What tyre pressure do people use on the big fat nobblies? I’m running at 45
psi at the moment and it seems a bit soft. Really nice for rolling over stuff
but not so good for hopping.
Peter
o o Peter Bier o O o Juggler, unicyclist and mathematician.
o/|\o peter_bier@usa.net
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Re: tyre pressure on Muni
>From: Peter Bier
>
>What tyre pressure do people use on the big fat nobblies? I’m running at 45 psi
>at the moment and it seems a bit soft. Really nice for rolling over stuff but
>not so good for hopping.
>
>Peter
That depends. The ideal tire pressure depends on the tire, the rim, your weight,
the terrain, your riding style, personal preference, and other factors.
I run around 22-24 psi in my Gazzaloddi 26x3 tire. I doubt you would want to go
that low with the tire you are using. 45 psi for a 2.4" tire seems high though.
I’d start experimenting with some lower tire pressures.
In general the idea is to use the lowest tire pressure you can get away with.
This isn’t freestyle, it’s muni and low pressure is generally better. Jumping
will feel different with a big low pressure tire than with a skinny high
pressure freestyle tire. It is something that you will get used to and you can
actually use the squishiness in the tire to your advantage when jumping.
Here are my general rules for determining what tire pressure works for me for a
given tire and rim.
Ride right into a root or a similar obstacle. Don’t try to hop over it, just
ride right into it and try to roll over it. If the wheel bounces back instead
of rolling over the root consider lowering the tire pressure. If you lose
traction on the root consider lowering the tire pressure.
Side hop up a hill. If the tire folds over increase the tire pressure. Wider
rims also help prevent the tire from folding over. Tires with stiffer
sidewalls (like the Intense DH tires) are less likely to fold over than tires
with softer sidewalls.
Hop and jump on a log or similar obstacle perpendicular to its length (the
length of the log will be to your left and right). Pick a log that is
about 6" or less in diameter. If the tire bottoms out then increase the
tire pressure.
If you get pitched off the unicycle during a ride because the tire bounced
backwards (or upwards) after hitting an obstacle instead of rolling over the
obstacle consider lowering the tire pressure.
If you are going to be riding on fire roads or other similar “easy” trails
consider increasing the tire pressure to decrease rolling resistance.
If you lose traction during a ride consider lowering the tire pressure.
If you ever get a pinch flat consider increasing the tire pressure. Also look
for a thicker tube like the Intense DH tubes.
These are all subjective measurements and also depend greatly on your style of
riding. Kris Holm pumps up his tire much harder than I do. But Kris does things
that would cause the tire to fold over, rip off the rim, and bottom out if he
used a tire pressure as low as I like.
john_childs
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Re: tyre pressure on Muni
On 23 Nov 2000 14:45:25 -0800, Peter Bier wrote:
>What tyre pressure do people use on the big fat nobblies? I’m running at 45
>psi at the moment and it seems a bit soft. Really nice for rolling over stuff
> but not so good for hopping.
Between 1.5 and 2 x what it says on the sidewall. Sometimes more if I’m doing
something where I want it at a higher pressure, but I let it down to 2x
immediately afterwards.
|\ /| Opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do
|o o| not reflect the views of Amos, my mbu puffer fish.
|/ | (His view is that snails are very tasty.)
Caspar joins Amos on the web - http://www.achrn.demon.co.uk/caspar.html
Re: tyre pressure on Muni
Most of the time I run the least pressure I can get away with - I bunnyhop on
the spot as high as I can - if the tyre bottoms out that’s too little. This
combination seems to give the best grip and comfort on rough ground.
I’m using a Tioga DH 2.3 on a widish Mavic 321 rim with a very thick
anti-snakebite tube - that combination gives a pressure of about 30 Psi
(I’m 180 lbs).
To protect the rim I’d probably prefer more pressure if dropping off from any
height. (2ft upwards I suppose)
Leo White
> On 23 Nov 2000 14:45:25 -0800, Peter Bier wrote:
>
> >What tyre pressure do people use on the big fat nobblies? I’m running at
45
> >psi at the moment and it seems a bit soft. Really nice for rolling over
stuff
> >but not so good for hopping.