Mountain Bike Tire Pressure: An Honest Guide (Stop Guessing)

You can spend $5,000 on a bike and still ride badly because your tire pressure is wrong by 5 psi. Owen has spent the last decade dialling in his pressures across Pisgah, Bend, Bentonville, and Crested Butte. The honest guide:

Start with the rider weight formula, then ride it

Total system weight (rider + bike + pack) in lbs ÷ 7 = front psi. Add 2-3 psi for the rear. That gets you in the ballpark for a 2.4-2.5" tubeless tire. From there, you tune.

The tuning loop

Set baseline. Ride a familiar trail.

If you're bouncing off square-edge hits → add 2 psi.

If you're burping the tire on hard corners → add 2 psi or move to a stiffer casing.

If the bike feels dead and unresponsive → drop 2 psi.

If your knuckles are vibrating after a tech descent → drop 2 psi.

Repeat.

Owen's actual numbers (180 lb rider, 32 lb bike, EXO+ casing, 2.5" Maxxis)

Pisgah/Bentonville chunk: 23 front / 26 rear. Bend / Sedona desert hardpack: 24 / 27. Crested Butte loamy alpine: 22 / 25. Bike park / DH days: 26 / 30 with a CushCore insert.

What to ignore

Sidewall pressure recommendations. They're for the heaviest possible rider on the most punishing trail. Drop 5 psi off the printed max as a starting point.