Soft tyres steal range without touching the battery. This e-scooter range vs tyre pressure calculator models how current bar, recommended pressure, wheel size, and rider mass shift watt-hours per kilometre—and the range % you give up.
Benefits
- Compares current vs. recommended bar for rolling resistance impact.
- 8–10″ commuter wheels amplify under-inflation losses vs. larger tyres.
- Outputs adjusted Wh/km and range penalty % for quick inflation checks.
How it works
- Enter current tyre pressure and deck or sidewall recommended bar.
- Add wheel diameter (in) and rider mass (kg).
- Read adjusted Wh/km and range penalty %—inflate to recover km.
FAQ
How does tyre pressure affect e-scooter range?
Under-inflation widens the contact patch and flexes the carcass each revolution—more Wh per km. On 8–10″ wheels that cyclic loss adds up fast. A few tenths of a bar below recommendation can cost 10–20% effective range on stop-start commutes.
What pressure should I use as recommended bar?
Use the sticker on the tyre sidewall or the value printed on the deck/mudguard—often 3.0–3.8 bar on 10″ pneumatics. Enter that as recommended bar and your actual reading as current pressure to see the penalty.
Do smaller wheels make pressure more important?
Yes—more revolutions per kilometre mean more tyre deformation cycles. The calculator applies extra rolling loss below ~9″ diameter. Maintaining pressure is one of the highest ROI maintenance tasks for commuter scooters.
Technical specifications
- Inputs: current bar, recommended bar, wheel size (in), rider mass (kg).
- Under-inflation (bar) = max(0, recommended − current).
- Output: adjusted Wh/km and range penalty % vs. properly inflated baseline.
- Related: escooter-range, escooter-tire-wear, escooter-maintenance-schedule.