird, to soft.

    Beginners should enjoy soft tires (and high seats !) while they can. As soon as you must have a uni set up for hopping and dropping, you must lower your seat (leg motion room) and pump up the tires to prevent pinch flats. You can feel it when the tire bottoms. Preventing damage is the real reason off road riders who do big tricks run high pressure. Otherwise low pressure rolls over stuff much better.