tire protection worth it?

[jobob]

Do you enjoy fixing flats?

I swear by my kevlar-belted tires. I have had 1 flat so far (OK, so now I'm doomed). There are a lot of kevlar-belted tires out there, with a variety of tread designs. Ask your LBS what they have. Some bike shops don't carry much of a supply.

Looking up the specs for the Trek 7200 on the trek website, it shows your bike supposedly comes with 700x35c tires. If you like skinnier you could probably go down to 32c width.

As for the other stuff (liners, goop, etc.), they are a real pain and a real mess when you do end up having to fix a flat.

By the way, you really should learn how to fix your own flats. It's very empowering. And you will see how switching tires (assuming they are the correct size, of course) is really not a big deal.

If you're on the peninsula, the Bay Area Velo Girls put on a monthly bike basics clinic at Summit Bicycles in Burlingame. I've never attended it but I've heard good things about it.
http://www.velogirls.com/calendar.html

Congrats on the new bike!!! And have fun with it. It will all make sense eventually, trust me

PS - check the 'lost my tire virginity' thread for some sage advice. The Gatorskin and Armadillo tires that are mentioned are a couple of the kevlar-belted brands out there.