Know Your Tire Pressure
Your starting point for perfect tire pressure for road, gravel, cyclocross, or MTB
Whether you measure it in bars or PSI, tire pressure is vital to modern cycling performance. Pumping up your tires the optimal amount can make you faster, no matter your cycling discipline: road, gravel, cyclocross, or MTB. This page is your entry point for determining, with precision, the best tire pressure to use with your Zipp wheels, depending on your riding discipline, conditions, and tire attributes.
Lowering tire pressure from traditional levels can increase system efficiency, reduce rider fatigue, and offer better handling in rough conditions. A wider rim shape and wider tire promote less rolling tire deflection, resulting in lower rolling resistance. Conversely, higher tire pressure leads to more vertical movement of the bicycle and rider. Lower tire pressure helps maintain a constant elevation of the center of gravity by cutting out road input.
Optimal tire pressure is a vital factor in making you go faster. This tire pressure calculator provides recommended tire pressure for Zipp wheels.
Determining optimal tire pressure begins with knowing the basics of your equipment:
Tire info
- Ensure your tire is compatible with Zipp wheels.
- Tire width as listed on the tire.
- Tire casing type.
Wheel Info
- Inner rim width (available under the specs tab of Zipp.com wheel product pages
- Rim type: for instance, Zipp’s current road wheels are hookless tubeless, while legacy wheels are hooked crochet-style carbon clinchers originally designed for tubes-and-tires
Bike and Rider Info
- Your weight and total bike weight.
- Ride style: road, gravel, MTB, etc.
- Conditions: wet or dry.
Once you have this primary data, plug them into the Zipp tire pressure guide for specific front and rear pressure recommendations. Then it’s up to you! Pressure recommendations are a starting point, and further refinements are encouraged to find the proper pressure for any setup.
Listen to Podcast on Tire Pressure for Zipp Wheels
For road, optimal tire pressure enhances speed and handling.
The recommendations by the Zipp Tire Pressure Guide may be your final optimal tire pressure. But it also may be a starting point, providing you with the information needed for optimal performance of Zipp wheels.
Precision in tire pressure makes you faster.
A Metric Worth Monitoring
Having tire pressure displayed on your Hammerhead or other head unit provides actionable information. During a gravel ride, you can evaluate whether you have a slow leak you need to stop to fix. Thanks to TyreWiz 2.0’s high accuracy, you won’t need the gauge on your floor pump. You can know your precise pressure while riding to discover what makes you the fastest and most efficient on the bike.
TyreWiz 2.0