Post by MX588 on May 28, 2005 11:51:04 GMT -5
For this weeks tech tip we will talk about tires. If your tires aren't good, your not riding at your maximum potential because your spinning and it makes it more unsafe because the back and front end tend to wash out easy. If your tires are starting to get worn you can do two things.
1. Take a sharp razor and cut a new nice groove in your knobbies, but be careful that you don't puncture too deep. I will say that this isn't going to make your tire brand new again, but it is a temporary fix if you want to ride and have new tires on order.
2. You could simply replace the worn tire or tires. In my mind I recommend swapping both tires off together because they wear together. If your tires are getting noticeably worn down I would strongly suggest doing #1 while your tires are being ordered just to take you through until you get the new tires because that makes your knobbies good again...but not as thick depending how much you take out.
Another critical part is tire pressure. Many people forget about it and thats a huge mistake. Tires that are improperly inflated for the track is dangerous. If you are riding on a muddy track you want to decrease your pressure to about 10 PSI to give it more traction. On a hard packed track go about 14. I don't recommend going to 15 PSI because that is the max and it just puts more stress on the rubber. Usually my setup is 14 for hard packed, 13 for tacky tracks, and about 10 for muddy tracks. You never really want to go below 10 PSI because then you are risking pinching your tube and ruining your day.
Thats this weeks tech tip...now get out there and inspect your tires to see if you need new ones or start trimming. Oh and don't forget to check your tire pressure often, there is no reason not to.
1. Take a sharp razor and cut a new nice groove in your knobbies, but be careful that you don't puncture too deep. I will say that this isn't going to make your tire brand new again, but it is a temporary fix if you want to ride and have new tires on order.
2. You could simply replace the worn tire or tires. In my mind I recommend swapping both tires off together because they wear together. If your tires are getting noticeably worn down I would strongly suggest doing #1 while your tires are being ordered just to take you through until you get the new tires because that makes your knobbies good again...but not as thick depending how much you take out.
Another critical part is tire pressure. Many people forget about it and thats a huge mistake. Tires that are improperly inflated for the track is dangerous. If you are riding on a muddy track you want to decrease your pressure to about 10 PSI to give it more traction. On a hard packed track go about 14. I don't recommend going to 15 PSI because that is the max and it just puts more stress on the rubber. Usually my setup is 14 for hard packed, 13 for tacky tracks, and about 10 for muddy tracks. You never really want to go below 10 PSI because then you are risking pinching your tube and ruining your day.
Thats this weeks tech tip...now get out there and inspect your tires to see if you need new ones or start trimming. Oh and don't forget to check your tire pressure often, there is no reason not to.
