I actually have a 30 year old bike that I've already done some stuff to, but I had to adjust the front and rear derailleurs when I put this bike together - it took me around an hour or so, but the rear cassette shifts now as opposed to getting stuck between two gears. I also adjusted my breaks (the pads would rub on the disks at a stop, but I managed to fix that)
I desperately wanted a car to work on and fix up, but I guess a bike will work too! ๐
The flats stomach part sounds quite fun, along with the eat whatever I want thing.
At this point, I don't see myself needing anything. I'm perfectly happy with the bike I have and have fun riding it, and as my legs get stronger, I'll probably get faster.
I use my smart watch to track every ride on GPS and my HR, so that I get a good baseline of what I'm looking at.
Hills absolutely destroy me even in the lowest gear, I feel like spinning the pedals that fast just wrecks my cardio for some reason.
Will I get a dented rim or a popped tire if I go down stairs at 50-55PSI? The tire is rated to 65.
Thank you so much for all the advice! You were absolutely right about my bars being upside down -_- my sweep was facing downwards because for some reason, I thought that was correct. I adjusted them so that the sweep is sort of at a 45ยฐ angle facing me, so it's equal parts up and forward. I can't wait to try it out and see if this improves everything!
In terms of bike fitting: I don't even know where I would find one or how much they cost here, but I feel like the bike fits me pretty well (or I'm too young, 28, to realize that it doesn't fit me and I'm just adapting in a bad way). I do have some back problems, but the bike isn't agitating them at all, so it might be okay.
I meant a stem extension, didn't know how it was called :D
In terms of the handlebars, should they be angled down on the ends, or up?
Here's a picture 
I put the bike together myself after I ordered it, so it's certainly possible I put them on upside down ๐ ๐
The name of this game is piquing my interest.
The MTB gives me more confidence that I won't break something if I go down a curb too hard or somehow make a wrong move and go into a pothole.
My butt does hurt a bit, mostly because my underwear rides up uncomfortably as I ride, I occasionally have to stop and fix it ๐
Here's a pic of my bike :)
I usually just ride the bike as if it was a 1x, never shifting off the second chainring, too much to think about using both, unless it would make climbing easier.
A lot of the time, it's pedestrian red lights while I'm waiting for the cross walk to open up
Thanks for the advice! I'm in Europe :)
What I'm afraid of is pushing myself so hard that I have to go home early :( I like biking long distances which makes me afraid to push myself too hard, which would (possibly?) severely cut my distance capabilities.
Unfortunately, I have no car :(. Most ebikes on the road by me are ridden by couriers and they're just speeding along the road way going 2-3x the speed of me - they're quite popular here.
A lot of the times I push myself to pick up speed so I can coast for a while after, though this is probably counterintuitive in a way.
I'm also struggling to understand ๐