Bike tires for big people?

Question

we just got a new bike for my wife, who needs it to lose weight, however upon closer inspection the tire looks like it has no air in it when she is riding it.(fully inflated tires) it has fancy looking classic old style wheels that i suspect don't have strong tire walls like a mountain bike tire. Question is should we take both wheels off and replace them with mountain bike rims and tires or just take off the fancy tires replace those with mountain bike tires and use the same rims and hubs. this appears to be the only problem with the bike. She is now a lil nervous to ride the bike till i replace the wheels. her tires have the max written and its 40 psi and even my MTB is 40 psi i wonder if that why my legs hurt riding it... thigh muscles knot up for me and i am not a light man myself 250lbs around. And her weight is about 350 + .

this is her bike http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee88/...

Answer 1

You can get polytires that don't require air and are solid.  I would recommend asking around your tire shops.  The American Car Care Centers in my area carry them for bicycles.

Answer 2

The link doesn't work.

Even 350 pounds ins't too much for all but REALLY cheap bike wheels.  The problem is the low pressure in the tires. Assuming the rims will take mountain bike tires, get some 2.1" - 2.3" semi-slick or slick tires that are rated for high pressure (e.g. 65-70 psi).  Or narrower tires rated even higher. Without a tread in the centre the rolling resistance on a good road will be low, so between the higher pressure and the lower resistance they will be easier to ride. I have some Specialized foldable tires -- unfortunately no longer available -- on my MTB that take 70 psi and only have lugs on the side of the tires .. not the centre. They work great.

There are lots of choices (e.g. Continental, Richey, Maxxis), but one example (expensive, but cheaper than new wheels) is at the link.