Orange Five Alpine 29er - Tyre Pressure

Orange Five Alpine 29er - Tyre Pressure

Author
Discussion

John D9395

Original Poster:

377 posts

207 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
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Hi

Bought an Orange Five Alpine 29er recently and to say I have been pleased with it is an understatement.

However, today, I have just done a 25 mile ride, combination of off road tracks and hard tracks / roads.

I inflated my tyres before leaving to 40 psi in the rear and 30 psi in the front.

My theory is that I need a bit of softness in the mud / off road tracks, but not too soft that it caused too much rolling resistance on the hard tracks / roads.

Roads / hard tracks, no issues, felt great.

Off road tracks, the back end kicked out a lot more than I liked, first time out in the damp / mud, as it has been fairly dry since I got the bike.

Obviously my rear tyre was too high in pressure for the tracks, but how low should it be that I don't get too much rolling resistance.

Tyres are Conti Rubber Queens.

Any help / advice appreciated

2DDav

685 posts

152 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
quotequote all
I;ll generally run mines at 35psi for rocky/technical/muddy stuff and around 40psi for hard packed road type riding. However when your doing a combination of both you;ll alway end up with a bit of a compromise somewhere along the line uness you adjust your pressures whilst out (who could be arsed with that).

Have you checked & adjusted your shock pressure to suite? (presume its a full susser having googles Orange Five Alpine).

John D9395

Original Poster:

377 posts

207 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
quotequote all
Hi

Very much what I thought.

Yes, front and rear shocks set up to suit my weight / ride.

Mr Gearchange

5,892 posts

205 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
quotequote all
As low as you can get away with without burping the tyre off under cornering / getting pinch flats.

I run mine around 30psi F&R - I go up to 40 for really severe and protracted rocky descents to avoid pinch flats.

On uneven terrain (ie anywhere that's worthy of a FS MTB) lower pressures give you lower rolling resistance as the tyre flexes to absorb the terrain allowing you to move over it more quickly rather than bouncing over it as the tyre has far less give.

Pro XC riders run around 25psi.

I'll be investing in the Schwalbe pro-core system as so as I can as you can drop to 14 psi with no risk if burping the tyre off. Cornering grip will be epic!

Edited by Mr Gearchange on Saturday 1st November 20:39

Pablo16v

2,072 posts

196 months

Saturday 1st November 2014
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Based on personal experience it might be worth ditching the Rubber Queens, depending on which version you have, as Orange usually fit the basic hard compound OEM ones that are pretty rubbish for grip compared to the Black Chili versions, which are great but stupidly expensive (ignore this if they are already Black Chili), and running them at 30-40 psi will only make them worse. If you fancy trying a good value alternative take a look at On-One's 2.4" Chunky Monkey front and 2.25" Smorgasbord rear. They won't roll as well on the road or hard pack stuff but the trade-off is fantastic grip in soft dirt and on rocks and roots. The sidewalls are stiffer too so you can get away with slightly lower pressures.