Xenthyl

Hey everyone. I purchased a Diamondback Edgewood LX today and I'm having a bit of an issue with it. I'm way too big for the tires I think. When I hop on the bike the back and front tire flatten out a bit (not losing psi just get flatter but not touching rim), and I was curious if I should get new tubes, increase the PSI (and to what? I read 60-65 but that was on roadbike tires), or a new set of tires? On a side note, it's the 700CC tires that come stock with the bike.

I'm completely new to biking having not ridden since I was roughly 13. I am now 28 years old 6'6" and 285 lbs now so hopefully that puts it into perspective. I looked up the subject in the search function, but keep coming up on Road/Mountain bike sections. Any help I can get would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance everyone!

prathmann

The sidewall of the tire should have a maximum psi pressure molded into it; and at your weight I'd inflate to at least this maximum amount. What width are the tires (there should be a width in mm marked on the tires)?

Xenthyl

Thanks for the suggestion.

Problem solved. I used Google and looked up the tires. They were Kendra's 700X40C with a 50-85 PSI. Set it to 68 PSI on each and that helped alot. Gonna pump it to 75ish tommorow since we have crappy roads out here. Don't want to hit a pot hole and kill them.

Any suggestions for tires/rims that are a bit better than stock, but not super expensive?

desertdork

The Edgewood's geometry puts you in a very upright riding position, which therefore puts a much greater percentage of your weight on the rear wheel. You need more psi in the rear than you do in the front, similar to how your weight is distributed on the bike. Your wide tires give better support at lower psi than do narrower tires, but too little psi can cause pinch flats, sidewall damage, or wheel damage in the event you hit a pothole.

I have no experience with the Kenda Cross tires, but if they're like many "cross" tires, they won't have features to make them highly resistant to punctures. Cross tires are designed to give decent traction on a variety of surfaces, but aren't the best urban/commuter tire. Pick your line when riding and do your best to avoid hazards. When you're ready for replacements, there are tires with flat protection (e.g., kevlar belting) that you may prefer.

Wheels: These are some of the most expensive components on a bike. Unless you have a great need/desire to upgrade, replacing wheels comes at a high cost. There are also some component compatibility issues with replacement (your bike has a freewheel hub which isn't so common today). If you have a good LBS with a competent wheelbuilder near you, I'd suggest having your wheel checked for proper spoke tension. Machine-built wheels can lack sufficient and balanced spoke tension. This won't necessarily be troublesome for a lighter rider on smoothed roads, though a poorly tensioned wheel will still be shorter lived under any circumstance. At your size, I'd ideally like a 36-spoke rear wheel with butted spokes. Your wheel has 32 straight gauge spokes which are more prone to breakage. Having a competent mechanic check the wheel and balance the spokes to proper tension could mean the difference between many trouble-free miles and frequent spoke breakage (or eventual wheel failure).

Xenthyl

@Desertdork: Thanks, I really appreciate the input. I'm learning alot already from all of you guys. On a side note, I got the info I needed and if the mods so choose they can close this if they want too.

khutch

You have 40 mm, 85 psi tires and 32 spoke wheels. You should be in pretty good shape for a rider your size. If you bought this at a LBS then have the spoke tension rechecked at a couple hundred miles as someone else suggested. If you bought it at a big box store then hook up with a LBS that has a good mechanic and pay the small fee to have that checked. I think the tires and most likely the wheels will be just fine. Don't be afraid to run them at 85 psi if you feel you need to. You don't need to rush to replace those tires. When you do replace them you probably want something with the same width and whatever pressure you finally settle on (that may be 85 psi).

Replacement tires will depend on where you ride. On road or off? Major puncture hazards or not? Rough roads or smooth? Start looking at web sites for tires that match your riding conditions and budget. I think you will easily figure out what you want next before these need to be replaced.

I don't think that you read 60-65 psi for road bike tires. Roadies consider their tires to be flat at anything under 100 psi and some run at 165 psi. Like them though, you can run at the max sidewall pressure on the tire.

Ken

Xenthyl

I bumped it to 80 PSI now and have 0 issues. I even jumped down curbs and up curbs and such with no issues. I appreciate all the help I've gotten from everyone, this seems like a very well informed and helpful crowd here. It's awesome.