I rode a pair of TUFO LITE <215g in Alcatraz this weekend. The recommended inflation is 115-220psi. I rode Saturday before the race at ~200psi, and it felt like I was riding on solid tires, very hard on the hands and back. So, I deflated them a bit and did the race at 175psi, better but still a bit of a bumpy, tooth chattering ride. Did my first post race ride this morning on my trusty training wheels and forgot to fill up the tires so they were below my usual 120psi and they felt great, nice and smooth.
I’ve always pumped tires up near their max thinking that less rolling resistance is better, but now I’m thinking that a smoother ride might be better in the long run.
I just got an e-newsletter from RoadBikeRider.com by Ed Pavelka and Fred Matheny. Admitting that their stance was controversial, they recommended less tire pressure. They said the rolling resistance increase is minimal whereas the confort increase is substantial. You might want to go to www.roadbikerider.com and see what Ed and Fred have to say.
I think Dan and others have said that there is a point where higher psi != less rolling resistance on everyday roads because of tire deflection when irregularites are hit. I think that at 220psi you actually have more rolling resistance unless you are on a supersmooth track and that you should run at 115-120. I know many on this board will disagree and run 150+psi, look for dans post on ‘tire rolling resistance’ or something like that from last year.
Not that it matters but I run bt 115 and 120 in both training and racing.
I read the Roadbikereview thing a couple of weeks ago and thought it was very interesting. On my race tires (Conti GP’s) I have usually inflated them to 130 - 140psi. This past weekend I raced them at 110 at the Carlsbad tri. I couldn’t really tell a difference speed wise (had the fastest amateur bike split), but I think from a handling and comfort perspective it was positive and I’ll be riding them at that level now. I also have been riding my training wheels at 110psi and feel like the handling is better at the slightly lower inflation.