I have friends who get the pump out before every bike ride. They top up to some specific tire pressure they have decided is the right one for them. Sometimes I’m invited to squish their tire and express an opinion about the correctness of their pressure. I almost always say, “Feels great,” because 1) I don’t really care, and 2) What is right for me, might not be right for them.
I do not get the pump out every time.
I give my tires a squeeze. Oh, I know. The punctilious among you verge on aneurism. A squeeze?!?!? What could that possibly tell you? How many pounds per square inch can you feel? I refer you to my previous writings on the Squeeze Test. If an experienced cook can tell the temperature of a piece of meat by pressing on it with an index or middle finger (I also can do this magic feat), then an experienced cyclist can certainly draw a correlation between how a tire feels betwixt thumb and forefinger and how it will feel out on the planet’s surface.
Furthermore, my friends who are dedicated to specific tire pressures seem not to take the outside temperature or the ground’s moisture content much into consideration. I’d argue that gaining some sense of how the ground itself feels ought to inform how the tire is inflated.
But I’m quibbling now.
I don’t actually care how you or any of my friends arrive at the ideal tire feel. I don’t gotta ride your bike. There are only two things I really want from those I ride with. The first is that they figure this whole tire pressure thing out BEFORE it’s time to leave on the ride. Especially now that it’s cold out, I’d prefer not to flubber about waiting for people to decide how much air to run in their tires. And second, I don’t care to have my own methods and judgement impugned, as I seem to be perfectly capable of riding my bike whenever I attempt to do so.
So I squeeze. Then I scratch my chin briefly, staring off into the middle distance. Sometimes I will decide to add some air. Other times I will let it ride, so to speak. That’s me. I’m kooky.
This week’s TCI Friday wonders whether you’re a topper or a squeezer. Do you subscribe to very specific pressures or the “close enough for rock n’ roll method?”
Close enough for Rock n’ Roll.
Unless it’s CX. Then the pump and gauge come out to play.