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Tire pressures for DH

2K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  dropadrop 
#1 ·
I know there have been a few threads about this but I am stil unclear on how to setup tires / pressures properly. I ride a TR450 w/ Maxxis Minion 3C 2.5 DHF front and rear. I am about 250lbs geared up. The terrain I ride has a few step downs alot of berms and a good amount of very rocky technical stuff. I read some that say go around 40psi...But when I put in 40 psi the tire feels ridiculously hard. Don't see this being very good. I was running 20 - 22 psi before checking and it seemed low.


Please help..any input would be appreciated.
Cheers
Big T :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
I'm 210lbs ish all geared up.

I'll generally run a little under 25 in the front and a little more than 25 in the rear tire for general riding as a starting point.

I'll change pressure depending on terrain.

Basically "rules" I use..

Increase if:
- Hard smooth and fast (lower rolling resistance)
- Choppy rough terrain where flats might be an issue.

Lower if:
- traction is more important, eg if its wet (chances are you'll be a bit slower too, so less susceptible to pinch flats)
- If the terrain is soft to spread teh contact patch out and lower the rolling resistance.
 
#7 ·
28 seems to be the ticket for me, too hard and I chatter all over doll heads at speed and blow corners (flatter loose and rocky).

Rode the Luckypeak trail Tuesday and forgot I had 35 PSI from totting the grom around in his chariot towing his skuut and when I rode I was all over the place even the suspension soft had issues with it... Drop to 28 and like glue it holds a line amazing and the small chatter and jackhammering softens up. Suspension can only do so much the rest is up to tire pressure...

Im 238 before Bfast and gear Id say try 28 and adjust a bit from there, I usually run hte front 1-2 PSI softer than the rear as well.
 
#8 ·
wow makes me think my current pressures are completely off, 16psi rear 18 front, i like very low pressures, only way i can get enough grip on the off camber roots. (and i run very soft spring rates and low compression, 300lbs coil rear, soft and medium coil in my 888's with minimum compression)


so what i mean from my little random moment there, is experiment and find what you like, no one person can the answer to stuff like tires pressures and suspension set-up, just give you a base to start from.
 
#11 ·
yeah those are my dry pressures, some times i run them harder in the wet, some times softer depends on the trail.

oh and to put my input into perspective im 11stone (154lbs) im riding a 222 with 9 and quarter inches of rear travel, 8 inch up front and im far from smooth a lot of the time, plough quite a bit.
 
#13 ·
Agread with above poster!!!

DH/FR casings will make a big difference as will the volume or diametr of the tire then weight and conditions.

I run a larger profile and wether its DH or FR its 28 or withing a psi or 2 and thats the sweet spot for me. Any more it chatters and any less I roll hard on berms and G-outs.

So yeah anyone who mentioned theres too many variables is right because then you can find 1 guy likes the wallowing and another likes the drifting and popping effect so it still continues...

You know 40 is too hard go for 30 then adjust from there... A little less in front will assist in steering and hooking up as the rear is the load bearing tire so tad more to prevent wallowing... Soft compounds deflect less of objects giving a more damped feeling as well and a DH casing will allow less roll side to side with less pressure.
 
#20 ·
CharacterZero said:
HA.

Frikkin' newb. :thumbsup:
For the record: 18-21 depending on track and conditions is right for my setup. Schwalbe (Muddy Mary, Wicked Will, or Big Betty) usually 2.5 F & R on a Yeti 303R-DH. 195 butt nekkid. Anything under 16 psi for these tires is a bit low, but over 22 is worse. STUPID low pressures on the Schwalbes!
 
#21 ·
sorry to bring back a thread from a few months back. but im having some of the same issues. I just got the bike about a month ago, since then if blown the rear tire twice first was an actual puncture the second was @ blue mountain in pa. i was running about 34psi in the front and 32psi in the rear. im runnin maxxis minion 2.5 DHF i believe the 60a tires and all day the back was just feeling sloppy not staying true just being a bear to handle. it kept wanting to wash out on the berm's and just sorta do its onw thing, i pinch flatted the rear. but any way do i want to add more air? the tires are in great shape i weight about 210 geared up the springs on the bike are a little soft for me but i just cant seem to find a happy medium with tire pressures
 
#22 ·
KrazyKessler said:
sorry to bring back a thread from a few months back. but im having some of the same issues. I just got the bike about a month ago, since then if blown the rear tire twice first was an actual puncture the second was @ blue mountain in pa. i was running about 34psi in the front and 32psi in the rear. im runnin maxxis minion 2.5 DHF i believe the 60a tires and all day the back was just feeling sloppy not staying true just being a bear to handle. it kept wanting to wash out on the berm's and just sorta do its onw thing, i pinch flatted the rear. but any way do i want to add more air? the tires are in great shape i weight about 210 geared up the springs on the bike are a little soft for me but i just cant seem to find a happy medium with tire pressures
kinda hurt my head reading that...

but definitely up the pressure. 210lb rider and 32psi is kinda low.

tire pressure is personal preference and only trial and error will help you find the medium.
 
#25 ·
45 psi is too high (assuming you have Minions with downhill casings). I'm 225 lbs and when I run a small rear tire (Kenda 2.35 or Maxxis 2.5), I run 35-40 psi. When I run bigger tires (Kenda 2.5, Maxxis 2.7, Michelin 2.6/2.8), I go 32-35 psi. Been doing that for the past 8 years at Whistler with great success, recommended to me by a World Cup DH mechanic.
 
#26 ·
Anywhere between 26-32 for me (and always few more in the back than in the front as a general rule), typically somewhere in that range I'll be happy, depending on where/what I'm riding and how. I hate pinchflatting, especially when shuttling and you know your buddies are waiting, so on rocky DH days I bump it up a bit, just to be safe.
 
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