As a cyclist, regardless if you are casual or professional, you should be prepared with the knowledge of how to check bike tire pressure. Considering that your bike tire is the only thing that connects you to the ground, having them to be inflated properly is mandatory.
What is tire pressure and how to determine it? Can you check your tire pressure manually? Discover the answer to your question through this article, make sure to take a note when necessary or have this page on the bookmark for future reference, and hope you enjoy the read.
What is Tire Pressure?
When you first joined the bike riding community, you might have heard myths about pumping your bike tire to the hardest to have a faster ride. Well, we hope you never heard of this myth or at least, have yet to practice it on your tire.
Tire pressure is a measurement of the amount of air you have pumped onto your tire. Tire pressure is measured in pounds per square inch or is widely known as PSI. Each rider will have a different ideal amount of tire pressure based on their weight, riding style, and type of bike.
Having the wrong tire pressure will affect your riding experience and the lifespan of your bike tire. The wrong amount of air being inflated to your tire will lead to excess flats and serious drop-off in both comfort and performance.
PSI for Bike Tire Pressure
As mentioned before, the tire pressure is measured with the pounds per square inch or PSI. Usually, the minimum and maximum PSI amount will be printed on the sidewall of a tire. However, each bike and its owner will have different amounts of ideal tire pressure depending on the type of their bike, weight, and riding style.
For example, a road bike tire pressure will differ from a mountain bike tire pressure and vice versa. Both mountain bike owners will have different amounts of ideal tire pressure although it will not be any lower than the minimum PSI or higher than the maximum PSI written in each tire.
If you are the type of rider who rides their bike frequently, then make sure you also get your tire pressure checked within the schedule. To get the best and ideal tire pressure, you can use the bicycle tyre pressure calculator to find out.
Check Tire Pressure with Gauge
First of all, you will need to check your minimum and maximum range of PSI before using the gauge or inflating your tire. When you already know which is your maximum and minimum air value going to be, you can start checking them with a gauge.
Some of you, especially beginners, might have a question such as “how to check bike tire pressure gauge?” so, here is your answer. After you find out the PSI range for your bike, you can use your tire gauge by placing it on the valve and pressing down until the needle on the gauge moves and displays the pressure amount.
Make sure to alternate between air pumping and the gauge until you have met the desired tire pressure for your tire. The method of checking a bike tire with a pressure gauge is almost like a method of how to check bike tire pressure with Presta valve by pushing the chuck of the pump nozzle or the pressure gauge down on the valve far enough to cover part of the straight section of the outer valve.
Check Tire Pressure without Gauge
The real problem is when you have to measure the PSI of your tire during your trip and you don’t have your gauge with you. Although you might not be able to get the precise readout of your tire pressure, here is how to check bike pressure without gauge tips to compensate.
For a road bike, you can squeeze the tire on each side, pump the air into the tire until you can barely squeeze it and you are most likely good to go. Meanwhile, for a mountain bike user, you will have to get on your mountain bike and look down to see if there is any sign of the tire protruding out on each side more than a millimeter or two. If there’s any, it signals you to keep adding some air.
On the other hand, if the tire feels rock hard, then you will have to release some amount of air from your tire.
Types of Bike with Tire Pressure
Typically narrow and slick tires will need more air pressure compared to wider tires. Hence, you will find the PSI for road bike tires is higher than those found in mountain bikes. Besides, considering the road bike is made to offer speed over smooth surfaces, higher tire pressure allows the bike to roll faster and easier.
Normally, the PSI for a road bike will range between 80psi to 130psi but in some cases, racers might have their tire pumped into 160 psi. For the mountain bike, it is built to tackle the bumpy terrain hence, having too much pressure on the bike tire might result in a jolty ride. Lower pressure will help the mountain bike to absorb shock and give you more traction as more of the tire comes into contact with the ground.
Usually, a mountain bike tire will have a PSI range between 30psi to 50psi, a nice balance between the need for off-road and on-road riding.
Besides the type of bike, you will also need to consider your weight to find out your ideal tire pressure. You can use the road bike tyre pressure calculator continental which measures your ideal PSI based on your weight, riding style, bike weight, wheel diameter, and riding surface. You can look up for bicycle tyre pressure chart for a better understanding.
Conclusion
Aside from checking the ideal tire pressure manually or using a gauge, you can also learn how to check bike tire pressure with pump but first, you will need a pump that comes with a set of a gauge.
The ideal tire pressure of a bike is highly influenced by riders’ weight, type of bike, and rider riding style. For example, a rider that has less weight will need less pressure on their bike tire, a Polygon road bike will need a higher tire pressure than the Polygon mountain bike, and so on.
In short, even bikes from the same manufacturer will have different ideal tire pressures. Polygon bike tire pressure varies from one type to another. Even for the same type, it might have different ideal tire pressure depending on its owner and the type/brands of the tire that is being used.
Are you looking to have a mountain bike? You can consider having a Polygon bike as they are one of the top brands, manufactured with high-quality materials and parts but still offering a reasonable price.
Get the original piece only at Rodalink, the official distributor of Polygon that also provides parts, accessories, and apparels from various renowned brands. Become part of the Rodalink community by finishing the free registration and being eligible for their special deal and events that are only applicable to members.
Aside from the special deals and events, you will also get a special price when doing service or maintenance at Rodalink’s one-stop cycling shop. The more you spend, the higher your tier will be, and the more benefits you will get. Every SG$1 of purchase is valued as 1pts, every 100pts is redeemable to SG$2 worth of discount voucher. The point is convertible and valid for two years from the day of purchase.
There will be no other place that offers you lots of benefits like Rodalink does. Getting the ideal bike within a budget is possible. You can visit Rodalink and ask for their assistance to get a perfect recommendation. Happy cycling, happy shopping, only with Rodalink!
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