You can read Boydy’s full tyre review in ADB issue #457, on sale now, but here’s what the Metzeler crew had to say about the pressure they decided to run during the test.
WORDS // MAT BOYD PHOTOS // GREG SMITH
The tyre pressures we ran all day in all tyres was 14.5psi. Now I know most of you reading this are already saying “too much pressure” so let me explain. As soon as I heard the technicians and design team from Metzeler say that this was the recommended pressure I questioned them.
Their answer was that any less than 14.5 actually ruins the structure of the tyre. The knobs fold and leave no driving edge for the tyre to grip with. I realised it made plenty of sense but I had to think about the thousands of riders who run 8 to 12psi and even drill holes or cut sections out of their mousse tubes to make them softer. Could they all be wrong.
The Metzeler crew said that their many hours of testing and measuring traction had shown that pressures any lower than 14.5 psi actually reduced traction while compromising the structure and durability of the tyre. Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just telling you what the experts said.
