In need of tyre help.

[Methuselah]

I've not long since taken delivery of a new Giant Escape. I bought it on line and it was delivered fully assembled which was good as it saved me having to get a proper man in to do it. It came with both tyres fully inflated, as you might expect. The thing is that they are so hard that I can't depress them using both thumbs, is this normal. I am now in the realms of the grown up bikes so the saddle is... well I've got an old bread knife in the draw that isn't as sharp. If I ride over a small twig it makes my back teeth rattle.
I don't want to let them down and damage the wheels, can this happen. Any advise gratefully accepted.

 

[MrJamie]

Try sitting on it or leaning most of your body weight on the saddle to see if the tyre deforms then Might be worth getting a track pump with a gauge so you can check pressures.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

If you check the tyre walls you'll be abe to see the devised max pressure which is probably around 85psi which these may be.
If the saddle is too hard/skinny, instead of changing it, you could try a trip t your local large Reso or Asda who stock the gel saddle covers.
Have a look at them online - theyre only a few quid.

 

[smokeysmoo]

+1 for checking the pressures. I only guess at the roadside, all other times my pressures are checked with my track pump.

I use an old Decathlon one that has never let me down, but when it does eventually die I'll replace it with one of THESE

 

[Cyclist33]

+1 for the track pump. Absolutely invaluable both for quick and painless inflation, and for tuning those tyre pressures - as you get more experienced you'll want to fine tune the front and rear pressures to suit your own weight distribution and comfort needs.

Stu

 

[Methuselah]

Thanks for the feedback guys. If the problem was only weight I'd solve it by changing to lorry tyres. Next job is to get a pump with a gauge. Either that or a cushion.