Weird, dangerous, beware: tire gauges

[O.G.]

This is a story with a few parts. Part 1: A week ago gave my tire gauge to eldest son who rides and lives down the peninsula. Part 2: bought another one at O'Reilly's (formerly Kragen). Both are the analog type with a dial/ needle. I check my tire pressure with new one: 5 LB over both front and back. Not under, OVER. I check my pressure at least every two weeks, sometimes every week, ride every day. Eldest son comes to visit this weekend. Checks his pressure. 5 LB over. I take it to O'Reilly's. "No sir, no way to calibrate these gauges." I say "How 'bout taking this one and a couple others at your counter and going out and checking tire pressure on your car?" Nice guy, he says yes. Gauges are pretty much spot on with mine. Which probably means the original one (given to eldest son) is bad (nice, huh? What a dad.) He is going to bring it with him next time he visits to check it, but the odds are we have been over inflating our tires for six months... by 5 LB. Not cool.

 

[Brokenlink]

What's weird is that I checked mine an bit or ago and they were also a couple psi high. Barometric changes? Global warming? Obama?

 

[revnort]

So how do you find one you trust? I've noticed pretty large discrepancies between digital and analogue gauges as well.

 

[louemc]

Doesn't mean diddly to me... Reading is just a ballpark figure.

I come up with my own # based on how the bike or car feels on the roads I ride or drive.

 

[HeatXfer]

Cheap mechanisms. I sure they're handled roughly before they're even delivered to the store new. It's only about 6500 miles between here and Taipei.

The mechanisms are delicate to begin with.

 

[revnort]

Doesn't mean diddly to me... Reading is just a ballpark figure.

I come up with my own # based on how the bike or car feels on the roads I ride or drive.

Pretty much this. I keep a gauge in my bike and only use that. Since I know what pressures I like to run with and without luggage and passengers etc (based on my gauge), it doesn't matter.

I suppose it would be a problem if it read 10 lbs short and I was exceeding the tire rating without knowing it. Does not seem to be the case when I have checked it with other gauges though.

 

[stangmx13]

get a digital and check it against a known source when u buy it. whatever the difference, itll likely stay that way for years.

 

[stangmx13]

Pretty much this. I keep a gauge in my bike and only use that. Since I know what pressures I like to run with and without luggage and passengers etc (based on my gauge), it doesn't matter.

I suppose it would be a problem if it read 10 lbs short and I was exceeding the tire rating without knowing it. Does not seem to be the case when I have checked it with other gauges though.

if u were to switch tire models/brands and they required a diff pressure, ud be SOL until u felt that there was a problem. given that the tire would likely be dramatically different than the prev model (since it required diff pressures), u may not even attribute the problem to incorrect tire pressure at first. i know this situation doesnt come up on the street much at all. im just providing u w/ a situation where basing the "correct" measurement off of feel can go bad.

 

[WeekEndWarrior]

Am I the only one that feels the difference when riding in low pressure or high pressure in regards to the weather?

 

[NeverSayDie]

I just went through a similar scenario. Three pumps with built in gauges either read the same (inaccurate) pressure or a wildly different amount. I had to compare it to a gauge established to be accurate by a third party. It's very disorienting seeing how much a simple measurement can vary so much on something as important as tire inflation.

 

[russ69]

Buy a good gauge, it's worth the money.

 

[RightCoastBias]

So how do you find one you trust? I've noticed pretty large discrepancies between digital and analogue gauges as well.

I find it best to just find one that is relatively accurate, at least consistent. Then I base the rest off feel.

If I am running 32/36 and like the way my bike rides, it doesn't really matter if it's actually 30.5/34.5.

 

[psychocandy]

You'll never really know. I've heard so much crap over the years. That digital gauges are never wrong. Or that dial ones are more always more accurate. Then someone else says that the free one they got from buying a magazine subscription has always read exactly the same as the TIREBRAND sponsored one at the track.

I'll believe that a pro or amateur racer might be able to feel the difference between 1 or 2 PSI when racing. But it's obvious from the responses that shouting Danger Will Robinson! in a situation like this is overblowing it a bit. I bet a lot of riders on the street would barely notice 5 PSI difference. And even if they did, it wouldn't affect their performance/safety that much (honestly, if it did, you're probably pushing it too hard on public roads).

 

[catch2otwo]

Unless you buy a "calibrated" gauge, then forget about an "accurate" gauge. Buy a quality gauge. I've seen lots of motion pro etc in the race pits. Store it in a case and make notes of your tire pressure. What you want is a consistent gauge. As long as its consistent, you can adjust based on your feel and tire wear.

I calibrate stuff at work all the time, even some of the high dollar stuff that is dropped and abused a lot goes out of tolerance. I keep my gauge in a padded case. Might seem like overkill but I know the gauge is consistent.

 

[Hawaiirider]

< insert Patriots joke >

 

[revnort]

if u were to switch tire models/brands and they required a diff pressure, ud be SOL until u felt that there was a problem. given that the tire would likely be dramatically different than the prev model (since it required diff pressures), u may not even attribute the problem to incorrect tire pressure at first. i know this situation doesnt come up on the street much at all. im just providing u w/ a situation where basing the "correct" measurement off of feel can go bad.

I bought one and when cross referenced with several other gauges seemed to give the most accurate reading. I went through quite a few gauges to get there. Every one of them claiming a specific degree of accuracy...My findings were that they all said different stuff. The digital ones being some of the worst offenders.

Actually one of the best ones I had, and what I used the most was a lee parks one he gave me at his class. It was unfortunately stolen along with my tank bag awhile ago.

I like analogue so I don't have to worry about batteries.

 

[bunnygoat]

Go to an AFM race event in Sonoma and check it off the tire guy's calibrated master. I've been meaning to do this for years.
I've got a Saracuse (SP?) metal pencil type that I checked against 3 others plus the built in gauge on a high-end bike pump. If one is way off I wont use it.
The saracuse and the $20 round gauge type agree every time so I assume thats good enough.

 

[corndog67]

My wife's SUV has tire pressure monitors (Escalade). I see one of them is out a bit. I check it with a guage. It showed 20 lbs low. But the car indicated just a couple pounds so I bought some guage, real cheap to about $10. Every one read different, 5 lbs or so. I bought a calibrated Morose race car guage for $70. That's the one I base everything off out of my garage.

 

[tuxumino]

at a track day I checked my against the tire guys gauge, then wrote -1 in sharpie on the face.

and I snickered at the patriots joke

 

[boney]

Doesn't mean diddly to me... Reading is just a ballpark figure.

I come up with my own # based on how the bike or car feels on the roads I ride or drive.

This. And if you, use the same gauge every time then it doesn't, matter if it reads high, or low you're just using it as a reference, number.