question for the bike gods and goddesses when riding in sand (dust) is it better to have a fully inflated tire? or a partially inflated tire? and if only partially, what % of the normal pressure would you recommend?
And yeah, I remember the part about not driving up with fully inflated tires....I double checked my bike today, inflated the tires up to full, rode around the block a few times then let about half the air out
And yeah, I remember the part about not driving up with fully inflated tires....I double checked my bike today, inflated the tires up to full, rode around the block a few times then let about half the air out
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SF Bay Area
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Mon, August 20, 2007 - 9:28 PMI say keep them fully inflated- you want to reduce rolling resistance. A fully inflated tire is going to have less rolling resistance. Traction will not be an issue with your tires. -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Mon, August 20, 2007 - 9:33 PMDon't over think it!!
There is more important prep to do.
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 10:44 PMIt will not hurt your bike to lower the pressure for riding around the playa. It will make it harder to pedal, but the ride will be softer. I prefer easier pedaling to soft riding, so I air em up.
Later,
Allan Greenblazer -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Wed, August 22, 2007 - 11:01 AMFor da mongolian to do his rangerly duties it would be best to keep the tires fully inflated, or at least above 40psi, the low end of the recommended range that is on the sidewall of the tire.
The playa is not a treacherous rock garden nor is it a washboard of frequency vibration stutter bumps. It's playa, with some random crap under the dust. 40-60psi is plenty comfortable for just about anyone.
Lower tire pressure increases the chance of pinch flats and increases the opportunity for something to get stuck and stay in the tire.
The tires were designed with the min/max inflate range- they take into account a certain sidewall flexibility and stiffness. If the pressure is under that range, the sidewalls are too mushy and don't adequately support the loads that are required of it. Too high and the sidewalls could blow out as they were designed to hold back no more than the max, plus % buffer. This is even true of cheap ass dollar store tires made in India or Vietnam.
It will not hurt 'your bike' but it defintely increases the hurt factor of your tire and tube.
I've raced and done technical support at plenty of races- CX, 24 hour endurance, singlespeed, alleycats, BMX, 4x, slalom, DH, plain ol mountain bike and road races. While tire pressure is a way to increase traction in loose and wet conditions, and reduce rebounding off rocks so you can run a straighter and faster line through a rock garden, it has it's tradeoffs like pinch flats, sidewall and tread punctures, which puts you out of the race. I don't see how the playa surface conditions are similar at all. It's flat. It's a beach. It's a sandy river bottom. For the most efficiency and comfort you max out the tire pressure for lower rolling resistance. Use your bike handling skills and 'suspension' (also known as keeping your knees and elbows unlocked) to keep surprises from stopping your forward momentum.
For this year, the biggest issue with bikes will not be air pressure and playa surfaces, but the fucking wind and dust blowing you into submission. -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 10:48 AMFull inflation, and don't leave your goggles at home. Remember that tinted goggles are nice in the daylight, but they can leave your stranded at night in a dust storm. Fortunately, the moon is bright all week (other than during the eclipse)
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 12:12 PMI always keep mine fully inflated -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 7:06 PMOkay, now that CTP has spoken, does that mean you don't have them fully inflated on the way up, but then inflate them fully upon arrival? -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Fri, August 24, 2007 - 1:42 AMyes please - not fully inflated on the way up - fill them when you are there and it is warm or hot out.
I should offer more details about this, and it also follows on what TomCat was saying. We do see a ton of blowout flats on bikes that haven't even been unloaded yet - and these are why we tell people to not fully inflate. But there is more to the story. So many of the bikes that come to BRC are crappy, and have crappy steel wheels which are chrome plated. They also have crappy tires on those chrome plated wheels. What this combo does is reduce that percentage of inflation leeway TomCat spoke of. The crappy bead on the crappy tire on the slippery chrome plating just can't hold on very tight. (So yes, a good quality tire will generally not blow off of a good quality wheel, with even a fair amount of overinflation...but why would you bring quality to the playa? Yea, I know, a lot of us do :-)
We tell everyone to just reduce their pressure because we don't know what sort of bike everyone is bringing, so we make that statement for the lowest common denominator...and the most common bikes to come to burning man.
The other half of the story is that MANY people fill their bike tires at the gas station on the way up, and rely on the guage on the inflator...these are notoriously inaccurate, so one could easily be overinflating by as much as 20 PSI. A foot pump from most any store (Target, OSH, Kmart, WalMart, Harbor Freight Tools) is under $10 and I recommend every camp just get one for all to use...they don't take up much room, they aren't expensive, and they are easy to use since you use the biggest muscle on your body to work them. Pick up a couple patchkits while you are buying your pump.
Oh, and you don't have to wait for me to speak...TomCat is second in command ;-) -
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Fri, August 24, 2007 - 10:43 AM"Oh, and you don't have to wait for me to speak...TomCat is second in command ;-) "
I won't let that get to my head.
I command ALL of you- inflate your tires with a foot pump NOW.
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Re: Tire Pressure?
Sat, August 25, 2007 - 8:26 AMThanks fellows I went round on this last night with the room mate, no they should be low, this is the safest way for them to travel... now there is words from the guru's
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