COLD weather tire pressure

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It's cold now here in CT. Was frost on the pumpkin this morning. Do you guys continue to run 42/42 or do you do something different? Of course this assumes you run 42/42. Either way, do you still run same pressures in sub freezing temps?
 
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I drop mine down in cold weather to about 36 gives a little bit better warm up and sticks better ,but will handle a lot different on the front end .
 

T_C

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42/42 when the tire is cold, no matter the ambient.

Otherwise the tire will perform different and wear too.
 
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JimGregory
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I tried lower down to 36 by simply being too lazy to top them off. Did not at all like the handling. Topped them to 42 this AM and they feel great though I don't ride too sporty!
 

scootac

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It's cold now here in CT. Was frost on the pumpkin this morning. Do you guys continue to run 42/42 or do you do something different? Of course this assumes you run 42/42. Either way, do you still run same pressures in sub freezing temps?
Do you lower the pressure in your car/truck tires?
 
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JimGregory
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Do you lower the pressure in your car/truck tires?
The penalties for a slippery cold car or truck tire are far less severe. Some people have told me I should lower the pressure a few PSI and some say keep them topped up. So I asked.
Do you lower them in your car or truck? I don't.
 

docw1

Bill Rankin
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Of course, if you're at 42 at 70 degrees, then it will be somewhere around 38 or 39 at 40 degrees. Do people actually lower it further? If you bump it back up to 42 at 40 degrees, won't it be a little over pressure when it warms up with riding?
 

Kevin_56

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If you bump it back up to 42 at 40 degrees, won't it be a little over pressure when it warms up with riding?
Yes, but you also see that same pressure rise at 80?. If you run a TPMS, you will see that rear getting above 50 PSI. That is why they say to set your pressure COLD. The front goes up also, just not as much.
 

JQL

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During the summer, I slightly over-inflate but 2-3 psi. This helps the tyre to run cooler so prolongs its life and, as it is usually drier, the grip is not affected.

During the winter, I inflate to the recommended pressure. As the weather is cooler the tyre will run slightly cooler and the grip is very marginally better in the wet (but every little may help in an emergency).
 

STrangr

Mike O.
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I keep mine at 43 psi year round. But I live in Florida and the temp changes are not as drastic.
 

Blrfl

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Of course, if you're at 42 at 70 degrees, then it will be somewhere around 38 or 39 at 40 degrees. Do people actually lower it further? If you bump it back up to 42 at 40 degrees, won't it be a little over pressure when it warms up with riding?
You could split all sorts of hairs and say that the amount of heat transferred from the tire to colder air will be greater and therefore the tire won't warm up as much and the pressure won't increase the same amount.

I'm not going to do that because none of this is laboratory-precise, accurate-to-a-milliskeeter science. The tire and bike manufacturers both know this, and both did the required hair splitting to come up with the recommendation of 42 as something that will work under conditions where humans will be riding. That figure takes into account the fact that the tire pressure will rise while rolling as the tire heats up.

Consumer tire gauges are only accurate to +/- 2-3 psi anyway, so any of these changes are pretty much down in the noise of what you can measure accurately. The manufacturers know that, too.

--Mark
 
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