Mountain Bike Tyre Pressures – Everything You Need To Know

What tire pressures is a question we often get asked about and can seem daunting and confusing. But Scott, Blake and Neil are here to give a full comprehensive guide to setting your tyre pressures and explaining the different tires available.

In this video we run through the different types of tyres and compounds for each MTB discipline, as well as the pressures to run. Different disciplines require vastly different tyre types and pressures. But after watching this video you'll be an expert!

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Music: Resonance - Israel Medina

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[tudajfor]

Excellent video!
I'm a heavy rider (125kg) and I was always wondering about tire pressure for my MTB bike, and the info about the TPI is priceless!
Thank you.

[owenpreece]

love the way you have added all the presentaters in put on tires

[pippipster]

‘If you need to add more air just pump up your tires.’
Now that is some very crucial technical advice! 🤣

[leonid]

Got kenda k-rad, which is a dirt/street tire. It clearly states on it: 30-80 psi. Running it at 40+ psi, using it for commuting, mostly asphalt, a little bit of dirt sometimes. If lower than recommened 30 psi - it's just not rolling, uneffective. You especially feel it on climbs. So, TMM, take into account recommended pressure range printed on your concreet tire, it's there for a reason.

[RepresentWV]

I had to rewind to make sure I heard correctly when he said tubes were fine... seems like everyone's pushing tubeless these days. Good to see someone with a different opinion.

[marcusgarner]

the old couple in the background of the footage of blake manualing made my day

[joshuahunt]

I race XC and run 20 in the rear and 17 in the front.... tubeless of course... This video was completely alien to me with all these high pressures!

[brenbascos]

nice guide mentioning ur ride style, and weight in relative to your tire pressure of preference. thanks so much!

[aliens]

how to setup your front shock in a hardtail would be an awesome video

[X_Squared_X]

For those of you asking what gauge they're using, it's a Topeak Smartgauge D2.

[esteevius]

I weigh 180 lbs. (close to 82kg) and I just started experimenting with PSI. I am not going tubeless. I put some brand new tubes in my tire that allows up to 60 psi, and pumped the rear tire up to 40 psi. The ride was the smoothest and the fastest I've ever had, but after about 2 weeks, I hit something hard that made my bike jump. I was about 5 blocks from home and my bike seemed fine. I woke up the next day, and my rear tube was completely flat. It would not hold air at all. After removing the tube, I noticed the punctures were on the inside, near the rims. I checked the tires for any thorns/glass and did not find any. My rim tape also seems fine, it's not worn out or crooked as far as I can tell.
I put another new tube in and started pumping it up to 40 psi again. It made a pop like sound at about 35 psi that startled me, but I was able to keep pumping and after a couple hours it did not lose any air. I rode home from work later that night, and the ride home seemed flawless. After waking up the next day and getting ready to go to work, my tire was completely flat again. This time, it only lasted one day. I took the tube out, and the puncture was also on the inside, but in a completely different spot, straight across from the valve, when the first puncture was a few inches away from the valve. I checked the tape around the rim, and I still can't find any damage or spokes poking through.

Could too much PSI for my weight be causing my tubes to puncture quicker? I've been riding home for 4 years + and never had this problem. I think my pressure has been way too low in the past, as everything such as wind and uphill terrain has been a pain for me.
I tried patching the tubes, but the holes must be too large so I replaced the tube yet again. I pumped the tire up to 30psi right now and I'm going to leave it over night. I hope the tire isn't flat when I wake up and if it isn't, I hope it doesn't go flat the next time I ride it.

[dkerkmez]

Thanks, great to see what pressures you are running on different setups. Qn, would you go higher or lower pressures if you are running a 29er?

[Yanai_H]

can you please do a pro bike check on scotty's downhill bike? the rear suspension looks so complex...

[tacticalninja]

I have 29x2.4 Continental xKings 38psi front and rear and this is perfect for everything. No punctures very fast over any surface with great grip and i even use them with tubes :) epic tires

[tomaszjasinski]

awesome insight! can't fake experience! thank you for helping me out

[bikoastal]

Tire pressure is all about the volume of your tire and rim combination. On my enduro bike with 2.5in Minion DHF and 38mm internal width rims, I run 20psi front. On my trail bike with 2.3in HRII and 25mm internal width rims, I run 24psi front. I find these pressures work great for me and I rarely have any problems with flats. There are too many variables to claim one solution for each type of riding. I could probably go with a little higher pressure on mine, but I'm not competing in the EWS.

[brocorod]

Please can you talk about set pressure by the body weight!!!

[BLAKEISHart]

Test out putting helium in the tires to save weight.

[vybtom]

I ride an enduro bike, 26" wheels with tubes. My style of riding is enduro (mostly technical downhills but I also climb) and downhill. My weight is 80 kg. What tyre pressure would you suggest me? Thank you very much

[Pienimusta]

Run quite high pressure for moving between trails on asphalt