As the only part that is in contact with the ground, tyres are a very important part of a mountain bike. The pressure the tyres are inflated too can have a huge impact on how a bike handles.
We searched around for as many of the top DH and Enduro racers tyre pressures and body weights as we could find so we could take a look. Obviously peoples weight fluctuates, and it's almost certain that most pro's adjust their pressures to suit conditions but hopefully it can provide a useful insight. Sadly we struggled to find many pro women's weights and tyre pressures, so only 2 from each discipline are included.
Taking the riders front and rear pressures in PSI, we worked out how many PSI they use per kilogram of weight to get a ratio. This then shows a better picture of how soft or hard they have their tyres in comparison to each other.
DH
| Name | Front (PSI) | Rear (PSI) | Weight | Ratio front | Ratio rear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rémi Thirion | 24.6 | 29 | 72KG | 0.34 | 0.40 |
| Amaury Pierron | 26.1 | 27.5 | 80KG | 0.33 | 0.34 |
| Danny Hart | 23 | 25 | 67KG | 0.34 | 0.37 |
| Troy Brosnan | 28.6 | 31.8 | 68KG | 0.42 | 0.47 |
| Brook Macdonald | 25 | 28 | 82KG | 0.30 | 0.34 |
| Loïc Bruni | 23 | 26 | 80KG | 0.29 | 0.33 |
| Mark Wallace | 27 | 30 | 77KG | 0.35 | 0.39 |
| Gee Atherton | 24 | 26 | 83KG | 0.29 | 0.31 |
| Connor Fearon | 26 | 29 | 73KG | 0.36 | 0.40 |
| Sam Blenkinsop | 24 | 27 | 79KG | 0.30 | 0.34 |
| Rachel Atherton | 25 | 25 | 65KG | 0.38 | 0.38 |
| Tahnée Seagrave | 22.5 | 22.5 | 64KG | 0.35 | 0.35 |
Taking a look at the DH racers, Troy Brosnan comes out with the highest pressures for his weight. He has been quoted saying:
If you don't damage a wheel in a race run, you're not going fast enough
So maybe his sponsors asked him to up his pressure!
At the other end of the spectrum is Gee Atherton with the relative softest pressures,
Enduro
| Name | Front (PSI) | Rear (PSI) | Weight | Ratio front | Ratio rear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richie Rude | 27 | 30 | 93KG | 0.29 | 0.32 |
| Wyn Masters | 27 | 30 | 85KG | 0.32 | 0.35 |
| Greg Callaghan | 21 | 23 | 84KG | 0.25 | 0.27 |
| Sam Hill | 23 | 28 | 75KG | 0.31 | 0.37 |
| Damian Oton | 25 | 25 | 68KG | 0.37 | 0.37 |
| Florian Nicolai | 27 | 29 | 70KG | 0.39 | 0.41 |
| Martin Maes | 24 | 26 | 71KG | 0.34 | 0.37 |
| Mark Scott | 22 | 24 | 69KG | 0.32 | 0.35 |
| Jesse Melemed | 19 | 21 | 69KG | 0.28 | 0.30 |
| Robin Wallner | 21 | 23 | 73KG | 0.29 | 0.32 |
| Cecile Ravanel | 23.2 | 24.6 | 60KG | 0.39 | 0.41 |
| Isabeau Courdurier | 20 | 23 | 50KG | 0.40 | 0.46 |
For the EWS pros, Isabeau comes out with the highest pressures, by quite a long way, even more so than Troy Brosnan. Greg Callaghan rides with the lowest pressures in the group we looked at, nearly half of what Isabeau is using.
How do EWS and DH riders pressures compare?
| Front average | Rear average | Weight average | Ratio front average | Ratio rear average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH Men | 25.1 | 27.9 | 76KG | 0.33 | 0.36 |
| DH Women | 24.6 | 29 | 72KG | 0.36 | 0.36 |
| Enduro Men | 22.3 | 24.8 | 72.3KG | 0.31 | 0.34 |
| Enduro Women | 23.2 | 24.6 | 55KG | 0.42 | 0.45 |
From the group looked at we can see that on average DH riders weigh a little bit more, which is possibly extra upper body muscle needed for holding on at top speed through the rough world cup tracks. They also use higher pressures than the EWS pros for their respective weights.
We asked Greg Callaghan if he had any thoughts on being the lowest relative pressure out of the group we tested, he said:
I run it that low mainly just because I can but theres many reasons really. I'm not sure if other riders have dared going lower but the tyres are more than capable of it these days. I've tested with as low as 18 - 20 and it's been fine, the tyre starts to roll under high G force which I dont like the feeling of so I go a bit harder. I find the Schwalbe tyres have a strong enough carcass to prevent rolling at low pressure and they match really well with our DT Swiss rims so burping air isnt an issue I've had either. On top of all that, a softer tyre rolls faster on rough ground. I like to set tyre and suspension to work together, and that's where I found was best.
Working out your pro tyre pressures
People seem to love learning about pro riders bike setups, and if you want to copy them for your own bike follow this simple calculation.
For EWS:
Your weight in KG x 0.31 for the front.
Your weight in KG x 0.34 for the rear
For World Cup DH
Your weight in KG x 0.33 for the front.
Your weight in KG x 0.36 for the rear
As we don't have enough data for the women, this uses the mens.
So if we weigh 72KG and we wanted to play at being an EWS pro we would use 22.3 in the front and 24.4 in the rear.
It's worth noting that almost certainly the DH riders and likely many EWS riders are using DH thickness casings, which allow for lower pressures to be used due to the extra sidewall support when compared to a trail tyre.
What presssure's do you run? Let us know in the comments.
