Tire Pressure

16 October 2019, 02:46 UTC

Recently getting a nail in the tire and losing pressure I thought this would be a good topic to bring back to life here on the community forum. I know keeping the Vega tire at or around 20 psi will give you the most range, top speed and tire life. I got 1,700 miles out of mine keeping it at 18 psi for most of its life. I’ve been running the FF’s treaded Hoosier (11-6-6) for the last 1,700 miles mainly keeping pressure at 15 psi due to the majority of my riding being on trails. I’m at a point where tire needs replacement so I’m not plugging hole in tire but instead boosting pressure to 24 psi and running it down to 12 psi. Where do you keep your pressure at (with what model) and why?

16 October 2019, 04:59 UTC

I ride mostly slow speed so I find that 16psi works perfect. My range on my V1 is incredible at close to 10 miles. The other day I did 6.9 miles, with 3 remaining, 31% to go on the battery.
I'm sold on 16psi. I can't speak to the range at other pressures, but higher psi to me makes the tire too solid and less comfortable.

16 October 2019, 13:58 UTC

i believe it was @a_onekatie who mentioned the rule of thumb about using 10% of your body weight, and that's actually what i kind of stick around (mine is 15 psi) and it works well for me. i actually could probably handle it at 16, but if it gets higher than that i start to feel a bit less stable.

16 October 2019, 18:26 UTC

I run my XR at 16 psi because it still keeps the soft ride and I still have maneuverability.

16 October 2019, 18:36 UTC

@ 250 LBS, I run the Pint @ 22psi and now run the XR at 26 PSI to be more Pint like....

16 October 2019, 21:11 UTC

@HanahsDax I ride at 21 psi on the XR on the Vega. That's actually a little bit on the high side given my weight (even with all my gear on, I don't think I ever broke 200# at my absolute heaviest, and I'm less than that now).

I got in the habit on my Plus, due to range anxiety (keeping psi on the high side maxed out how far I could go) and now I guess I'm just used to it even though range anxiety isn't a thing with the XR.

I have around 1100 miles on this Vega, and I suspect it will go at least 500 more, if not further.

16 October 2019, 21:36 UTC

@LidPhones yeah I never had my FF Hoosier treaded tire pressure higher than 18 psi before getting the nail in it. When I boosted it up to 22 psi it did feel more nimble and more like the Pint I’ve rode a few times.

17 October 2019, 01:04 UTC

@Franko are you riding a stock Pint?

17 October 2019, 01:09 UTC

@HanahsDax yep -- stock tire. (i guess that's the Vega?)

17 October 2019, 01:11 UTC

@Glyph Using the 1psi/10lbs. method would have me riding at 13 psi (yes I’m a scrawny fool) and when my tire gets down to 12 psi it feels like riding a near flat tire. Higher pressure gives me the most range as well as top speed.

17 October 2019, 01:52 UTC

@Franko Not exactly sure who FM sourced out for the Pint stock tire. Have you noticed any range or speed decrease with lower pressure on the Pint?

17 October 2019, 02:03 UTC

@HanahsDax said in Tire Pressure:

Have you noticed any range or speed decrease with lower pressure on the Pint?

well, i haven't really paid a whole lot of attention to my range because i lose track of when i started fully charged, but i DO think it's getting less range. i'm also not huge on riding very fast yet because i'm still under 100 miles and learning (i only recently switched to Pacific, too). I typically ride about 10-12mph.

17 October 2019, 02:10 UTC

@Franko not a speed demon either. No need to take yourself out of the game from a high speed pushback nosedive. I love the rule of thumb of never riding faster than you could run.

17 October 2019, 14:55 UTC

@HanahsDax

I weigh 115 (usually), keep my pint at 11.5 psi (stock tire) and average right around 12 miles on range.

17 October 2019, 15:21 UTC

@a_onekatie Haha. Wow that’s some incredible range for sure not matter what tire pressure you’re running. Did you immediately lower pressure of Pint stock tire or did you find that the original pressure was just too high for your body weight and riding style?

17 October 2019, 16:31 UTC

I rode my + for about 1500 miles with the Vega at 20 psi and it worked well. I had always wanted to try a treaded tire, but was afraid of the install as, back in the day, there were no really good vids on how to DIY. When I finally swapped it, I still had decent rubber left, according to the wear markers, so I'm sure it could have gone over 2k.

I installed a FF Hoosier treaded and REALLY liked the confidence it gave me not only on wet grass, leaves, mud, but even on pavement. Carving on pavement just sticks better with the treads. I ran that for the first 100 miles or so at 20 psi and thought the FF Hoosier was just rounder, thus explaining the added difficulty of balancing when stopped.

Right around that time, I bought my XR . . . really needed the range. At around 300 miles, I needed a treaded tire and went with the Burris. Inflated to 20 psi (like I had always ridden) and, of course, was a bit squirrelly when stopped.

I was training someone on my XR while I rode the + and realized they were having some trouble balancing. Also saw a vid with @jeffmccosker riding and saying "16 psi, always", so I tried it. That just happens to be about 10% of my weight. That was the trick, I can now pretty much balance when stopped (or easily heel lift to stop), rides smooth as silk, and I can still get 18+ miles of range when it's warm out.

I can see if I rode more challenging dirt trails, I'd maybe add a few psi, but with my type of riding, 16 psi is perfect!

18 October 2019, 21:07 UTC

@HanahsDax nope! I was a complete and total noob when I received my pint, and when I wrote up a review here and mentioned I was having stability issues, @OneDan gave me the 10% tire pressure rule. Before that I hadn’t even thought to check my pressure but as soon as I made the change I noticed the difference.