Hey everyone i was just trying to see if any one on here is running nitrogen in the bikes tires.
I use it in my car's tires and wasn't to sure if it would be smart to run it in my bike. I know it makes the tire run cooler and last longer so i would think it might be a good idea but i'm kind of skechy on the whole tire temp since that's where we get most of the traction when the tires heat up.

Let me know what you think

 

I dont run nitrogen in my bike tires...have done so in the car tho....Nitrogen expands less than air, so if you run 32 cold psi, with air you can gain 4 psi when heated, not so with nitrogen. Nitrogen is also denser then air, so there is less natural leakeage thru the rubber. but when the tire warms up, the rubber of the tire still gets hot still resulting in a sticky tire. If we had a nitrogen filling station around here, I would prob change to nitrogen in the bike.

 

yeah, N2 is not readily available at the track either. So when your tire vendor says run 26psi cold, they are referring to pump air. Time for trial and error with a log book. N2 will not run as hot as mentioned. You do not carry 2 30lb cylinders in your trailer? lol

 

I usually run 20.9% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen with some trace gasses.

Only advantage of running straight Nitrogen is that it is a larger molecule and will migrate through rubber slower than Oxygen..ie fill your tires less often.

As far as the heating goes Nitrogen has a specific heat of about 1.04 and Oxygen is 0.95 not much difference.

You want to make a real difference run hydrogen in your tires....it is the lightest gas and has a specific heat of about 40..ie takes a lot of energy to heat it up.

Besides you could use the hydrogen to start a fire in a pinch if you get stuck in the woods...lol

 

The difference is negligable for a road vehicle, and not really noticeable for a bike on the track. Never had a car on the track so I can't comment there. As to natural leakage, my tyres keep their pressure fine with air. I add a bit at the start of winter and ease it a bit once morning ambient gets above about 45. Pressure doesn't vary by more than 1 psi either way over several months.

Air is mostly nitrogen anyway - 78% by volume. Most of the rest is oxygen.

Rob

 

Thanks for the replys eveyone. I really gave this some thought and i'm going to see when it's time to switch outh the tires on the bike if they can put nitrogen in there so i don't have to worry about loosing air in my tires every month or so filling them back up with air.

I've actualy have drove a car on the tack with nitrogen in the tires. It really does make a difference comparied to pump air. The car has less tire roll so the cornering is better so in all it gives you better traction after the tires heat up to temp which really isn't to long.

just hope the bike tires act the same when there filled with nitrogen. i'll let eveyone know if make the switch.

 

hey fingerMullet,
are you a chemist bro? lol, your throwing words around like " Trace gasses " and "specific heat" .

Btw i got your 79% nitrogen, and 20 O2 joke.

 

Just a tire tech that knows a scam....Ulva

 

must be something special about N2.. it's an inert gas as well.. we used it in LeMans on a 2 million dollar car

Audi R8 LMP900 to be exact.

 

yeah i work at belle tire in michigan and we have free nitrogen. it's exactly what the first guy said. the molecules are larger than that of regular air. it's a more stable gas. it's safe to use. they've been using it in nascar for years from what i under stand just because the tires heat up alot more.

also i use it in my bike. plus air is like 76% nitrogen anyways