Now that we got that out of the way [fully agree on the slicks for road use, BTW], back to the subject at hand...

Since the bike is new I must beg the question, did you buy it at a bike shop or from Wal-Mart [or alike]?
If things just don't seem right with the bike and you bought it at a box store, visit a knowledgible local bike shop and have them give it a once-over and a full adjustment. This is especially true if you don't know what to look for. A well tuned bike, even a cheap one, can feel totally different when it is set up right. Bike assemblers are simply not qualifies to do this. They often work on quotas or more coffee time.

I've had a namebrand bike with a seal installed wrong in the headset. Only a week old and I totally stripped the bike and rebuilt it. Wasn't taking any chances since I hate an unexpected spill due to assembly errors [not that one ever expects a spill]. That bike went 5 years without a hitch after that. Sold it in a garage sale in perfect condition when I bought my Specialized MTB [which was assembled correctly and tuned by the LBS where I bought it, I might add].

peace