I stored (laid-up) my bike in Poland for 6 months last year. On my return I naturally wanted to check the tyre pressures before the ‘off’ .. in a westerly direction.

When I was digging-out my little electric pump from under the seat, an old-timer at the storage depot gestured to me, as much as to say "No Problem .. no problem", and with that he reeled out the hose from his firm's compressor .. pointed quizzically at the inflator's nozzle gauge with a enquiring look on his face. He couldn’t speak a word of English btw, let alone count numbers in English.

I needed 35 psi in the rear - and 30 psi in the front - and therefore flashed all my fingers+thumbs three time (30) plus again with one hand (5), thinking that this was clearly indicating to him the number 35 [psi].

Trouble is, my Polish friend interpreted this signal to mean 3.5 Bars!

So off I went, not with 35 psi in the rear but with 3.5 Bars, or over 50 psi.
[And 43 psi in the front.]

I know .. I know, should have checked with my own pressure gauge afterwards just to be sure. But I didn’t.

Do you know what? I travelled for more than 2,000 km before checking my tyre pressures again .. and then realised the earlier misunderstanding and mistake. And yet, to me, there was no discernible difference between 35 and 50 psi in the rear – and, in the case of the front: 30 psi (2 Bars) and 43 psi (3 Bars).

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On the other hand, of course, I have clearly noticed – as have we all, no doubt - that there is definitely a different feel to a bike's handling when your tyre inflations are significantly lower than the recommended pressures.

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Moral of the Story: Do what Ted et al said, as it doesn't matter hugely if your apparent tyre pressures go up or down a little bit with altitude. Ultimately, providing you have enough pressure at the bottom of the tyre .. then it won’t look flat!

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Right Way Round ...