36
votes
Why are emergency inflation cartridges filled with CO2?
CO2 charger cartridges are used for bike tire inflation because they are a common, inexpensive product that has been around since the 1950s. Their other uses include powering air guns and inflating ...
- 75.3k
35
votes
Accepted
Why are bicycle tires incapable of maintaining pressure over time, while car tyres seem to have less of a problem?
A car tyre has much thicker rubber than a tubeless bike tyre, thicker still than a tube. The steel wires in the belts of a car tyre are impermeable to gas and occupy a significant fraction of the area ...
- 55.8k
26
votes
Why are emergency inflation cartridges filled with CO2?
I believe you will find these articles informative:
The hidden life of a CO2 cartridge [PDF]
The CO2 Cartridge … an Under-Appreciated Marvel of Technology! — George Fox Lang [PDF]
At room ...
- 361
26
votes
Accepted
Can I avoid falling in the rain on a corner?
16 km/h is so slow that even the worst tyres should keep you up, unless something like oil spills were involved.
If something is so slippy that you fall without warning at such low speeds there is ...
- 9,474
20
votes
Why don't my studded tyres grip on ice?
Stud tyres are very much not a scam. Of course even they don't produce as much grip on ice as on tarmac, but very much more than non-studded tyres do.
I agree with Ted Hohl that your mistake was ...
- 3,346
19
votes
Accepted
How can I inflate a tire to the correct pressure?
One term: Mechanical advantage.
You need a pump with the correct mechanical advantage. In the case of an air pump, the size of the piston defines how fast it does its job and how high a pressure you ...
- 12.1k
18
votes
Can I pump my MTB tire to max (55 psi / 380 kPa) without the tube inside bursting?
It can't burst the tube, because the tube is completely surrounded by the tyre and rim.
Bear in mind, though, that higher pressures don't automatically mean a faster ride. There are two competing ...
- 16.9k
17
votes
Can I avoid falling in the rain on a corner?
In places where it rains very little or hasn't rained in a while and then a light rain falls, the water is not enough to "wash" the road surface; instead it only wets fine dust and oils that are on ...
- 12.1k
17
votes
Accepted
Does tire pressure affect rolling resistance on pavement?
This study: William M. Bertucci, Simon Rogier & Raoul F. Reiser II (2013) Evaluation of aerodynamic and rolling resistances in mountain-bike field conditions, Journal of Sports Sciences, 31:14, ...
- 15.3k
16
votes
Accepted
Anything wrong with 100 PSI in 700x32 tires on a road bike?
The Trek Domane SL7 comes with wide, modern rims with 25mm internal width. Using 32mm wide tyres at 100 PSI (6.9 bar) should be perfectly safe with such rims. As you note, the tyres are also rated for ...
- 25.8k
15
votes
Heavy Rider (300lb+) - Please recommend a 26" tyre to avoid tyre pinch
As a heavy rider personally, I don't have many issues with flats.
A normal tire on the high/maximum pressure works fine to avoid pinch flats.
The key is to check tire pressure every time you get ...
- 29.8k
15
votes
Can I avoid falling in the rain on a corner?
To fall to the inside of the turn means that the bottom of the wheel has slid to the outside. When that happens, it is really quick.
I would look back at the corner and see if there's a metal plate ...
- 120k
15
votes
Accepted
Mountain bike tyres unreliably lose and keep pressure?
Sounds like the butyl rubber inner tubes have perished a little, and you have either a very slow leak, or a valve that lets the air out slowly.
Just buy three new tubes from an online supplier - they'...
- 120k
15
votes
Accepted
Letting air out of tires in the rain: any chance of water getting in? (Presta valve, tubeless tires)
No risk. 70psi is about 5 times the atmospheric pressure. Most sealants are also using water as main fluid (or water/ammonia), unlikely that the small quantity that may get in will have a significant ...
- 16.1k
14
votes
Why are mountain bike tires rated for so much lower pressure than road bikes?
There are three aspects to it:
Rated max pressure doesn't necessarily have much to do with how much pressure the tyre can really withstand safely. All ratings on products are at least a bit below ...
- 3,346
13
votes
Accepted
What pressure should a tire have?
Each type and size of tire has a different pressure range. The range is written or embossed right on the side of the tire.
The actual pressure you choose is dependent on what you are using the bike ...
- 75.3k
13
votes
Tyre Pressure for heavy rider - any concerns?
It’s totally fine to use the maximum tyre pressure.
The only thing I’d worry about with high tyre pressures is if your rims are too narrow for the tyres you are using. Rim sidewalls can break when ...
- 25.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Low tire pressure causing fall in corner?
I presume you were riding in the direction you came across the bridge and down the ramp.
I doubt tire pressure had anything to do with it. On a moutain bike sized tire, unless rolling tires of rims, ...
- 47.8k
12
votes
Why are mountain bike tires rated for so much lower pressure than road bikes?
Of course it would be possible to build mountain bike tyres that could take the same sort of pressure as road bike tyres. But they'd be very heavy, expensive (with all the extra material in them) and ...
- 55.8k
10
votes
Why do skinny tires require less pedal effort?
Your opening claim:
Everyone knows (citation needed) that (at fixed rim diameter) tyres with smaller section require less effort to move around (at least on a paved road).
Is actually not true. ...
- 12k
10
votes
Can I estimate tyre pressures on a road bike?
No, not really. It is difficult to get an accurate idea of tyre pressure by pressing it.
Especially for thin, high pressure road bike tyres - they should feel pretty hard. Even if they do feel hard, ...
- 1,582
10
votes
Can I avoid falling in the rain on a corner?
In addition to the previous answers, your tire pressure was likely too high for the conditions. If you know you're going to be riding in the rain, it's usually a good idea to lower your tire pressure ...
- 2,045
10
votes
Low tire pressure causing fall in corner?
I would expect lower tire pressure to give larger contact patch also when cornering so should equate to more grip in corners (assuming the tire stays on the rim).
As correctly pointed out in ...
- 2,997
10
votes
Why don't my studded tyres grip on ice?
I believe you may have answered your own question.
But I noticed that the tyres (which had been professionally installed by a local bicycle place) had far less than 50 PSI of pressure, so I had to ...
- 5,850
10
votes
Why don't my studded tyres grip on ice?
When the studs on tires work correctly they actually bite into the ice. If the tire does not have the "right" pressure the tire surface will flex around the studs and defeat the ...
- 19.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Inflated tire partially slipped off rim, can I fix without deflating?
Short answer: no.
The only fix is to mostly deflate the tyre (so it's just barely inflated, enough to hold it in place but soft enough that you can manipulate the bead) and work the slack in the bead ...
- 23.2k
9
votes
Does a fat tire ride softer than a skinny one at the same pressure?
After reading the answers here and becoming more curious, I found this article, which agrees with @Daniel.
to briefly summarize it, they found that at the same tire pressure the narrower tires ...
- 1,981
9
votes
Can I avoid falling in the rain on a corner?
I'm surprised to see that no one else mentioned it, and this isn't a terribly detailed answer, but that road has what motorcyclists refer to as the dreaded "tar snakes".
The tar they use to patch ...
- 301
9
votes
Why do high pressure tires feel faster?
The important thing to realize is, that there is always an optimal tire pressure for each combination of tire, weight and road bumpiness. If the pressure is too low, you will loose too much energy ...
8
votes
How seriously should I take the maximum pressure rating of my cyclocross rims?
DT Swiss publishes the exact document you are looking for:
Manuals page / RIMS / Tire Pressure/Dimension (PDF)
The document specifies the maximum usable tire pressure based on rim and tire width. ...
- 81
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