All-Black Tire Update
A few months ago, we asked you whether you wanted all-black Endurance versions of our tires. You answered with a resounding “Yes!!!” Our crowdfunding met its goals for all models we offered—which means all models that could fit into our production schedule. Thank you for your support!
(As an aside most of our road and all-road tires are always available with all-black Extralight casings.)
Now it was up to us to actually make those tires, and that’s where things can get complicated. And this year, the usual schedules have been impossible to keep. Anybody who has followed the news—or filled up their car with gasoline—will know that supplies and shipping of raw materials, especially oil, have been disrupted lately. For us, this means that the raw materials for making tire treads have been in short supply. (It’s also affecting the availability of the ultra-strong and ultra-tough 2014 aluminum we use for our crankarms. Most of this very specialized aluminum alloy is made in the United Arab Emirates.)
Our suppliers have overcome those problems, and the tires are ready. However, shipping them to Seattle has been the next challenge. There are no factories equipped to make high-performance bicycle tires in North America—all tires we ride are imported. Like most tires, Rene Herse tires are made in Asia. The all-black tires come from our Japanese suppliers.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for months, and many ships are either stuck or severely delayed. The result is a shortage of ships and containers.
We actually had booked the shipments of all-black tires on a direct boat to Seattle, as usual. The price was higher than usual, but that’s just how things are these days. Inflation is affecting all of us, and it’s caused by many small factors that all add up. Then that voyage was suddenly cancelled. Which meant we had to scramble to find another way to ship the tires—which turned out to be a more convoluted voyage that involves two layovers. Anybody who’s ever had a flight cancelled knows what an ordeal this can be—except that, in the shipping world, if your boat gets cancelled, it’s up to you to make (and pay for) the necessary arrangements.
The good news is that all this is now behind us: The tires are on the way to Seattle. We expect them to arrive in about two weeks (early September). In fact, European and Australian customers already got their pre-ordered all-black tires. They were shipped directly from the factory, and things went smoothly for those shipments. For our North American customers, we appreciate your patience. Once the tires are in our warehouse, we’ll all work overtime to send out your pre-ordered tires.
For those who missed out on the original crowdfunding, we made a few extra all-black tires of most models. You can reserve yours now, and they’ll be shipped with all the other pre-orders.
Most of all, we want to use this opportunity to thank all our customers for their support and confidence. We are working hard to keep you rolling on your favorite tires and components, and we are lucky to have customers who understand and appreciate that. Thank you!
—Jan, Natsuko and the entire RH Team
More Information:
- Rene Herse tires, including all-blacks
