Avon Storm Tire Pressure

[smokeFJR06]

I installed my new Avon Storms this past weekend. When I was at the Chicago Cycle World Bike Show, I stopped by the Avon display and picked up a flyer on the new Storms. The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.

I know the manual says to run 39 front 42 rear all the time. I had Metzler stock tires that I just removed off my 06. They both flat spotted which I expected for the rear living in farm country. But the front cupped really bad which led me to believe that I was running too much air in it. I followed the manual with 39 fron, 42 rear.

So, the million dollar question. What's everyone else running in their new Storms and what's your thoughts on what the Rep said?

Thanks,

Smoke

 

[FJRocket]

Here we go.... Die thread DIE!! Ok, maybe not die, just move me to NEPRTs...

41/41 is what I run with my Storms. Hey, the guy says run the max, maybe we should. Think I'll try it and see what happens.

 

[Mike-H]

Nothing like opening a can of worms....cause everything you hear will be subjective.....what works for one will not necessarily work for someone else (ie different weight, suspension setup {soft/hard} riding style, road conditions, temperatures, etc)....so this should be interesting .....

 

[Scab]

The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.

Maybe that was a nice way to say "You should be on a diet."

 

[twowheelnut]

The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.

I can see these pressures under fully loaded conditions (hic!), but otherwise maybe a tic high. Right now, I have 41/44 and the tires are wearing amazingly even.

 

[SkooterG]

The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.

I can see these pressures under fully loaded conditions (hic!), but otherwise maybe a tic high. Right now, I have 41/44 and the tires are wearing amazingly even.

Ok mister gerbil loving tire engineer............

Realistically, there is not much difference between 41/44 and 42/46. I mean, do you check them at the same temperature? The same temperature your riding is done at? I doubt many would note much difference between those pressures.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

That seems like a pretty simple comment from the Avon Rep? Prolly, a CYA statement for litigous society reasons? ....just recco the max on the sidewall....

I, for one, don't think proper tire pressure is a "pointless" topic.

Smoke, try a search of this site -- it was pretty well discussed not long ago -- and, the general consensus (I think?) had to do with measuring temp. rise and press. rise from start of ride. Too much temp/press rise = not enuff air press; conversely, little temp/press rise = too hard.

'Course, many will want just a one number, one-size-fits-all, answer........

 

[twowheelnut]

Ok mister gerbil loving tire engineer............
Realistically, there is not much difference between 41/44 and 42/46. I mean, do you check them at the same temperature? The same temperature your riding is done at? I doubt many would note much difference between those pressures.

You clod of a playa ballerina. Wadayou, ******* bored and just wanna argue? On a truck tire, 3#'s may be squat, but on a small tire like this? The 2# difference in the rear equates to nearly 5%. That's significant in my book.

I think your tutu is too tight. :bleh:

 

[rockmurf]

40/42 on stock metzgers, 12500 miles and still going.

 

[radman]

I use a scientifically proven/accurate blend of nitrogen/helium/oxygen pumped in until my arms tire. Works out to something between 15 and 60 lbs, dependent on meth prices at the time.

 

[Inlaw1]

I use a scientifically proven/accurate blend of nitrogen/helium/oxygen pumped in until my arms tire. Works out to something between 15 and 60 lbs, dependent on meth prices at the time.

:lmaosmiley:

That's what we need, a qualified expert answer! :laughingsmiley:

I recently talked with a tire expert, I.E. a tire rep. Before that he sold cotton candy at a traveling fair, but now he's a tire rep so he must be an expert and his word good. What you should do is put the tire pressure in that is recommended then ride the bike until the tires are up to operating temps and check them again. There should be a 15% increase in pressure. If there is more or less than that, add or subtract pressure and repeat process until you are getting roughly a 15% increase in pressure. That would be your ideal starting pressure.

HTH,

 

[user 213]

I installed my new Avon Storms this past weekend. When I was at the Chicago Cycle World Bike Show, I stopped by the Avon display and picked up a flyer on the new Storms. The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.
I know the manual says to run 39 front 42 rear all the time. I had Metzler stock tires that I just removed off my 06. They both flat spotted which I expected for the rear living in farm country. But the front cupped really bad which led me to believe that I was running too much air in it. I followed the manual with 39 fron, 42 rear.

So, the million dollar question. What's everyone else running in their new Storms and what's your thoughts on what the Rep said?

Thanks,

Smoke

Smoke- What do you weigh? Your assumption that the cupping was due to too much air is faulty, IMHO. Too low of pressure is far more likely to cause cupping. Cupping is mostly caused by braking. Hard braking in the corners will aggrevate cupping quickly. Not usually a problem for most of us, but if you play in down hill twisties a lot, expect to see cupping sooner than others.

I don't have Storms yet, but always ran 42/42 on the Avons with good results. I weigh 270 w/o gear and usually have a fuel cell on. When I tried a set of Conti Road Attacks, I did run 46 in the back on those. The tire was actually marked MIN pressure 42 psi! Never seen that before or since.

46 seems high from what I saw with the Azarro ST-45/46 Avons, but the Storms are a new beast and may have softer sidewalls? I say try it and see what it feels like. If you don't like the feel, drop the pressure by 2 psi and give another ride. Do remember, as others noted, that hot pressures are different from cold pressures, so try to duplicate the conditions if you make changes.

 

[SkooterG]

Smoke- What do you weigh? Your assumption that the cupping was due to too much air is faulty, IMHO. Too low of pressure is far more likely to cause cupping. Cupping is mostly caused by braking. Hard braking in the corners will aggrevate cupping quickly. Not usually a problem for most of us, but if you play in down hill twisties a lot, expect to see cupping sooner than others.
I don't have Storms yet, but always ran 42/42 on the Avons with good results. I weigh 270 w/o gear and usually have a fuel cell on. When I tried a set of Conti Road Attacks, I did run 46 in the back on those. The tire was actually marked MIN pressure 42 psi! Never seen that before or since.

46 seems high from what I saw with the Azarro ST-45/46 Avons, but the Storms are a new beast and may have softer sidewalls? I say try it and see what it feels like. If you don't like the feel, drop the pressure by 2 psi and give another ride. Do remember, as others noted, that hot pressures are different from cold pressures, so try to duplicate the conditions if you make changes.

Lots-O-good information there.

Soapbox notwithstanding.......

 

[Greg E.]

"I recently talked with a tire expert, I.E. a tire rep. "

Oh, I thought he said "tired expert". My bad!!

 

[mdisher]

A tire engineer once told me, Max -2lbs, is a good rule of thumb.

 

[user 213]

Lots-O-good information there.

Soapbox notwithstanding.......

You should have seen the first version.....

 

[smokeFJR06]

The Rep standing there told me to run the maximum air pressure in these tires. He said, 42 front, 46 rear. I said, are you sure? Yep, he said. That seems extremely high to me.

Maybe that was a nice way to say "You should be on a diet."

Uh, don't think so. I'm 6'3" and 190 lbs.

 

[smokeFJR06]

That seems like a pretty simple comment from the Avon Rep? Prolly, a CYA statement for litigous society reasons? ....just recco the max on the sidewall....I, for one, don't think proper tire pressure is a "pointless" topic.

Smoke, try a search of this site -- it was pretty well discussed not long ago -- and, the general consensus (I think?) had to do with measuring temp. rise and press. rise from start of ride. Too much temp/press rise = not enuff air press; conversely, little temp/press rise = too hard.

'Course, many will want just a one number, one-size-fits-all, answer........

Did the search thing and read the post that you are talking about. I scratched my head and then typed in my question. I'm not looking for a one-size-fits-all number. More like two....one for the front, one for the rear. :lol:

All seriousness now. I understand the concept in the previous discussion and agree with all the factors to consider. I'm just trying to simplify it if that's possible or at least come up with a good starting point. I was curious as to what everyone else was running, mainly.

 

[smokeFJR06]

Smoke- What do you weigh? Your assumption that the cupping was due to too much air is faulty, IMHO. Too low of pressure is far more likely to cause cupping. Cupping is mostly caused by braking. Hard braking in the corners will aggrevate cupping quickly. Not usually a problem for most of us, but if you play in down hill twisties a lot, expect to see cupping sooner than others.
I don't have Storms yet, but always ran 42/42 on the Avons with good results. I weigh 270 w/o gear and usually have a fuel cell on. When I tried a set of Conti Road Attacks, I did run 46 in the back on those. The tire was actually marked MIN pressure 42 psi! Never seen that before or since.

46 seems high from what I saw with the Azarro ST-45/46 Avons, but the Storms are a new beast and may have softer sidewalls? I say try it and see what it feels like. If you don't like the feel, drop the pressure by 2 psi and give another ride. Do remember, as others noted, that hot pressures are different from cold pressures, so try to duplicate the conditions if you make changes.

190lbs. I live in the largest corn producing county in the US which spells Flat Lands. Not many turns nor hills where I live which is why I expected the flat spoting. I just never had a front tire cup like that before nor had my riding buddies seen it. Oh well, no big deal. We'll see how the Storms wear.

Good suggestions there, I'll give it a try. I still haven't had the bike out since I got the tires on.