Do You Over Inflate Your Tires?

I treat the "Max" PSI the same as I treat the "best before" date.
There is some wiggle room. Your tire will not explode if you go a few PSI over.
I have seen dudes blow tubes up by over inflating, but they got real crazy.
I normally run my bike and my car tires over the Max PSI rating, you get less rolling resistance.

i am an auto tire dealer and I will go 2 psi above the manufacturers stated specs but I won't exceed the max inflation number on the tire. Just not sure if it's a normal practice on bikes to go over max inflation?

Doesn't it depend on your weight?I think my tires say to pump near max if you weigh 150 pounds or more.Dont quote me on that number, but it came with an entire chart correlated to weight.

I put mine to he max but not over inflate. 120 psi.

I once had tires that said 140 max, uh that's OK, I'll stick with 120. 😄

Unless you like a harsh ride. The rolling resistance doesn't increase that much unless it's severely under deflated. I keep mine 28s (yes road and love the comfort/puncture resistance) at 90 psi. Being a bit lazy, I only check once every two week or so and it's normal around mid 70s when I pump it up again. I was more anal when younger and racing and keep my 20s around 100-110 psi. I weight around 150 then and 160 now.

The correct inflation pressure has nothing to do with the max inflation pressure shown on the side of the tire.

Give or take 10 psi, 110psi would be a good starting point for most 700x23 or 700x25 tires. If you're a skinny whippet, 100psi or a lard [censored] 120psi - those would be good starting points. Depending on what roads you ride you may want to adjust those numbers.

If you're on a billiard table smooth road and smashing it in a time trial, then pressures above those in the previous paragraph may be in order. NEVER exceed the recommended pressure of the rim if you're using carbon clinchers.

As an example, I used to time trial on smoothish, straight roads on Campag Shamal wheels (19mm wide) with Conti LA tubulars 700x19 at 175psi. On technical courses or roads with a less than perfect surface the pressures would drop to 125psi. Why? The amount of time you lose on each corner fighting "the bounce" caused by excessive pressure more than negates the slightly lower rolling resistance. Likewise, on a hill climb TT (start at the bottom, finish at the top - no descending) up the pressures somewhat but NEVER exceed the max recommended by the rim or the tire.

On a long ride, like a century or double century, err a little on the softer side. The difference in rolling resistance between 110psi and 100psi isn't much, then difference in comfort over 6+ hours is big enough to be a factor.

What Swampy said.

Rider weight, road conditions, event type, event duration, tire quality and condition...all determine what pressure to ride.

One thing I have learned is the accuracy of tire gauges are in question too. In my shop I have one $300 gauge that reads 0-40 that I check cheaper ones against. Those cheap ones can vary by 5psi up or down on a 30psi car tire. Kind of makes you wonder what's going on at 120psi?? I am in luck that I have several good ones I can check mine against and make sure they are in the ball park.

I admit I've never paid attention to max inflation values, I just pump my tyres up until I can't put any more air into them. I've been doing this for years and it has never given me any problems.

I tend to over inflate depending on the condition of the road and the how far should I go on a specific ride. I rarely go outside of the city now so I am not much concern about the tires and the amount of air I pump in them.

I don't, but the roads I ride include some rough patches, so I don't think it's a good idea for the life of the tubes to be at max when I hit bumpy pavement.

I have never inflated my tires, coz I believe it is good for bike tires

There is no need to inflate tire to the max rating on the sidewall unless you're a clydesdale. There is a simple PSI calculator that will get you to within 5 psi of the proper psi for your weight; to use this calculator you need to scroll down to the 2nd calculator and then enter in your body weight with your bike kit on plus your fully loaded ready to ride bike weight, then skip down to tire size and enter it using the drop down menu selections for both front and rear, and the calculator automatically does the rest. The only time you will need to vary from this outside of road conditions is if a new tire has their own recommended psi. I found that Vittoria has their own scale on their tire package but that scale corresponded to the same psi the calculator came up with, so most tires will correspond with the calculator.

dorkypantsr.usbike tire pressure calculator.htmlOpen ↗

Making sure you have accurate tire pressure will make your tires last longer and handle better, so while some may not bother I like my tires to last as long as possible, this is just like your car tires, you wouldn't put a new set of tires on your car then drive away and never bother to check your air pressure again for the life of the tire would you? of course not because your car tires will last about 1/4th as long as they should if your lucky not to mention decreased handling and braking. Then why would you do that for bicycle tires? I check my pressure in my tires usually before every ride, on a real short ride with the grandkids I won't bother since I had already put air in the the day before.

110 psi for 23 mm, 100 for 25mm.

80 psi for the 27x1-1/4" tires on my old beater Schwinn. Which I only ride in winter or in really bad weather.

I am 6'1" 230 pounds. It says I need to inflate them to 113 front and 173 rear.

I think the best PSI for a given rider depends from bike to bike, at least that's how I treat tire pressure. I'll go a bit above or below the recommended levels to what *seems* to work best while I'm out riding. I'm not afraid to exceed the maximum rating by a PSI or two, and I'll go under the recommended rating if I feel it gives me a better ride with more control. It just depends.

I won't get crazy about inflating my tires beyond the maximum rating, though. I'd rather not have a tired explode in my hands, or while I'm out riding. That doesn't sound like a fun experience, especially after I saw the reenactment from 1,000 Ways to Die, where a guy was inflating a tire and let it explode, which was just a gruesome death. :P

One thing I noticed is a tire with a thicker side wall holds a big guy like me better at the same pressure than a tire with a thin sidewall. I was using a Kenda that had a thick sidewall and was 85psi max and went to a Serfas that has a 100psi max but thinner sidewall and the Serfas is like riding a flat tire compared to the Kenda. Just saying psi is not all there is to take into account.

Yeah, inflating the tires too much make us bump way more than necessary, it's not practical or convenient, even if it's easier to pedal.