Correct tire pressure for Wayne mud or any other mud?

[levy1]

While ridding in Wayne National forest about 3 weeks ago I had several bad crashes in the mud. I have ridden there before in muddy conditions and never had that much of a problem. At Wayne it is clay mud and can be very slick. My book says to run the tire pressure from a low of 12lbs to a high of 15lbs. I was running at 14 and my ridding buddy says I crashed so much because my pressure should have been 9 or 10 pounds. By the way, after about 1 hour of mud we rode for the next 40 miles with no problem. How low of pressure can I run in the rear and should the pressure be the same for front and rear?

[levy1]

Well Fred I just dont know, hopefully someone else will respond.

[skippy]

That depends on your weight,speed,track conditions such as sharp rocks or tree roots, type of mud,tyre wall strenght & if you are willing to risk getting a impact puntcher.

tyre profile aswell-high or low.

I never go below 14psi front or 12psi rear but I only use tyres with super strong walls.

If i'm stuck on a super slippery hill i will let the rear down to 8psi to get up it & when i get to the top i pump it back up. A good pump will put an extra 5 psi into the tyre in about 10 to 15 pumps.

[evl2evil]

I ride wayne all the time ,depending on how muddy it is i stay around 10psi front and rear,if it's dry around 12psi.I've not had flat in awhile,but i also use heavy duty moose tube's

[mcarp]

Try not to get down TOO far in pressure. I run Michelin S12's and they recommend 12 lbs. Usually run about 13 on harder terrain, but stay in the 11-12 range in the mud.

Traction might be slightly better with less than 12, but I've had too many pinch flats in Wayne to do this anymore. Also, your rims can dent on rocks if the pressure is too low.

I recommend to run GOOD mud tires and stay in the 11-13 pound range. S12's rule in mud! Nothing will help your confidence traction more than good tires.

I had no problems climbing those slippery hills at Wayne on Sunday on 1/3 baked S12's! 756's would have been a nightmare.

[Traves_Cone]

I usually run about 10 P.S.I. in the rear with Michilen S12's, and about 12-14 in the front. I run extra heavy duty tubes with SLIME. Havent had any problems in 4 years, being from Ohio, I am used to the MUD and have messed around with alot of tire pressures, etc. and keep going back to the above settings. I think if your rebound is also set to stiff the front end will want to push out more also. I do not know what my settings are right now. Getting ready to do fork oil change, and I also had the forks/shock redone by ACME Suspesion.

[Mark_Cantrell]

Be careful at Wayne. You can be in knee deep red mud up at New Straitsville or black snotty greasy mud in Dorr Run, but when you cross the highway, you have rock ledges on both sides. If you run soft tires, be extra careful over the rocks.

Gotta love Ohio, a guy came into work Thursay with sunglasses and an umbrella. Even our offroad terrain is finicky.

Good luck,

mwc

[levy1]

good point about the suspension. I am definitely on the stiff side. my rear tire never bottoms out and I think it should once in a while.

[mcarp]

I thought the rock ledges after you cross the highway is MUCH easier now than previous years. They have widened it and filled in the right hand side that was especially challenging.

Actually, they have done a lot of work on the trails this year. In December there were sections of main Corridor that were virtually unpassable to the average rider.

The deep mud holes are still there, but there's almost always another way around them. Really sorry to hear what happened to your bike,Mark. Hope you have the bike ready for June 30th

[Mark_Cantrell]

mcarp,

Got it back together and rode it at Wild Wilderness Raceway tonight. Seems fine but have about 12 hours in it. Even took the afternoon

off to get to ride it today.

I'm ready.

mwc