Tire pressure, stick to the limit or go lower?

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What tire pressure do you guys run? With what treads? Advice ranges pretty widely.

I weigh in around 180 even w/o gear. I have tried the Rocket Rons at 30 psi rear, 28 front, and they felt sluggish. I upped both to 36 psi and they felt livelier, still with traction for most trails around here (Santa Monica Mountains). I now run Hanz Dampf in front and Rocket Ron rear, the Hanz Dampfs have always felt like boat anchors, at 28, 30, 36 and 40 psi. They feel too hard now, but I will drop them down to 35psi or try lower. I still get traction, little skittish on dry but controllable. I will dump the Hanz Dampfs for another set of Rocket Rons. They felt the best but wear fast and are fragile.
Oh yeah I run tubes, too lazy for tubeless. my friend told me his slime turned to water after 3 months so, I just stayed w/tubes :wink: I could try tubeless if I knew the stuff would not turn to a watery mess in a few months.
I tried lower to 85-90 psi on my road bike, it did indeed feel pretty good and took the ruts nicely. I recommend lowering psi on road bikes :wink: as for mt bikes that all depends upon the tires and how you ride it. I’m pretty cautious after crashing bad.

For some well-established mtb guidelines, Stans recommends you start with their formula for tubeless tyre pressure: your weight in pounds divided by 7, add 1 for rear tyre, subtract 2 for front tyre. I run mine around 25R/23F [I’m 150lb on the bike], they work well. I add a bit for extra rocky trails.

Also, here’s a couple of interesting articles/papers on the subject:

All About Tire Inflation