Hi Melanie,

First of all, great site and congrats on an positive early XTERRA finish.

I've taken up off-road again after a 8 year hiatus to focus on road tri's. I just did my first off-road duathlon this past weekend and loved it! I definitely see XTERRA in my future.

My question is tire pressure... In road we simply inflate our tires to the recommended pressure (or 10 PSI lower if the temperature is expected to rise) and off we go.

I ride under Maxxis as well and this past weekend I was riding the Larsen TT's (with tubes)... The course had some technical climbing over roots, rocks and mud (unfortunately it started to rain mid through the run). Do you have any recomendations on what to set my tires at in various conditions? I believe the range is 35-65 PSI. I consider myself an o.k. technical rider having grown up on a mountain bike... But I have spent some time away from it and feel like a bit of a newbie. Furthermore, I ride full suspension (Giant NRS) does that come into play?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

tire pressure can be very individual, as it depends on your weight, and what you personally are comfortable riding.

i tried 25psi on maxxis ignitors in tremblant and got a flat, but only because I hit a big rock.

i do not know if you were riding tubeless or not, but generally if you are riding tubes you need to run higher pressure, closer to 40-45psi. without tubes you can high 20s to low 30s. it is a good idea to experiment with pressure in training. pressure really makes a difference with traction, and the tire you choose can maintain low rolling resistance even if you run low pressure to maximize traction.

also, larson tts are my favorite tire for ANY dry condition, and my least favorite in the wet. I would look at a set of tires for wet conditions and one for dry. Try the ignitor, swamp thing, or one for really muddy conditions (which I wish I had in tremblant) the Medusa

good luck with the Xterras this season!

Thanks for your reply Melanie,

Yeah, i'm actually running tires with tubes... And I think your assessment of the Larsen TT's is dead on. I was really doing well on the dirt road... Then once the singletrack with wet roots and rocks started, I was all over the trail! I'll definitely look into a set for the wet stuff.

Thanks again and good luck with the rest of your season.