Few sports inspire more obsession with gear, components, and upgrades than bicycling. Racing cars, large commercial airliners, heavy machinery, performance motorcycles, and some Tour de France cyclists, all put pure nitrogen in their tires.
Should I put nitrogen in my bike tires?
Replacing plain air, which is already 78% nitrogen, with 100% nitrogen, does NOT improve performance, reduce weight, nor provide any additional benefits to cyclists and bicycle riders.
Components: Air vs Nitrogen
Air
Regular compressed air, from a bicycle pump or air compressor, is already nearly 80% nitrogen. Unlike racing cars and airliners, which have very advanced and expensive nitrogen filling stations, the typical nitrogen system that we have access to, will only fill your tires with 91 to 95% nitrogen.
Inflation Leakage
MYTH: Nitrogen does not leak as quickly as compressed air, meaning, nitrogen maintains ideal tire pressure for longer.
FACT: All tires naturally lose pressure over time, regardless if they are filled with air or pure nitrogen. While it’s true that nitrogen permeates through rubber slower than standard air, over an entire year, the difference is only 1-PSI.
Also, if you experience a puncture, or if your tubeless tire is not set properly, both nitrogen and standard air will leak out at the same rate.
Temperature & Altitude Fluctuations
MYTH: Nitrogen-filled bicycle tires are not affected by temperature changes and maintain a constant PSI regardless of climate.
FACT: While it’s true that nitrogen maintains inflation pressure better than compressed air via temperature fluctuations, the environmental conditions need to be quite severe, such as those experienced by airplanes, and is one of the reasons that commercial airliners use pure nitrogen. However, it should be noted that it’s not uncommon for small aircrafts to use regular compressed air, and these airplanes are dealing with significantly more extreme climatic and mechanical conditions than your bicycle tires.
RULE of THUMB: PSI & TEMP
For every 10°F rise or fall in temperature, your tires lose 1-PSI with plain air. When using pure nitrogen, the difference is so small, you can’t even visually detect it on a graph.
Moisture & Wheel Weight
MYTH: Since nitrogen tires lack moisture, they are lighter than tires filled with compressed air.
FACT: Compressed air systems and bicycle pumps have moisture separators, limiting the amount of water vapor that is introduced into your tire. However, even if small amounts of water vapors were introduced into the tire, the effect is so tiny on performance, that even computation models conclude that the difference is negligible.
Maintenance Cost & Convenience
MYTH: The lack of internal oxygen and moisture reduces tire deterioration, eliminating rust and corrosion on the rim.
FACT: While the above statement is true, the larger issue is what is happening to the outside of the wheel. UV, pollution, road salt, rain, puddles, mud, dust, and grime all contribute exponentially more to the wearing of parts than the internal amount of oxygen.
Cost
Unlike air, which is free, and readily available with a portable pump, you have to pay at least 5 bucks for every fill-up when using nitrogen. While this isn’t hugely expensive, it does add up after punctures, and since nitrogen still escapes from the tire, you still need regular checks and top-offs, plus the added hassles of finding or buying the nitrogen system.
Safety
Passenger airliners weighing over 75,000 pounds and Formula One cars, for example, use pure nitrogen in their tires. Both of these machines create large amounts of heat, and in the case of airplanes, do so at altitudes of 30,000+ feet. In the event of a crash, these 100% nitrogen tires do not have any oxygen to feed a potential fire.
Final Thought
Even though bicycle technology has advanced over the years, your bike has nothing in common with Formula One cars or airliners. Sticking to plain air might be boring, but it’s convenient, free, and predictable.
Jesse is the Director of Pedal Chile and lives in La Patagonia. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health and Human Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Hobbies: Mountain biking, bicycle commuting, reading, snowboarding, researching, and sampling yummy craft beers.
Sources & References
“Air Composition.” Ucar.edu, 2019, www.eo.ucar.edu/basics/wx_1_b_1.html.
Ben. “Is Filling Bicycle Tires with Nitrogen Worth It?” EBike Pursuits, 18 Mar. 2020, ebikepursuits.com/is-filling-bicycle-tires-with-nitrogen-worth-it/.
Bertorelli, Paul. “Nitrogen Tires Unnecessary for Small Aircraft.” Aviation Consumer, 22 Dec. 2015, www.aviationconsumer.com/maintenance/nitrogen-tires-unnecessary-for-small-aircraft/.
Daws, John. “Nitrogen Inflation for Passenger Car and Light Truck Tires.” Tire Science and Technology, vol. 39, no. 2, June 2011, pp. 125–160, 10.2346/1.3593787.
“Top 4 Myths vs Facts about Using Nitrogen to Inflate Car Tires.” Www.aaa.com.
Vangelder, Kirk T. Fundamentals of Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair. Burlington, Ma, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2020.