Getting the perfect tire pressure for your BMX bike isn’t hard to do. We recommend that for those who ride BMX street and park to have tire pressure of around 80 – 100 PSI.
Having a BMX with at least 80 PSI tire pressure is perfect for those who are casual riders. But if your ride one specific style, it may be in your interest to change it.
By altering your BMX tire pressure, it can have profound effect on your performance levels. For instance, inflating your tires can make them feel harder, which is better for park riding.
In the world of BMXing, tire pressure can be a big factor. Those who race BMX’s as opposed to street use will have entirely different pressures.
If you’re wondering how you can figure out what’s best for your specific BMX, read this guide on optimizing tire pressure for your riding style.
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How To Calculate Your BMX Tire Pressure
Over long periods of time, you’ll notice that your BMX tires will slowly leak air and become less inflated. This tends to happen when you do not use your BMX bike in a while.
It is recommended that you check your tire pressure frequently. There are many simple ways that you can check your BMX tires, in order to maintain perfect tire pressure.
Tire Pressure Gauge
Firstly and simply, you can check your tire pressure through the use of a tire pressure gauge. These are usually relatively inexpensive, user-friendly and small to pack in a bag.
Tire pressures are simple to use, simply follow these steps to figure out your tire pressure:
- Press the valve hole on the valve of the tire.
- Wait a few seconds for the gauge to recognize the pressure.
- Read the PSI on the meter.
An important factor to remember is the difference between the types of tubes. This is because there are ‘Schrader’ valves and ‘Presta’ Valves. More commonly than not, your BMX tires will have a Schrader valve. Just ensure that you connect the correct pressure gauge valve hole onto your tire’s valve.
Use A Regular Bike Pump
The next method is to use a common household bicycle pump. This is a cheap and effective method, as bike pumps these days tend to have pressure gauges built with them.
Another benefit of using a regular bike pump is that these days they are small enough to carry around with you, just in case you have a blow-out.
BMX Bike Tire Pressure Fluctuations
Interestingly BMX tire pressure will have fluctuations, this can be caused by many factors such as:
- Temperature.
- Rider Weight.
- Humidity.
- Initial Pressure Input.
An important factor here is highly inflated BMX tires, these can cause excessive stress on your tire hardware, which means it can increase the rate at you lose air.
After readings these points, its probably a wise idea to check your BMX tires frequently to ensure that you’re not having these factors effect your tire pressure. Make sure you check your tires regularly.
What Tire Pressure Should I Use For My BMX
After reviewing some of our content above on determining your BMX tire pressure, you’ll come to a realisation that there is no singular answer. The PSI levels that your tire pressure should be at is relevant to the type of riding style and BMX you ride.
However, this does not mean we cannot guide you in the correct direction for tire pressures for your style type. You’ll notice that most BMX tires will have a maximum tire pressure. Typically, the highest we’ve seen in our team is around 100 PSI to 115 PSI. On the other hand, a flat tire will come in at around 30 PSI.
Another factor that’s relevant for this conversation is that depending on your size and weight, it can effect the type of pressure you’ll need in your BMX tires.
BMX Tire Pressure For Park Riding
Park riding on your BMX can actually be quite merciful in comparison to street riding or racing. This can be due to the fact that the gaps and ramps are larger, but the surfaces are far better. This is because they’re properly built by designers who have created them in a way that you have a smooth transition.
BMX park riding is probably one of the most popular forms of BMX riding, which means the range of riders is greater, similar to their abilities. Our minimum BMX tire pressure recommendation for those who mainly ride park is 80 PSI.
However, more experienced and regular riders will prefer harder tires for their BMX, which can be up to 100 PSI, although 80 PSI is reasonable for most.
At 80 PSI, it will mean that hard impact landings are less merciful, however your overall maneuverability is improved greatly.
Tire Pressure For BMX Street Riding
BMX street riding is mainly based on riding on uneven and sometimes rough terrains. This is the opposite to BMX park riding as mentioned above, due to park surfaces being extremely smooth and having all obstacles specifically placed and made. Street riders have to compete with the fact there can be random obstacles to tackle.
Due to these reasons, we would recommend that your have a tire pressure of 60 – 80 PSI for BMX street riding. This will keep you agile and help with mobility, with sacrificing comfortable landings from jumps.
BMX Tire Pressure Guide
BMX Type | Tire Pressure |
---|---|
Street | 60 - 80 PSI |
Freestyle & Park | 80 - 100 PSI |
Race | 70 - 80 PSI |
Flatland | 90 PSI |
Dirt Jump | 85 PSI |
Where Can I Find The Pressure Of My BMX Tires?
Finding the perfect tire pressure can be difficult, however your first factor of guidance should be the tire pressure recommendation on the side wall of your tires, which can see in the image below:
Is A Higher PSI Better For Your BMX Bike?
This question can have many answers, as its all relative to the style of riding you have. Typically pro BMX riders will tend to have harder tires, which means a higher PSI.
However those who prefer to have a more comfortable ride may have a lower PSI tire, as those tires will absorb impacts better. A big downside of having low pressure BMX tires is that they may off set your balance when you’re travelling at high speeds.
On the other hand, having tires with a higher PSI can be better for those who prefer harder tires for their BMX bikes. This is because it means you can feel the surface better and it gives you better control.
Ultimately a lot of riders state that having a harder front tire will keep your BMX more agile, whilst having a softer(lower PSI) rear tire to keep your landings soft and having a lower impact.
Riding styles can play an important factor on what tire pressure you should have. For instance BMX flatland bikes should have higher PSI tires as they’re mainly used on precise bikes, that are used on flat grounds such as smooth concrete, so you’ll need complete control and grip. In addition to that, dirt jump BMX bikes require softer tires in order for you to sustain less brutal impacts on landings from large jumps.
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