(chants loudly)
- There are a few things
that I like to do every morning
When I wake up before my yoga sesh.
Like burn some palo santo,
and eat some humanely picked, gluten-free sayeed berries
while we're filling my hummingbird feeder.
And I also check my (beeps)
tire pressure.
I'm Mike Levy, and on today's explainer,
we're gonna talk about why tire pressure is so important.
Why you should be checking it before every single ride.
And we'll also cover a few tips,
on how to help you figure out what the right
tire pressure is for you.
(upbeat music)
First, let's talk about why tire pressure matters at all.
Not even the latest $10,000 carbon fiber superbike
is goinna save your ass
if your tires are overinflated or under inflated.
That $2,000 suspension fork,
those carbon fiber wheels
and the latest geometry.
Well, they're all gonna be a waste
if you're out there flopping around
with your tires not even close to inflate it
to the correct tire pressure.
Now, I don't know if you guys know this or not.
But your tires, they're the only thing touching the ground.
That's crazy, right?
The traction that they're hopefully providing you with,
it's the result of a whole bunch of factors.
But if we keep it to just the tires themselves,
it comes down to things like the rubber compound,
how soft or hard that might be.
And then the tire casing itself,
how stiff or flexible that might be.
And of course, the tire pressure that you're running.
Did you know that your inflated tire,
it's kinda like a knobby balloon.
And that balloon,
well, when you run more tire pressure,
it's less able to conform to the ground.
So if you're riding your bike,
and it feels like your rear-end
is sliding around too much, bouncing up and down,
and basically not providing you with the traction
that it should,
it might be because you're running
way too much tire pressure.
So why don't I just let out a bunch of air?
(chants)
When your tire pressure is too low,
your tire or your balloon, it can flex too much.
So when you come flying into some corner at Mach Enduro
and you expect your tires to hold you up,
they can feel vague at best,
or at worst, they could peel right off the rim.
Bottom line, you've spent thousands of dollars
on your fancy mountain bike,
and you wouldn't dream of not using minions.
But all of that is a waste
if you're not checking your tire pressure
before every single ride.
(air whoosh)
Brosky, you're telling me I spent eight grand on a bike,
I got minions mounted to carbon rims
and I still gotta check my air pressure.
(snorts loudly)
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying.
And here's why,
your tires will leak air no matter what you do,
and no matter how much sealant you use.
And Google tells me that that's because air molecules
are so tiny, that to them, a tire sidewall isn't even solid.
(loud explosion)
So you can also lose air from between the rim
and the valve stem itself
or even from a bad rim tape job.
So just remember that a few PSI too low
can spell disaster.
Picture yourself hauling ass down your favorite trail,
minding your own business, when all of a sudden,
(Mike growls)
what the hell happened? Well, you had 18 PSI
instead of 23 PSI. Not enough to keep that rock
from bottoming on your rim and costing you a ton of money.
Let's talk about high volume tires versus low volume tires
and why the two require completely different air pressures.
To do this, we're gonna go back to talking about balloons.
That low volume tire Well, it's a small balloon
and the high volume tire, guess what? It's a big balloon.
The big balloon provides you with more protection,
there's more distance between it and the rim.
And that's why it can get away with running
less tire pressure.
Tire inserts are a big topic these days,
so we probably shouldn't ignore them.
Stuffing all that foam into your tires is a proven way
to up reliability.
Sometimes you can even finish a race run or ride
with a flat tire if you're using inserts for that.
Now all that foam will it takes up a bunch of room
inside your tire, your balloon while also protecting the rim
from rocks and your crappy line choices.
Because the tire itself is the same volume,
but the air-filled area inside is much smaller,
and you have the extra support of the tire insert
and the protection it provides for the rim
where you can run much lower tire pressure
than if you weren't using an insert.
Brosky, why don't you just tell me the right pressure?
Now remember that there's no bang on right pressure for you.
But there's certainly an ideal pressure window,
which is the terminology that I like to use.
So the first step well is to get yourself
some sort of pressure gauge and no,
your thumbs do not count.
No matter how long you've been pushing them into your tire
and pretending that it's telling you something.
All it's telling you is that there's air in there,
not how much air is in there people.
If we're talking midweight trail bike tires,
and if you're a lighter rider like myself,
you might wanna start somewhere around 25, 27 PSI,
and go down from there.
Heavier riders might wanna start around 30 PSI,
and go down from there, it's much better to start high
and then let out a few PSI at a time.
And again, to do this, it really helps to ride
the same section of trail.
Back to back runs,
well, I know they're not the most exciting,
will give you the best types of comparisons.
Okay, let's wrap this up with some tips about air pressure.
The first one, let's go back to that gauge,
number one by gauge number two,
put it where you can always use it and see it.
I literally put my gauge down in my riding shoe.
That way, it's always there. I'm super forgetful.
And that way I'll never forget.
When you're trying to figure out
how much air pressure you need,
always start high and go down.
Starting low can be really expensive,
it can wreck your tire and your rim.
Looking at your tire sidewall,
can also tell you if you're running too low of pressure.
If the tire is folding over a whole bunch.
Sometimes you can actually see those stress marks
on the tire sidewall.
Another tip, it wouldn't hurt to write down
the tire pressures that you'd like to use
for a given condition.
That way, you'll always know what to go to
if it's super rainy and slippery.
Or if it's the middle of the summer,
the ground is super hard, and the trails
are running really fast.
On that note, I should also mention
that the same trail and different conditions well requires
different pressures to get the most out of your tires.
Like I said before, you're gonna run
lower tire pressures, if it's wet,
you're going slower and there's less traction.
If you're going a lot faster, you're hitting things harder,
the ground is harder, and you're gonna need more
tire pressure for protection and support.
If you feel like your tires are losing air too fast,
it could be down to a couple of things.
The first thing I would check is that valve stem
and rim interface. Put your ear real close to it
and just give it a jiggle like this.
And you could actually hear more air come out
if it's loose, if so, just tighten that lock nut.
If that's not where you're losing your air from,
it could be down to two or three other places.
And one of them, well it could be just a really old tire.
Over time your tires wear out,
they get tired from,
get it
from flexing over like this all the time
and the sidewalls kinda breakdown,
and they can leak air faster.
And of course, the less rubber they have,
the more prone they are to getting small nicks and cuts
where bits of air can escape before it gets sealed up.
All right there you go. That is the basics of tire pressure.
There's a whole lot more to learn.
And it could be way more complicated than that.
But that should give you a good place to start.
Now remember to like and subscribe to the channel
for more explainer videos. And stay tuned for our next one
where we're gonna teach you how to repair,
that expensive tubeless tire that you just wrecked,
after two rides.
That is really annoying when that happens.
(beeps)
I should just talk to you.
This video is made for you.
You're like, "yeah, I make sure there're between
you know, 20 and 24 PSI."
Four PSI? Dawg, that's like a cop pulling you over
and you're doing like 140. And the guy's like,
"you're going a little quick."
And I was, and you're like I'm only doing 40 over.
Is that a good? That's a decent analogy.
Either way, that's a huge thing. Okay.
(clears throat)