The tyre pressure revolution: why lower pressure is the new “fast”!

Regardless of road or gravel bike: the physics behind tyre pressure and speed

Wider, higher-volume versions of the same tyre roll more easily at the same pressure than narrower versions. Full stop. This simple insight has been confirmed time and again by tests. The reason lies in the comparatively longer contact patch of narrower tyres. Tyre manufacturer Schwalbe explains this in its technical FAQ: “While a wide tyre flattens more across its width, a narrow tyre has a narrower but longer contact patch. This flattened section can be interpreted as a lever arm that works against the rolling motion of the tyre.” In short: the longer the contact patch lever, the higher the resistance.

To achieve similarly low rolling resistance (and comparable puncture protection), narrower, lower-volume tyres inevitably have to be ridden at higher pressures. Higher pressures, however, also lead to increased rider fatigue, reduced control and greater stress on the material.

The core of the tyre pressure revolution therefore lies in wider, higher-volume tyres. If you want to benefit as much as possible from lower pressures, the rule is simple: go wider! (If you can.)

Benefits: comfort and traction

Low rolling resistance is only one reason why wider tyres and lower pressures make you faster. Comfort and traction are at least just as important:

• Comfort: A slightly softer tyre adapts to the surface and absorbs impacts and vibrations that would otherwise be transferred directly to your body. Conversely, higher pressures lead to more fatigue. And fatigue slows you down.
• Traction: A tyre can only transmit drive, braking and cornering forces if it maintains contact with the ground. If tyre pressure is too high and the tyre too hard, the contact patch – and therefore the ability to transfer force – is reduced. Put simply: if you’re charging into a corner at 40 km/h, an overly hard tyre will lose grip sooner. With the correct tyre pressure, you can ride faster.

Mythbusting: hard is fast!

Just pumping your tyres harder to make them roll faster – wrong. There is a relationship between tyre pressure, tyre volume and rolling resistance. In many cases, lower pressures will actually make you faster. And rolling resistance isn’t the only factor when it comes to speed. If you’re being shaken so hard that your fillings are about to fall out, a tiny reduction in rolling resistance won’t help you anymore.

Interestingly, speed also has a strong perceptual component. Constant vibrations, impacts and changes in movement feel fast, even if the actual speed doesn’t measurably change. You’ve probably experienced this when sitting in a heavy luxury car or a high-speed train and thinking, “Wow, I’m going fast – it doesn’t feel like it at all.” That’s because humans don’t perceive absolute speed, only acceleration, meaning changes in speed. Every jolt and every vibration is such an acceleration acting on your body, and one that you perceive immediately.

Tubeless, hookless & co.: effects on tyre pressure

Tubeless riding – meaning riding without a inner tube and using sealant instead – has been an integral part of the mountain bike world for years and has since taken hold in gravel and road cycling as well. Eliminating the inner tube reduces rolling resistance by removing the tube’s internal flexing inside the tyre. Small cuts and punctures are reliably sealed by the liquid sealant. Without a tube, the risk of pinch flats is also significantly reduced. The infamous snakebite – where the tube is pinched between the rim and the ground and punctured – becomes a thing of the past. The result: less pressure, less rolling resistance, fewer punctures.

Tubeless alternative: TPU / TPE inner tubes

If tubeless isn’t an option for you, there’s a modern alternative to the classic butyl tube: inner tubes made from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). They are lighter and significantly more supple than butyl – resulting in less internal flex, less friction and lower rolling resistance. Bonus feature: TPU/TPE tubes pack down much smaller and weigh less, making them ideal as spare tubes, for example in your saddle bag or jersey pocket. TPU and TPE tubes are available from many manufacturers such as Schwalbe, Tubolito, Continental, Vittoria or Pirelli. Tip: simply use the material filter in our webshop!

Hookless, tubeless and tyre pressure

Hookless rims have repeatedly been the subject of discussion in recent years. The concern: under certain circumstances, tyres could unseat from a hookless rim and cause a crash. Even though the serious crash of Thomas De Gendt at the 2024 UAE Tour was probably not caused by a hookless issue, as initially discussed, as reported by the specialist portal Rennrad-News. When using hookless rims, you should always follow the compatibility guidelines of the tyre and rim manufacturers and strictly adhere to the ETRTO standards during installation. These specify that when mounting a tyre on a hookless rim, a pressure of 5 bar or 72.5 psi must not be exceeded.

Tyre pressure guide for your road bike

Everything that applies to a gravel bike also applies to a road bike. So far, so simple. However, the conditions are often different:

• Many road bikes are less flexible when it comes to accommodating wider tyres than gravel bikes, which are often designed with generous tyre clearance from the outset. Your margin for adjustment is therefore smaller.
• Average speeds are higher on a road bike – aerodynamics and low air resistance are therefore more important than on a gravel bike. Air resistance increases exponentially with speed, while rolling resistance remains more or less constant. In addition, a wider tyre means a larger frontal area and therefore even higher air resistance. The perfect balance between rolling resistance and aerodynamics is therefore different here than on a gravel bike.
• The surface is generally smoother. You won’t be penalised as severely for higher tyre pressures as you would be on a gravel bike – unless you mainly ride on farm tracks or secondary roads. Or from Paris to Roubaix and on the other cobbled roads of this world.

Mythbusting: pros ride nine bar

The days when the professional peloton rode 23 mm tyres inflated to nine bar or more are long gone. Depending on the course and surface, 28 to 32 mm tyres now dominate. Whether even wider tyres will prove superior in road cycling as well is something we’re unlikely to find out anytime soon. Article 1.3.018 of the extensive UCI regulations specifies a maximum outer diameter of 700 millimetres for road cycling. Significantly more voluminous tyres than those currently used could violate this rule. However, Rennrad-News already reports pressures between three bar at Paris–Roubaix and around 4.5 bar at the Tour de France – in both cases tubeless.