Lower psi in front tire: is this normal?

[Ana]

I am hypervigilant about maintaining my commuter and today while I was checking the tires (last pump up was 10 days ago), I noticed that while the back tire was still at 80 psi, my front was down to approx 45 psi....is it normal for the front tire to loose air more quickly (do they get more wear/tear)?

I am half suspecting a slow leak....

[Blueberry]

My money would be on a slow leak. It's not unusual for tires to lose a little differently, but that's usually 5-10 lbs. Not that much. I'd keep an eye on it - and ride with a replacement tube...

CA

[spokewench]

The tire probably has a slow leak - front tires do not go down faster than rear.

I usually pump up my tires at least every 2-3 rides on my commuter and every time on my road bike/mountain bike before going out for a ride. Tires can lose air pretty quickly. I would fill the tire up and check them every day for a while to see how the tire holds air. If it holds air for 2-3 days, it is a very slow leak and you shouldn't worry about it too much. If it goes down in 2 days, maybe change your inner tube.

spoke

[maillotpois]

...is it normal for the front tire to loose air more quickly (do they get more wear/tear)?

Indeed, rear tires wear more quickly than front tires. I generally go through almost 2 rear for 1 front. (I could rotate them like one of our coaches, but I just don't care that much.)

+1 for slow leak.

[tulip]

I pump up my tires before every ride. When I was commuting, I did it the night before. Most flats, I've been told, come from underinflated tires. Keep an eye on it, and pump up your tires more often would be my advice.

[Kimmyt]

IMHO if it were a slow leak, you'd have way less than 45 in there 10 days from your last pump (if your starting psi is around 80 as I'm assuming, for a hybrid and compared to your front tire). It might just be gradual air loss from not pumping it up for that 10-day period. I pump every day that I ride. I've lost up to 40 psi in a tire over a DAY, much less 10. If you really want to be hyper vigilant, I don't see why you wouldn't pump on a pre-ride basis.

K.

[Ana]

Thanks for all of your wonderful advice!!

I'll let you know what happens...my tires have been really muddy/ucky lately so I'll rinse them off and take a look...maybe even take out the tube :P I don't have a spare now, though so it will have to hold while I go home tonight I'll pick up a few extra tubes tomorrow

[SouthernBelle]

Do you have a different brand of tube in each tire?

I've noticed differing rates of air loss between brands.

[Ana]

Nope, both tubes are the same brand.

I went into my LBS today to get a replacement Trek grocery bag, as one of the rivet-things came off of it and Trek's warranty covers it for a year but I had to go into an "authorized local dealer" to file the claim

I mentioned the problem and two things came up:

1) maybe I rode over something hazardous (very possible) and should submerge it in the tub or sink to look for bubbles

2) sometimes the little thing inside the shraeder valve (the base of the pointy thing) gets unscrewed a bit....causing a very slow leak.

Soooo I got a new tube and will check my tire....um....tomorrow, maybe

Oh, and I found these great inner tubes made in the U.S. with "slime" in them and they're the same price as the tubes I just got (well, I'm excited).