Bicycle Tire Pressure

Keeping your tire pressure at the recommended rated pressure will make you and your bike happy. Look on the sidewall of your tires for the rating. 10% from that amount is all you should allow. Go 10% over if you are a heavier person and are experiencing "snakebite" type punctures (that's where the tire of the bike is pinched between the rim and road hard enough to put a hole in it).

Go 10% under if you are a very lightweight person or are biking in the rain or mud. But remember going over or under pressure is really seldom recommended. Keep it near to that recommended amount. Check a mountain bike and cross bike pressure once a week and a road bike pressure every time you ride.

When inflating a tire, spin the wheel to look for high and low spots, you need to fix high and low spots before you add pressure. There are many ways to take out high and low spots, the low tech way is to deflate slightly and manhandle the heck out of the tire/tube. Keep taking out pressure until you think it is nice and round and it is ready to add pressure. Add pressure slowly, checking for high and low spots every 20 pounds of pressure you put in. Inflating a tire with a high spot will result in a very loud lesson that will make you soil your shorts! Be careful.