86 psi (6 bars) reasonable for 700 x 28 road tire?

To my ear, 86 psi (6 bar) sounds low for a 700 x 25 tire. Opinions?

I just picked up a pair of tires, closeouts, Hutchinson Profil U 700 x 25 Kevlar belted. They look
like Hutchinson slicks I used and liked in the past.

The sidewall reads "rec. pressure 86psi (6 bars) max. pressure 100psi (7 bars)".

I don't recall ever riding a road tire below 100 psi, even 700 x 28. I'm riding these at 100 psi,
but only have a few dozen miles on them.

 

A shy person asked:

> To my ear, 86 psi (6 bar) sounds low for a 700 x 25 tire. Opinions?

Not unreasonable for a light rider, or for the front tire of a middleweight.

> I just picked up a pair of tires, closeouts, Hutchinson Profil U 700 x 25 Kevlar belted. They look
> like Hutchinson slicks I used and liked in the past.
>
> The sidewall reads "rec. pressure 86psi (6 bars) max. pressure 100psi (7 bars)".
>
> I don't recall ever riding a road tire below 100 psi, even 700 x 28. I'm riding these at 100 psi,
> but only have a few dozen miles on them.

Pressure ratings printed on bicycle tires are generally useless, and should be ignored.

I discuss this issue in considerable detail in my Web article on tires.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure

Sheldon "PSI-chosomatic" Brown +--------------------------------------------------------+
| Have you seen the Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation? | http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/ |
+--------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

Sheldon writes there is no single PSI rating for a tire
(http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure), )

Reminds me of a day in New Orleans, circa 1982. On a brick road, I found a bike shop. Italian
frames, Coppi posters, leather hairnet helmets, skinny leather shoes and nail-on cleats.

I asked the old guy in the shop if I could borrow a tire gauge. He said, "What for?" Then he walked
to my bike, squeezed the tires, and said, "OK. Good for daytime. Pump up if you ride in the cold."

"Sheldon Brown" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A shy person asked:
>
> > To my ear, 86 psi (6 bar) sounds low for a 700 x 25 tire. Opinions?
>
> Not unreasonable for a light rider, or for the front tire of a
middleweight.
>
> > I just picked up a pair of tires, closeouts, Hutchinson Profil U 700 x
25
> > Kevlar belted. They look like Hutchinson slicks I used and liked in the past.
> >
> > The sidewall reads "rec. pressure 86psi (6 bars) max. pressure 100psi (7 bars)".
> >
> > I don't recall ever riding a road tire below 100 psi, even 700 x 28. I'm riding these at 100
> > psi, but only have a few dozen miles on them.
>
> Pressure ratings printed on bicycle tires are generally useless, and should be ignored.
>
> I discuss this issue in considerable detail in my Web article on tires.
>
> See: http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure
>
> Sheldon "PSI-chosomatic" Brown +--------------------------------------------------------+
> | Have you seen the Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation? | http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/ |
> +--------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
> Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts
> shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com