We have studied experimentally and theoretically the effects of series and parallel resistances on the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the resonant tunneling diode (RTD) in the format of a small-area freestanding air bridge. It has been shown by standard quantum mechanical considerations that the I-V characteristics consists of a simple resonant current peak (without bistability) and the voltage at the current peak is quite low, whereas experiments show not only a much high current-peak voltage, but also the bistability. Furthermore, experimental peak-to-valley ratio is in general quite low. By analyzing material and device structures, it has been demonstrated that the series resistance in the RTD contacts shifts the peak in current to higher voltage, it also creates the experimentally observed bistability effect in the region of the tunneling resonance. The parallel resistance induces a leakage current and reduces the peak-to-valley ratio. We have further performed similar analyses to many RTD structures reported in the literature and the conclusions remain the same.