[MaveN]

so, I bought a trek soho s and I love it, but I haven't taken it for a ride yet. I'm too scared I'm too heavy for the bike, at 250, I bought the bike for weight loss, but when I get on, I see the tires go down a bit because of the pressure, I'm scared after maybe 30 mins of bike riding with that much stress might make the tires pop. I have a 30 foot long basement and I have rode the bike back and rode a couple times and nothing happened..should I be safe on the streets?

Also, does the air decrease over time? Like in around 2-4 weeks the pressure felt weak..is this a sign?

 

[gte]

From what I see the Soho is a city bike with wide enough tires - you have
nothing to worry about. I've also seen people at least as big ride road bikes
on 23 tires without a problem. Just make sure that your tires are inflated to
the correct pressure (it's printed on the tire). Always carry a spare tube
with you and if you don't know how to change it, practise at home. There
should be plenty of videos on Youtube showing how to change a tube.


All tires are losing pressure over time - it's normal to have to inflate them
some more every few weeks.


So go ahead and have fun on your bike!

 

[mik_git]

you may need to pump them up, have a look at the side of the tyre and see if it has a recommend pressure range. When I got my 1st road bike last year, after a week or so I was thinking wow this is really plush, but seems sluggish, checked; 40psi, whipped out the pump and up to 100, much better.
Don't know if this is good or bad, but my mtb with regular tube tyres will stay up indefinitely (well weeks or months), my road bike will drop 20psi within a week (100->80) and my tubeless mtb will go flat overnight (I'm probably doing something wrong). So it may be that, or may be not.

 

[Zeet]

I was once an obese person many years ago. It was primarily because of cycling that I lost so much weight (I once weighed more than you). After I lost weight, I also lost any need for hypertension or diabetes medication, due to the fact that these ailments subsequently escaped me. You'll find that as your weight gradually decreases from consistently cycling, your worries about flats and bicycle damage, drastically decreases. After each week, you'll feel totally successful, confident, and accomplished. Good Luck! :thumbsup:

 

[Zeet]

I was once an obese person many years ago. It was primarily because of cycling that I lost so much weight (I once weighed more than you). After I lost weight, I also lost any need to take any medication for hypertension or diabetes, due to the fact that these ailments subsequently escaped me.

BTW - Having wide tires is a godsend for you. The heavier you are, the more the wider tires will assist in supporting your weight. Also, the second after you fill up your tires, small increments of air begin to escape from the tubes of your tires. After about four or five days, usually your tires could use a little more air. Always check your tires for correct air pressure. Every cyclist needs a floor air pump at home and a portable air pump for emergencies on the road (unless he has a CO2 cartridge).

 

[Edhunt]

To sum up what was said:

You are fine.
Buy a bike pump and pump up the tires to the recommended pressure.
Ride as much as you can.
Check/Pump up tires every time you are about to get on the bike.

 

[MPov]

I'll just add that I know a lot of guys who weigh around 250 riding road bikes with much thinner tires than yours.
All tires lose air. I pump mine up before every ride, and most people should.

 

[alegerlotz]

Also, does the air decrease over time? Like in around 2-4 weeks the pressure felt weak..is this a sign?

I check my pressure before every ride and even if I rode the day before I need to put a few PSI in.

This is completely normal. Set the tires to the correct pressure (as others have indicated) and you should be all set.

Also, having the tires bulge a bit where they contact the road is normal too. If they are not bulging at all you have too much air in them.

Here's a web site you can use to help come up with a starting pressure...
Bicycle tire pressure calculator

 

[jsedlak]

so, I bought a trek soho s and I love it, but I haven't taken it for a ride yet. I'm too scared I'm too heavy for the bike, at 250, I bought the bike for weight loss, but when I get on, I see the tires go down a bit because of the pressure, I'm scared after maybe 30 mins of bike riding with that much stress might make the tires pop. I have a 30 foot long basement and I have rode the bike back and rode a couple times and nothing happened..should I be safe on the streets?

Also, does the air decrease over time? Like in around 2-4 weeks the pressure felt weak..is this a sign?

Just pump up the tyres to the recommended pressure and head outside. I rode a carbon Madone with 23s when I was ~245lbs and was fine. At 170 I still see the tyres squat a little when I'm on the bike. It's perfectly normal..

 

[MaveN]

Awesome, can't wait to start biking! Now, I don't have an air pump, I use a car tire air compressor...any recommended affordable bike pumps? And btw, how do I check the psi?

 

[Zeet]

Awesome, can't wait to start biking! Now, I don't have an air pump, I use a car tire air compressor...any recommended affordable bike pumps? And btw, how do I check the psi?

You can generally find decent floor pumps at any X-Mart store. Schwinn, Zelfal, and Bell, are quite popular in my neck of the woods. Just make certain that the pump has a gauge that goes up to 120 psi. Your correct psi should be printed upon the side or wall of your tire. I've never spent over $40 for a floor pump. Also make sure that your Schraders or Prestas match up. Presta with Presta. Schrader with Schrader. View attachment 282405

 

[MaveN]

just checked my bike, and it said max psi is 120..So is this pump good?

Topeak Pocket Rocket Master Blaster Bike Pump : Amazon.com : Sports & Outdoors

Theres another pump that goes to 90 max, would that be better?

 

[mik_git]

i'd say the one you linked, 90psi wouldn't be enough...
what you really want to make life better is something along the lines of:
wiggle.com.au | Floor Pumps

 

[den bakker]

i'd say the one you linked, 90psi wouldn't be enough...
what you really want to make life better is something along the lines of:
wiggle.com.au | Floor Pumps

just to explain why one or the other: the mini pump (which maven linked to) is great to have along on a ride, when you flat change or repair tube and re-pump tyre. now the problem is the air chamber is tiny (it's a mini after all) and thus it takes a lot of strokes to reach the pressure, it's a lot of work and not very convenient at all. and it gets harder the closer to the target you get. on the plus side it's a bit of an upper body workout.
the floor pump on the other hand cannot be brought along on the ride obviously. but, it can fill a tyre at home very conveniently and fast. on the order of 20-30 pushes where you can use your body weight as leverage. Most have both types of pumps, on at home, one on the road. the air compressor for the car can work as well but as was mentioned there's no pressure gauge. some get close enough by the pinch test (squeeze the tyre and see if it feels right) others would disagree.

 

[mik_git]

ohps, yes, sorry should have clarified , small pump for the bike and rides to take with you, floor pump for the ease of use at home.

 

[MaveN]

okay, I understand. Thank you to all the help.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

Some good advice from people. If you have good city tires like Schwalbe Marathons and good tubes you shouldn't need to put air in them but once every 6 months or so. These are vastly different than the weight weeny tires many have on our road bikes. Likewise, a spare tube and pump aren't nearly as critical since the likelihood of a flat with these is extremely low.

These tires are also designed for a softer ride using lower pressure and to hold up under a lot of weight - like carrying your 150lb friend side-saddle on the rear rack. 300lbs of me and stuff isn't unusual.

They're designed to mash down a bit. Check this rear tire:

View attachment 282514
From copenhagencyclechic.

That one's probably a bit low on air, but no problem will result from it.

 

[lazybean]

(EDIT: typo fix, i was 250lb not 350lb)
I was 250 lbs, commuting 22 miles a day on a road bike with 25 tires (conti Gatorskins) pumped up to 100psi. Never had a flat till a car cut me off, and the flat tires were the least of my problems.

The best advise i can give is to just ride, as much as you can. When i first started I did the commute once or twice a week, slowly started losing the weight but I would feel sore after every commute. It was not until i started riding 4-5days a week(commute or fun ride) that it really started to pay off. As a big guy your ass is going to hurt, bad. Suffer through it for 3 weeks, after that it the pain fades. After 5 weeks riding 30 miles felt great, thats when the riding bug really kicked in and i couldnt wait to go for longer and longer rides, even started taking the senic route home adding 5 miles to it.

Biggest lesson i learned was to remember, Cars will NEVER look for you, even if your in the bike lane. I Am just now getting back on the bike, and have to lose all the weight i put back on.

 

[tazzmacd]

I was 265 in January and started to ride my Defy on 25 tires inflated to 100 psi, now at 235 and still dropping weight. I think you will be fine, before I ride I make sure that I double check the tire pressure and top it up as needed.