I have a 20" Nimbus II with 1.95 tyre, and after three 1/2 hour sessions, I have just managed a shaky three revs after letting go of my support rail but I am struggling with balance.
What I need to know is whether dropping the tyre pressure will make the uni less twitchy and easier to balance?
I currently run at 45psi (recommended tyre range is 40 - 65psi).
I honestly can’t recall. However, now I keep the bugger as hard as I can. It reduces greatly the effort to maintain directions and make turns. However as t the stage you are describing turning is not yet the issue. (Unless you are very light then 40psi on a 20" is half flat.)
Congrats by the way. I reckon those first few turns in control are the bit that stops so many. Once that is under the belt it just takes time. It can take a lot longer than a a couple of hours for some too. (Me!)
The nice thing about air pressure is that it’s easy to change. When my wife was learning she’d tweak the air pressure from time to time. Sometimes she got more out of her practices with lower pressure, somtimes she got more our of her practices with higher.
Experiment I guess.
Just my 2 cents…
As a newb myself, I found it WAY easier to learn with low pressure. My rule of thumb was: take the low-range limit and subtract another 5 psi. In other words, I found it much easier to learn on my original 24" uni tire that had a pressure rating of 40-60 psi if I adjusted the pressure to 35 psi. It sure seemed to me that new legs need low pressure.
Just to add to the list of not necessarily very helpful replies, I found that the air pressure required to make it seem easier changed quite quickly as I progressed in learning. Initially low is good to stop the uni being too twitchy, but as soon as you start building the reactions to balance then higher pressure makes the uni respond easier to inputs. I hope that helps!
Jogger,
I just learned in September on a 20" and I ran less than minimum recommended (30 psi). Was much easier for me than at 65 psi. When I felt confident I inflated and found the uni noticeably twitchier but faster.
Thanks for all the advice.
BTW, I weight 75kg at 6 feet tall, so I don’t crush a low pressure tyre completely.
I think I’ll give 30psi a go, as it’s balance I need to improve.
I agree that lower pressure is less twitchy, higher pressure will react MUCH quicker and really throw you off the first time you up it. Low pressure is harder to turn, especially on asphalt.
I have the same uni and am still learning myself. Try to find someone to walk along with you a few times and hold their shoulder, that was a big help for me after holding on to a fence along the bike path.
Be careful not to let yourself get too tired. I was so excited with my new skills the last time I rode that I kept riding and was exhausted, I ended up falling and hurting a finger and hip. I have taken a few weeks off to heal and feel much better, I’ll be ready to go again soon. I don’t heal as fast as I used to.
I’d go with that. For a long time I found that the lower pressure made it easier for me to control any bias (I tend to want to go right).
It is only when it became fairly easy to defeat any bias that I appreciated, instead, the greater ease of turning. THAT is when I started to pump as high as I could.
So, IMO, keep it soft until you no longer need to. And then pump pump PUMP!
If you set the air pressure too low, the tyre becomes too flexible and wobbles as your cycling.If you can achieve a few revolutions then you have found your centre of balance. As you practise more you will become more confident. Reach forward a little and gooooo!!!