School me on mtb

[warthog1]

yeah i've used chain lube, few drops for 25 years... any old lube will do.

i used graphite powder once on my bike...instantly learned to not ever do that again.

Thanks mate

[warthog1]

First pinch flat this morning.
My own fault when I tried a woefully executed bunny-hop up a gutter.
Slammed the back wheel down hard on the point of the gutter.
New tube and away I went again. A full CO2 cannister did the job.
I've put a bit more air front and rear, 35psi front and 40 psi rear.
Is that OK?
Still seems to grip alright on the hard packed rock and clay I'm riding on.
I'm guessing the pressure had dropped to ~ 25f and 30r going by feel.
I hadn't checked it for a while and had pumped it to 30f 35r about 2/52 previously.

[mikgit]

Depends on how it feels try a bunch of pressure and see how it works for you.
I normally run 30psi both front and rear, 28 if i figure its going to be super slippery or sandy, 40 if I'm going to do a lot of road km (which isn't likely). Found I can't go less than 28 (tubed or tubeless) as it just feels horrible, I don't know how people run like 22 (or less) tubeless, but I guess they like it that way.

[bychosis]

I'd agree. I ran 40psi for years to avoid pinch flat. Since dropping it back to more like 35 on the rear the grip seems a lot better. Front is a little lower, but not much.

[silentbutdeadly]

I've put a bit more air front and rear, 35psi front and 40 psi rear.
Is that OK?
Still seems to grip alright on the hard packed rock and clay I'm riding on.
I'm guessing the pressure had dropped to ~ 25f and 30r going by feel.

On my flypaper thin tubeless XC tyres I tend to run around 30 to 32 both ends. That's on bike and rider system that weighs in around 105 to 108 kgs. If I go too high the back end gets skittish anf the front end is prone to washing out.

In a more 'trail' situation with wider & burlier tyres then I could probably run about 28.

When running tubes I usually go a bit higher. The gravel bike runs around 40 to 45 when I do single track and a bit more on the road (700x38 tyres) and no pinch flats to date.

So, in summary, you'll probably be fine. As your skills improve then you can drop the pressures a bit to get better handling characteristics.

[Duck!]

With tubes you don't want to go below 35psi, but as always, exactly what works is weight-dependent. With proper tubeless tyres (as opposed to ordinary tyres converted to tubeless), you can go considerably lower because the sidewalls are typically stiffer. I run 18F/24R, but I'm a flyweight...

[Calvin27]

86kg (I gained a lot of weight ) + 15kg dually + probably 2kg of water, bags, tools, etc.

I run 28/30 psi f/r for real sloppy weather and 32/35 f/r for dry. I've only had one pinch flat landing a jump and that ended badly, but that was all the way down to 26psi.

[warthog1]

Thanks fellas.
It feels a bit harsher at the higher pressure.
Not the best over the rougher stuff.
I'm 76kg. I might go 32f 36r and see how that goes.