A free tool from Veloi — AI cycling coach
Cycling Tyre Pressure Calculator
Find your optimal front and rear tyre pressure based on your weight, tyres, and riding surface. Independent, research-backed recommendations as a starting point for your setup.
Important — read before riding
This calculator provides general pressure recommendations based on published research and real-world data. These are starting points for experimentation, not definitive specifications for your equipment.
This tool makes no claims about the compatibility of your specific rim, tyre, and tube combination. If the recommended pressures fall outside your manufacturer's specifications, always follow the manufacturer's limits. Tyre and rim manufacturers set pressure ranges for good reason — exceeding them risks tyre blowoff, rim damage, and serious injury.
Hookless (TSS) rims have strict ETRTO pressure limits — typically 5.0 bar (73 psi) for tyres up to 29mm, and 4.5 bar (65 psi) for 30mm and wider. Exceeding these limits risks the tyre blowing off the rim. Enable the 'Hookless rims' option above if you have hookless wheels. Always check your rim and tyre manufacturer's maximum pressure ratings before inflating.
When in doubt, check your manufacturer's specs and start at the lower end of the recommended range.
Why isn't this AI-powered?
We're Veloi — an AI cycling coach that analyses your training data, builds personalised plans, and adapts as you progress. We love AI. But tyre pressure is physics, not coaching. The research is clear, the maths is straightforward, and you deserve an instant answer — no chatbot required.
See what our AI coach actually doesHow tyre pressure works
Optimal tyre pressure is the point where rolling resistance, grip, and comfort are balanced. Too high, and the tyre bounces over imperfections — wasting energy as your body absorbs the shock. Too low, and the tyre deforms excessively, increasing drag and risking rim damage.
Modern research has overturned decades of conventional wisdom. On real-world road surfaces, slightly lower pressures reduce "suspension losses" (energy absorbed by your body) more than they increase rolling resistance. The net result: lower pressure is often faster, not slower.
Wider tyres compound this effect. A wider tyre at lower pressure has a shorter, wider contact patch that rolls more efficiently than a narrow tyre pumped hard. This is why the cycling world has moved from 23mm at 120 psi to 28–32mm at 70–80 psi over the past decade.
Tyre pressure by bike type
Road bike tyre pressure
Modern road bikes have shifted to wider tyres and lower pressures. Where 23mm at 120 psi was standard a decade ago, most riders now run 25–32mm tyres at 70–95 psi. The sweet spot depends on your weight, the road surface, and whether you're running tubeless or inner tubes.
On smooth tarmac, you can run slightly higher pressures for efficiency. On mixed or rough roads — chip seal, patched surfaces, cobbles — dropping 5–10 psi improves both speed and comfort by letting the tyre absorb vibration instead of transmitting it through the frame.
Hookless road rims are increasingly common on modern wheelsets. If you have hookless wheels, ETRTO standards cap your maximum pressure — typically 73 psi for tyres up to 29mm. Enable the hookless option above to apply this limit automatically.
Gravel bike tyre pressure
Gravel tyre pressure is where setup makes the biggest difference to your ride. Too high and you bounce off loose surfaces, losing traction and speed. Too low and you risk rim damage on rocky terrain — unless you're running tubeless, which eliminates pinch flats entirely.
Most gravel riders run 35–45mm tyres between 30–50 psi, depending on weight and surface. Packed gravel can handle higher pressures closer to road setups, while loose gravel and singletrack benefit from dropping as low as your rim and tyre safely allow.
Tubeless is the standard setup for gravel. The ability to run lower pressures without pinch flat risk, combined with sealant for thorn protection, makes it the practical choice for mixed-surface riding. Our calculator applies a width-tiered tubeless modifier — the benefit is largest on narrower gravel tyres where pinch flat elimination matters most.
Mountain bike tyre pressure
Mountain bike tyre pressure varies dramatically by discipline. A cross-country racer on hardpack might run 24–28 psi, while a downhill rider on rocky terrain might go as low as 18–22 psi with tyre inserts for rim protection. Getting it right is the difference between grip and speed, or sliding out in a corner.
The calculator accounts for four MTB disciplines — XC, trail, enduro, and downhill — each with different weight distribution and default settings. Downhill geometry shifts more weight rearward, increasing the front-to-rear pressure gap. Tyre inserts like CushCore allow an additional 5% pressure reduction by protecting the rim from strikes.
Wheel size matters for MTB: 29er (700c) tyres have more air volume than 27.5" (650b) at the same width, allowing slightly lower pressures. Nearly all mountain bike setups are tubeless — the calculator defaults to tubeless for MTB and adjusts the modifier based on your tyre width.
Common tyre pressure myths
Higher pressure means faster rolling, right?
On a perfectly smooth surface like a velodrome, yes. On any real road, no. The energy your body absorbs from vibration (suspension loss) outweighs the small reduction in tyre deformation. Slightly lower pressures are faster on real roads.
Should I inflate to the number on the tyre sidewall?
That number is the maximum rated pressure, not the recommended pressure. It's a safety ceiling, not a target. Most riders should run well below it.
Should front and rear be the same pressure?
No. Your rear wheel carries more weight (typically 54–55% for drop-bar bikes, up to 57% for mountain bikes). The rear tyre needs more pressure; the front can run lower for better grip and comfort.
Tubeless is only for mountain bikes?
Road and gravel tubeless is well established. It significantly reduces the risk of pinch flats, allowing you to run 5–10% lower pressures for better comfort and grip — with no puncture risk increase thanks to the sealant.
▶Sources & methodology
This calculator is built on published cycling research, not proprietary algorithms. Where we've made modelling choices, we describe them below so you can evaluate them yourself.
How the calculator works
- A 2D lookup table maps system weight (rider + bike) and tyre width to a base rear pressure. The table values are calibrated against multiple published pressure recommendations and cross-referenced with real-world test data from independent researchers (see references below).
- Front and rear pressures are derived using a power-law weight distribution model. Tyre pressure scales non-linearly with load because the contact patch changes shape under different weights — a well-established finding in tyre mechanics research. The model is validated against manufacturer pressure guides from SRAM/Zipp.
- Percentage modifiers are applied for surface type, tube type, rim width, wheel size, temperature, and tyre inserts. Each modifier is sourced or derived from the research listed below.
- Hookless rim limits follow ETRTO Tubeless Straight Side (TSS) specifications. Results are clamped to safe minimum and maximum pressure ranges per tyre width.
References
The Bicycle Tire Drop Test
Frank Berto
Foundational methodology for tyre pressure optimisation — measuring ideal pressure by the amount a tyre deforms under load. Established the empirical relationship between load, tyre volume, and pressure that subsequent research has built on.
The All-Road Bike Revolution (Bicycle Quarterly)
Jan Heine
Long-running research program on real-world tyre performance. Demonstrated that suspension losses (energy absorbed by the rider's body) outweigh rolling resistance gains on real roads — overturning decades of "harder = faster" conventional wisdom.
Tyre Pressure and Rolling Resistance Research
Josh Poertner / SILCA
Published pressure recommendations including the 15% tyre drop model and contact-patch geometry. Also covers tubeless pressure advantages — establishing that optimal pressure is the same regardless of tube type, but tubeless eliminates pinch-flat risk, allowing lower pressures.
SRAM / Zipp
Manufacturer pressure recommendations accounting for front/rear weight distribution. Used to cross-reference and validate the weight distribution model and front/rear pressure gaps.
Tubeless Straight Side (TSS) Rim Standards
ETRTO
Maximum pressure limits for hookless rims (e.g. 73 psi / 5.0 bar for ≤29mm, 65 psi / 4.5 bar for 30mm+). Always verify against your specific rim manufacturer's ratings.
Modelling choices & limitations
- No calculator can perfectly predict your optimal pressure. Tyre casing construction, rubber compound, tread pattern, actual tyre width (vs. labelled), and rider skill all affect the result. These recommendations are starting points for experimentation.
- The base pressure table covers the 55–130 kg system weight range and 23–66mm tyre widths. Values at the extreme edges are extrapolated and less validated by the published research.
- Surface modifiers are simplified to discrete categories. Real-world surfaces are continuous — a specific "rough road" might be rougher or smoother than our model assumes. Use the surface that most closely matches your typical riding.
- Weight distribution ratios are model parameters tuned to produce pressure gaps matching published research, not raw static weight measurements (which are typically ~40/60). The power-law exponent translates these ratios into realistic pressure differences across the full weight range.
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