holy hell i'm overwhelmed! PLEASE HELP!

[celerystalksme]

Really?!?!? I thought it should be flat on the floor.... maybe I read it wrong.

Okay well that's good to know! I don't need it on the lowest setting then :-)

the proper seat height vaguely/generally works like this: your saddle is the right height if your knee is just slighly bent while your foot is on the pedal at the lowest point of the pedal stroke.

so if you're sitting on the seat and your feet are flat on the ground, the seat is too low.

as for the tires squishing down a bit when you get on...you'll have to make sure that it's inflated enough. inflate up to the max psi printed on the tire sidewall. also...there might be a weight concern...seat posts, frames, wheels/tires have gross and rider weight limits. my suspicion is that everything will be ok except maybe the wheels/tires. i had a friend that bought a trek 7300 fx...he was around 280lbs...trek said everything would be fine except the wheels. so he head to get sturdier tires.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Remember that wheels (rims), tires, and tubes are three separate things.

You don't want to ride that bike without enough air in the tubes or it might pinch the tube against the rim edge and give you a flat tire. When you sit on the bike the tire should only flatten down a little bit, not much.

If you start riding and a spoke breaks then that *might* indicate you need rims (wheels) built for a heavier rider. I don't think weight matters so much with the tires and tubes though, as long as they are in good shape.

[earthgirl]

Thanks Ladies :-)

I can't believe it was a simple pressure issue. It certainly looked inflated, but when I checked, it was only at 35psi...

anyway, so now they're at 70. and are not flat when i'm on it! and I no longer feel like a cow. well, not today anyway.



but it's interesting to know that your friend needed stronger tires ...he's only 40lbs heavier than me... so i think i will call trek or my lbs and ask what the recommend for my weight though...

thanks:-)

[tulip]

but it's interesting to know that your friend needed stronger tires ...

thanks:-)

Wheels Wheels are the metal parts (rims, hub, spokes), tires are the rubber you see, and tubes are inside the tire, so you don't see them (but the valve where you pump the air is part of the tube).

I give you this info so you can call the bike shop and ask the right question and (hopefully) get the right answer.

I wouldn't bother with changing out the wheels unless you have a problem, like a spoke breaks. It happens--I had one break in the last 1/4 mile of an 80-mile ride last year--lucky (and I'm 125 lbs, so sometimes it doesn't have anything to do with weight).

You might want to ask the bike shop to check your wheels to see if they are true; that is, that the spokes are properly tightened to keep the rim straight.

Bikes can be overwhelming, but no one will give you a test, it's just fun!